Photo Credit - Ben Larson - In-Depth Media Productions
John W. asks:
Hey Joel - I saw you got a Yetti last year and am wondering what underwater camera you’d recommend for inside of a permanent. We mainly fish for walleyes on Mille Lacs but sometimes fish for panfish nearby.
Thanks,
John
Thanks for the question John. I’d consider two options, one mobile unit for panfish and another system for the house, but would lean most heavily towards what you do most. That sounds like fishing on Mille Lacs. Fair word of warning, walleyes are notoriously camera-shy, so always be ready to pull the camera if you see fish come near baits but get nervous.
That said, a quality camera for the house is an investment to better fishing no matter where you’re at, regardless of species. Perch aren’t usually worried about the camera, and I know you probably run into them a fair amount out there as well. Not to mention, so often the camera is used just to confirm the presence of fish or ID them, let alone observe the area you’re fishing for rocks, gravel, etc.
The big issue in past years has been camera quality of image, especially at depths like you fish in Mille Lacs. This problem is exacerbated, even in the shallows, when taking a non-HD image, and blowing it up to a big-screen TV as are so popular in todays wheelhouses. Marcum has a new camera called the Quest that I tested all last year and was very impressed by, especially when plugging into the big screen on my Yetti. It’s the first HD camera to my knowledge, that actually allows an HD image to be ported to your TV screen, via an HDMI cable. All of that means the clearest and cleanest image I’ve seen from an underwater camera, up on the TV screen - to date.
If you’re less concerned about porting the image to a TV, then I’d opt for mobility and pick from either the Recon 5 or Recon 5+. Both are extremely capable and portable units that will work for panfish outside of the house, just as well as they’ll work inside. The major difference in the 5+ is that it has on screen temp, depth, and direction display, which can be critical components for chasing big panfish, especially in weeds. It also has a DVR to record what you’re seeing if that’s of interest. If you plan on bringing it inside, I’d opt for a mount like this - which will keep it steady and pointed in the right direction for you at all times.
Whether you’re viewing the image on the big screen or natively, there’s some great options out there these days.
Joel