Cameras like the Nature Vision Aqua Vu have opened a new world of enjoyment, insight, and excitement for those curious about what’s happening below the ice. On a trip last season, In-Fisherman Staff Writer Jeff Simpson had a pike miss his jigging bait and then turn and inhale his camera head as it hung nearby. Other anglers had their camera heads struck by muskies.

For most anglers, though, the viewing wasn’t so spectacular as it was sublime. They just learned so much—saw so much of what is actually happening below for the first time—that overwhelming enthusiasm for the product prevails.

The way I see it, the camera is all about solving mysteries and inspiring curiosity, even if it doesn’t always help catch more fish. I still usually rely on sonar in conjunction with a jigging rod, for it’s easier for me to move with sonar than to use the camera in place of sonar.

The camera has its days, though, and often works superbly in conjunction with sonar. A friend and I fished for perch on Minnesota’s expansive Leech Lake last January, using the Aqua Vu to look for fish. Some of the lake’s shallow flats run for miles, and perch sometimes run in scattered schools over the flats.

Toting a power auger with a 6-inch blade, my friend moved in a calculated search pattern, drilling a hole about every 30 feet. After 10 holes, he’d walk back to the Aqua Vu and begin systematically dropping the camera down each hole, looking for perch. I followed right along behind, ready with a sonar and a jigging rod.

“Dead hole” or “Perch here,” he’d say as he quickly twisted the camera cord to turn the lens 360 degrees. I dropped a jig down every “live” hole, watching the action on my sonar unit, while my friend continued the search. Eventually, we became more calculating as he began to distinguish holes with bigger fish.

Occasionally, too, it was ,“Whoa! You gotta see this!” And I’d drop down into a school of seemingly hundreds of perch—perch as far as you could see in any direction through the lens of the Aqua Vu. These fish didn’t always bite well, though. That’s when using the Aqua Vu to see exactly how perch are responding to specific jigging motions can help scratch an extra fish here and there. Or does it? The point remains, that using the Aqua Vu may sometimes consume so much time that it cuts into the catch.

Lots of anglers, though, just aren’t that calculating. No matter the score, they want to watch what’s happening below. The camera amplifies their fun, and they want to use it whether or not it adds or subtracts fish over the course of a day.

As often has been the case with cutting-edge technology, camera prices have dropped dramatically from original highs around $1,000 to $489 for the current standard version of the Aqua Vu, which has proven to be the most mobile unit for ice fishing.

Underwater cameras we haven’t tested include the CatchCam, the Vista Cam, and the recently introduced Humminbird Fish Eye. Each offers a TV screen separate from a power source, which makes them less portable on ice. They might be more adaptable to the way you fish, however.