Many times, these locations are consistent producers during all months, yet others are specifically good for ice and not during the bulk of the open-water period.  The latter types include shallow transitions from mud to sand, or sand to rock, as well as small gravel or rock patches marooned again in shallow weeds or non-like surrounding substrates.

Early ice fish push to these places, especially after sundown in clear-water systems.  Spots that are no larger than a kitchen table can seem impossible to drill out and find, while they stick out like a sore thumb once you drop the camera needed to discern sand grains from gravel.

Basic sonar technology is a great asset to ice anglers during the summer and fall months, as few things hide from it, even in heavy weed cover or timber.  Even if you don’t own this technology, chances are you know someone who does, or better yet, invest in a unit that does both sonar and GPS so your ice spots will transfer to summer and vice versa.  Spend time getting to know the system in either case, and make sure to idle at the proper pace to provide the very best image you can. 

It could be the most common question found on internet forums, Facebook groups, and among the freshman class of ice’s newest anglers – “Sonar or camera?” Sounds like a simple question. Multiple choice even. The answer has always been straight-forward too, with most experienced anglers leaning towards a sonar first, then purchasing a camera to eventually fill in the knowledge gaps as needed depending upon their species of interest.

As an ice angler, there are several tools that can aid in your fishing success. Very few, however, are as effective as an underwater camera. The information provided to an angler from the use of an underwater fishing camera not only accelerates one’s learning curve but will ultimately, put more fish on the ice.

It’s a magical time of year. The ice on the lakes is pretty much absent. The landscapes that were not so long ago covered in snow now show glimpses of life again. Grass is turning greener, plants are blooming, birds are chirping. Spring has sprung.

To many anglers that means one thing – the Wisconsin Fishing Opener is coming. The Wisconsin Fishing Opener is traditionally on the first Saturday in May. This year it falls on

New Hope, MN (10/25/2021) – Marcum Technologies, the undisputed leader in underwater viewing, takes an on-ice staple and improves it with lighter, longer-lasting lithium batteries.  A new generation of anglers takes for granted what cameras have brought to the sport.  Inline reels and the effect of lure-spin was revealed through watching fish swim away on an underwater camera.  Winter panfish location and the connection to green standing aquatic plants, along with countless other observations; all brought to you by underwater viewing, now made better with a little help from an advanced fuel source.

It’s amazing how many anglers have an underwater ice fishing camera for winter use, and forget to pack it in the boat for fishing opener. In fact, open-water applications abound when it comes to everything from species identification, to finding green weeds, or simply identifying water clarity traits from one end of the lake to another.

The fact that now your underwater camera for fishing can be so much more mobile is a major benefit to its use, and the fish-finding information you unlock with it is rather limitless. Here’s just a few ways and reasons to get more use from your winter camera, come spring, summer and fall.

Water temperatures that build into the high 60 and 70 degree marks will definitely get fish moving, and that usually coincides with a few hatches.
Bugs crawling out of the deep mud get rafted against the main-lake structure, and signify some of the initial pushes to offshore humps, bars, and reefs. It’s often when casual walleye anglers, or those who see early mixed bags of walleyes with crappies and gills, stop catching them.

Anglers don’t always follow, sometimes because they’re not required to. This is a dynamic time of year as the summer food chain ramps up production. That means anglers don’t always have to look deep to find fish, and several patterns can be going at the same time.

Electronics are a vital key to success when it comes to hardwater fishing. Sonar units, and underwater cameras alike, both have a specific place in ice fishing. The underwater camera, in particular, has established itself as an important tool. For a number of different reasons, I employ these tools for scouting and fishing on the ice:

Sometimes the easiest way to record underwater footage is to simply use your phone. That’s why MarCum has created the PanCam, a mobile controlled camera that will work wherever, and whenever, you need it. There is no need for external recorders, excess cables, or SD cards. With the PanCam, mobile recording has never been easier.

Press Release – New Hope, MN (10/22/20) – Two decades ago, MarCum released its first underwater viewing system, giving eyes below the surface to an entire generation of anglers.  Their world has been forever changed because of it, from the way modern ice anglers’ fish to the equipment they use, underwater viewing has shaped the evolution of the sport.  While the systems themselves have also evolved through the years, the one thing that remains consistent over time is the amount of information anglers glean when seeing underwater for the first time. 

Though there is a slightly higher cost of entry to MarCum for putting these batteries in as standard options, the benefits of Lithium battery technology are many. For most anglers, the weight savings alone are enough to switch out their old Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) batteries, with new Lithium versions weighing less than half of their predecessors. You’ve also got longer run-times, even from batteries with similar amperage output that are not Lithium. That means you can fish for durations numbering days, not hours, with anglers often only re-charging their batteries after a long weekend of use.

Everyone has personal preferences when it comes to their ice fishing sonar. MarCum has you covered whether you like the proven technology of an ice flasher, or the customization and cutting-edge performance of a digital system.

It’s important to note the differences and strengths between systems, as each category has come a long way in recent history. 

Why is it that some of the most pleasing fishing you can do is also some of the simplest? I’m not stepping on bass-anglers with that comment either, but chuckin’ baits up near shore and dragging them back right now will get you bit on most of the weed-choked shallow systems that I fish this time of year. The fishing is that good. As a kid, I grew up bass fishing.

For a southern MN boy, they were the most attainable of the “big” fish. Walleyes lived up-north, you needed a float-plane to fish for pike, and sunfish were for “kids.”

From age 10 up and through my teenage years while I most often fished for those largemouths, I was far from a kid. Catching bass back then, esp. big ones, made your chest puff out a bit.

Whether you’re ready for it or not, the ice season is coming to an end sooner than later. For many of us anglers, it was an odd season riddled with less-than-ideal conditions – including lack of ice and excess amounts of snow and ice. With snow melt in full force and deteriorating ice conditions, we can’t help but think of what’s coming next.