# aqua view and vexilar



## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

if i owned a aqua view is it really necessary to have a vexilar? i just saw a in-fisherman video and they were using the underwater camera only. 

IMO its not needed unless you need to know the water depth(i might be wrong and im not stuck on the opinion). 

i use a lcd portable graph and know i need to get something better. more real time. 

last year in-fisherman was all about vexlars now there all "oh man get this camera and you cant go wrong" i dont see the need to spend all that cash on both. does the aqua view give water depth?thanks for the help.

anyone have an aqua view for sale?


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## TxTransplant (Apr 11, 2004)

The Vex is a must have and the camera is an added luxurie. If the water is dirty you will see nothing with the camera but you will see everything with the Vex.

1. Yes the camera does tell the depth you have it lowered to.
2. The camera I have even tells you which way the lens is pointing. ( Big + )
3. The Camera also tells the water temp. 

The Vex can not tell you the temp of the water.
The Vex can not tell you what kind of fish you are marking on it.


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## krustydawg (Apr 26, 2004)

The camera does not mark fish that are suspended either.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

Get the Vex, and an extra transducer (wider cone angle). Forget the aquaview...my $0.02.


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## papaperch (Apr 12, 2004)

If thou fisheth nothing but gin clear water then a camera might be enough.

If thou fisheth in various degrees of clarity ( like in ohio ) bodies of water then the vexilar becomes thy staff of hope.

A vex is usefull in all bodies of water same cannot be said for thy camera.


The above three commandments should be put in a icefishing bible if there is one.


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

Tx Transplant is RIGHT ON.

Cameras a fun to fish with, but man, the Vexilar is the MUST HAVE out of the two..


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

I have an underwater camera that i cant even sell for 2/3 of what i paid for it. The water is just not clear enuff consistently in our area to warrent having it. Now my VEX is a totally diffrent story. Put it up for sale and it would only last 15 minutes, if that long.


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## Eye Spy (Sep 14, 2006)

I have an aqua view and love it. In fact, my old one kicked the bucked this fall and I invested in another one. Like others have said, they do not work well in cloudy water, but the water doesn't have to be crystal clear either. I have used mine in the Sandusky Bay, and that water is never very clear. I also agree that the vexilar is very handy for marking high fish.

Ryan


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## cw261 (May 11, 2004)

Ditto what everyone else has said - if you only have money for one, get the vex. The cheaper cameras (like mine) do not have water depth or direction you are viewing, but you can easily put tape on the cable to indicate water depths - the amount of cable you have out is the depth the camera is at. Direction you are looking is hard to figure with the cheaper cameras - I just spin mine until I see my bait.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

ya. a vex is a must have before a VU. it is easier to pop a transducer and mark fish than it is to put the VU down the hole and spin it to see fish. also u can see the fish rise to ur bait on a vex. go watch a vex or marcum movie and see how much better it is. marcum also has a nice line of flashers. flashers r what a vex is.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Post with my opinions on this subject from last year I think.

A post from last January.

I've been using my Aquaview for a few years ice fishing and on Erie.

My opinion,

Screen size - 4" works ok, you get used it, but bigger would be better if it doesn't have an effect on clarity. The 4" screen is very clear.

Outside use - big time bad, must be out of sunlight to view screen. Works very well in shanty, bad, bad, bad outside. Must use the sun shade when outside or in a boat.

Lights - I haven't found a use for them yet, very bad with creatures and particulate in the water.

Temp - who cares, pretty useless option.

Direction - one option that I don't have that I wish I did have. Take away my lights and temp and give me direction and I'll be happy. 

Ice pod - manual, a must have for ice fishing

Ice pod - electric, for the guy that has too much money.

I purchased mine from the bargain cave at Cabela's. They normally have a bunch at this time of year. Fisherman buy them and realize that they don't work well in off colored water and return them. 

Two biggest requirements for an ice fisherman to be happy with a camera.
1. Already own a Vexilar
2. CLEAR water.

You can learn more with a camera in a day than you can with a vex in a season, IF the water is clear.

My opinion,
Kim

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Lundy 


11-24-2005, 05:19 AM 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A post from July 2004

I've been using a vex for the last 8-10 years and a camera for the last 3 years. If I could only have one it would be the vex.

That being said the vex can not even come close as a learning and catching tool in clear water during the daylight hours. The ONLY way to really appreciate the camera for ice fishing is to be in a shanty. You do not need the shield and it's just like watching tv while you fish. You even know when to take a break when there are no fish around. It is extremely easy to see what mood the fish are in versus any given lure or presentation. Fish swimming by 15' away that pay no attention to one lure may immediatly turn and come and smash another. You get to see the entire game. You can not do any of that with a vex.

Forget the lights, there is way too much sediment and little living creatures that are attracted to the lights. It was kind of neat to have smelt coming to the lights before daylight at Edgewater while ice fishing two winters ago.

I can not stress the importance of clear water enough. Cloudy water will just frustrate you. In Ohio, your opportunities are limited. I used it at Mogadore through the ice as it is clear enough for about 6'-8' visibility, the day I was there.

My ,so far, favorite places to use the camera have been the ultra clear water lakes in MI while ice fishing, Lake Erie while ice fishing and soft water perch and smallmouth, and Presque Ilse was an ABSOLUTE blast. At Presque it allowed me to selective harvest, You could move your lure away from the smaller perch and gills and just try for the larger ones. I was even able to watch my lure and watch Steelhaulers in in his shanty 15' away. I watched bass, bluegill, perch, steelhead, pike, walleye, crappie, shad. It is a great catching tool with the right conditions.

Kim


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## fishingful (Apr 5, 2004)

one thing i would like to know about???????

fishing erie off cataba there allways seems to be a current under the ice how do you compensate for this i know i am very much a line wacher when ice fishing and i see the line bend with the current does the camera also go with the current or is it just a few feet diff between where the lure is and the camera is? hope i explained my self enough to get an ansure???


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## TIGGER (Jan 17, 2006)

I got the vexilar 2 years ago. It increased my catch by 2/3. It gives you a clue when the fish is coming. I also catch alot of fish that come high..I reel up fast and 90 percent they coming up through the ice!

One thing i really love about the vex is you can tell how the fish are going to hit that day. You can shake the bait,raise and lower it. The fish can be viewed on the blips on closing distance and follow pattern on the rise. You can watch what turns them around on the action you are putting on the bait. Incredible tool!

I have a camera also. They are alot of fun when fishing underwater bridges. You can see the crappies under the deck like bats. The bluegills love the guard rails. I really hate the cloudy water days. I hade a BIG walleye come right up to the camera and nose the lens head-on last year. I thought he was going to eat it! I just hate not seeing 360. I have noticed that sometimes the fish are camera shy. Especially the crappies. The bluegills are not as bad. I hardly drag it out after getting the vex. I like to take it when friends come along. They get a kick out of it.


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## Hoss5355 (Apr 9, 2004)

Your camera weighs more than your ice lure, so it isn't effected by the current. In order to see your jig, or whatever, you would just have to position it in a different location. The farther away, the bigger field of view, but you can't see as much detail. 

We put a hole outside the shanty, about 2 ft away, then position the camera to look back under the shanty, if that makes sense. The guy closest to the camera, you can see his lure, the guy at the other end of the shanty, you won't be able to see a lure, but can see a fish come in, if the water is clear enough for 6-8 ft of visibility.

If you have the money to burn, it's worth it. Normally, I don't leave it on all the time. I use it more in finding a location that either has a) cover, or b) fish. We drill holes, drop the camera, see whats around, then keep repeating till we find a good spot. In my opinion, it gives me confidence that I am in a better spot than 75% of the people that are dropping lines blind.

I look for the edge of weedlines in 15-20 ft of water, I look for stumps, I look for humps or gravel. Then I drill my holes, and turn the Vex on, and it's party time....


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

> last year in-fisherman was all about vexlars now there all "oh man get this camera and you cant go wrong


half article/half advertisement.

so much of what you can read about ice fishing is also pushing products on the side. sometimes its hard to seperate good advice from product hype. they fail to mention the downsides when theyre advertising something. cameras are fun, yes, but they have their downsides. sonar doesnt have any downsides to it. it always works, all the time, period.


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## 1977 walleye guy (Mar 11, 2006)

Lundy said:


> Temp - who cares, pretty useless option.


I would have to disagree with that. Temp. plays a a large roll in finding fish. even just a degree or two can make one spot better than another.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

1977 walleye guy.

I personally have never found the temp option on my camera to be of any benefit anywhere I have ice fished.

In what situations have you found a temp variance?

Minus a influx of water, a creek or river feeding an area of a lake ALL of the water at the bottom of a *completely frozen, ice covered lake will be 39.2 degrees. * The coldest water in the lake will be directly beneath the ice layer at 32 degrees and then warming down to the bottom layer of 39.2 degrees the warmest water in the lake. Water densities at any given temp dictate this. Physics says it can't vary and it doesn't.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

1977 walleye guy said:


> I would have to disagree with that. Temp. plays a a large roll in finding fish. even just a degree or two can make one spot better than another.


then get a thermometer instead of a aqua vu. just get a vex or a marcum. right now marcum has a system that has a 50 dollar mail in rebate. so the system is only 200 and it has a zoom on the bottom 5 feet.


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## bttmline (Apr 7, 2004)

I agree with the most. I use to have a camera and they are cool toys and may help on an occasion to see what is actually down there but I would be lost with-out my vex. They are also fun to use and show all the fish in your fishing coloum.


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## dock dabber (Mar 20, 2005)

The most usefull use i ever got out of my aqua view was I lowered the camera into my well caseing 52 ft down and discovered a broken wire on my well pump. Pulled the pump re conected the wire was back in business. can now flush the toliet. Put camera back in closet an will always continue to just use the vex. Never been skunked since i got the Fl 18 ultra VEX.


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## Big Joshy (Apr 26, 2004)

bottom line is that the vex is like a pickup truck, its not pretty but its easy to drive, on the open highway (clear water) and on the dirt roads (muddy water). The camera is the flashy sports car. Lots of bells and whistles,lots of fun, and defiitely what you want if you only drive on the open highway (clear water)
But completely worthless off road in the dirt that most ohio lakes consist of.


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