Key in a single YouTube search for “underwater strikes,” and your device quickly kicks out over a hundred thousand hits. Even after filtering out the usual riff-raff of YouTube weirdness, you’re still left with hundreds of hours of spectacular underwater footage — and the undeniable impression that anglers today can’t wait to see what it really looks like when big bass, muskies and other fish attack.
In many ways, underwater sight fishing or video fishing, as it’s being called, has morphed into a sport all its own. Anglers from Florida to Canada and beyond increasingly realize that watching fish react underwater isn’t just a ton of fun, it’s also incredibly instructive in terms of making fish bite.
“What I’ve learned has been invaluable,” says Florida bass authority, Joe Balog.
“Watching muskies emerge from the inky depths to pursue my lure builds an incredible sense of anticipation,” adds Dr. Jason Halfen, angling electronics guru and owner of technologicalangler.com.
Exceptional about what these anglers and others are now doing compared to folks using traditional point-of-view action cameras — in which footage is recorded and viewed later — is the unique ability to watch fish react on screen, as the action occurs live.
Aqua-Vu, the principal innovating company within the underwater angling movement the past two decades, recently issued new high-definition video technology with exciting video fishing capabilities.
Engineered with a new, specialized camera housing, the company’s versatile XD Camera® is compatible with a variety of intriguing underwater viewing accessories. The Aqua-Vu Live Strike™ System connects underwater camera to fishing line, playing the underwater action in real-time, right on an Aqua-Vu LCD.
“I’ve used Live Strike repeatedly in lakes and rivers throughout Florida, and have watched in real-time how bass react to lures and live bait,” Balog notes. “Never before was I aware of how often bass followed our offerings but didn’t bite.
“Much of this material I’ve captured and shared on social media. Folks can’t get enough of the underwater video we’ve posted. Aqua-Vu has really revolutionized underwater viewing with this set-up.”
Halfen, who uses Aqua-Vu systems to educate anglers about fish finding and sonar interpretation, has also discovered the thrills of on-screen sight fishing. “The Live Strike system lets everyone in the boat watch the lure and fish interacting with it, live on the crystal clear Aqua-Vu monitor,” he says.
“Ultimately, this helps us improve our fishing decisions, such as replacing under-performing baits. When muskies, walleyes or bass come in for a look we see every fin twitch and gill flare in HD video. When fish turn away, we can adjust and change to a lure with a different action or color. And when you see fish strike, it’s almost as fun as reeling them in . . . almost.”
One of several new Aqua-Vu XD underwater viewing accessories, Live Strike™ is an interactive, real-time underwater sight fishing system offering unprecedented potential for on-the-water excitement and education. The simple-to-operate accessory gives anglers the ability to monitor trolled or drifted lures directly on an Aqua-Vu LCD screen, at depths from 5 to up to 100 feet. The patent pending XD Camera Housing with Quick Attachment accessory compatibility is available with all HDi series and 715C underwater viewing systems.