Underwater fishing cameras are becoming more popular since the ground-breaking Korda underwater series. We explore some of the different underwater cameras on the market today.
The angling world has been full of technological advancements over the last decade from the rise of power packs and entertainment gadgets to bait boats and Fishing Drone with Bait Release.
However, one piece of technology that is yet to be fully adopted by the everyday angler is the underwater fishing camera. Granted, tackle companies like Korda and Fox have utilised these pieces of equipment, most notably in Korda’s ground-breaking ‘Underwater’ series where viewers got a chance to see how carp really react to bait and rigs. This film series became a hit on YouTube, and anglers started to consider how they could use them themselves.
For example, some people just love watching how fish react to different baits and rigs for research purposes. If you have a fishpond in your garden, you could test out different things in that under the watchful eye of an underwater camera. Similarly, you could use it on the lake you fish to see if the bait you laid down the previous night has been left alone or wiped out. There are a ton of things to use underwater cameras for, and anglers are quick to adopt the latest technology to give themselves the edge. We’ve compiled a list of the best underwater fishing cameras on the market right now, that you can factor into your angling straight away!
Underwater Fishing Cameras
We’re kicking off the list with these feature-rich underwater cameras. Focusing on the camera first, underwater cameras tend to struggle to give an accurate clarity rating, which is mainly down to the different water they are used in. For example, the visible distance may be 3m in gin-clear gravel pits, but only 1.5m in murky canals. However, these cameras give a rating of HD 1000TVL for the strength of the camera, but the visibility depends on the water it’s used in. These cameras do benefit from 12 powerful LED lights surrounding the camera to improve visibility and these lights can be switched over to a red colour for different situations or turned off completely.
The length of the camera cable is 30m for most of these cameras, which is a fair distance and it’s made up of durable cable wire. The camera cable leads straight to the screen unit, which is situated inside its protective box, giving you somewhat of a desk to sit and view the footage of the lakebed from the bank. The monitors are available in two sizes. Both screens are clear LCD, and the entire unit will work for 8 hours from a single charge in most cases. These cameras will work from temperatures as low as -10c and up to 50c, so you’ll never have to worry about the weather. The packages usually come with an 8GB SD card, but you can upgrade this capacity yourself.
These are great underwater cameras to explore with, the range of 30m is more than enough for a lot of waters and the different features of the camera are what have made them popular on Amazon. There are lots of smaller things you’ll discover about these cameras as you start to use them, like the temperature and depth gauge that it has, and as you get more comfortable with using the camera, you’ll learn how to get the best out of it.
Price: from £150
MOOCOR Underwater Fishing Camera
Offering a high-resolution display, this underwater camera helps you monitor the fish and observe the underwater topography. The camera has infrared LED lights surrounding a 1000TVL HD camera lens which offers a clear view of the lake bed and its features. The camera cable is 15m long which should be suitable for most situations when using these cameras for fish observation. This product has over 500 reviews on Amazon.
Price: £270
Buy now on Amazon
Portable Underwater Fishing Camera
These portable high-resolution underwater fishing cameras bring the underwater world to life. This camera is very stealthy, perfect for dropping into those hard-to-reach margin spots and overhanging areas. If you’re looking for a small, lightweight and portable underwater fishing camera, this option from Lucky is just what you need. Offering video recording and underwater photography, you will be able to capture what lurks beneath in high-resolution detail.
Price: £150
Buy now on Amazon
Lucky Laker Underwater Fishing Cameras
Lucky are well-renowned for their fish finders, which have garnered critical acclaim despite their small price tag with people from all over the world adopting them into their angling artillery whether attached to a rod, boat or bait boat. Therefore, it was no surprise when Lucky delved into the underwater fishing camera world with this offering. What is most interesting about the Lucky Laker underwater camera is that it’s a handheld device which makes the entire process much faster and easier. The cable length is shorter than other wired cameras at only 20m, but this is still enough for accurate margin footage. The camera has 300,000 pixels to video and the 4.3inch LCD screen is full colour, making footage clearer to review. The camera also has 4 LED lights for dark and deep-water exploration.
Through the receiver, you can take photographs, stream and record video for playback later on, and the storage is a generous 16GB. There aren’t a great deal more features for the Lucky underwater camera than simple good footage, and a longer cable may have been a huge improvement, but Lucky’s brand certainly has a reputation for getting the basics right.
Price: £148.99
Buy now on AmazonOther underwater fishing cameras to consider
Summary
Underwater fishing cameras are still in their infancy outside of professional and unbelievably expensive equipment. Due to this infancy, a lot of features still need to be fine-tuned and worked on before tackle companies will consider branding their own versions. But, this is typical of all new technology.
Fishing Drones were considered as mere toys long before their value for angling was discovered, and now every carp fishing film will feature an abundance of drone footage. Underwater cameras are a technology for the future, that is available now, so take the opportunity to be a trendsetter and see how they can help your angling now before everyone joins the party!
