Ice fishing cameras are a very popular tool used by ice anglers to find fish and promising fishing locations. In this post, we will take a look at the best ice fishing cameras on the market and help decide which one is right for you.
Best Ice Fishing Cameras: Quick Picks
Marcum is a well-trusted name in the ice fishing camera world, they are known for creating great cameras and products overall.
The competitive low price of the Marcum underwater viewing system is also work taking not in.
At just over 100 dollars, it’s hard to beat the Anysun camera in the budget category.
The features of the camera aren’t terrible either, so if you just want a camera without any fancy bells and whistles for a cheap price, this camera is for you.
If you want a highly portable camera with the best features, look no further than the aqua vu micro 5.0.
Aqua Vu cameras have been one of the most trusted ice fishing camera brands since underwater cameras started seeing use on the ice, and they make a highly reliable and high-quality product.
While definitely not the cheapest option on this list, you definitely get a high-quality camera with great resolution and features.
Best Ice Fishing Cameras: Full Reviews
The Eyoyo underwater camera is a great camera for anglers on a tight budget. For the price of the Eyoyo you get a large screen compared to other many other models that cost much more.
This model of Eyoyo LCD underwater camera comes with a 7 inch TFT color monitor, and also includes a hood to reduce glare when used in bright and sunny ice fishing conditions with blinding snow.
The Eyoyo camera also comes with 12 infrared LED lights built into the lens housing to give the angler the light needed for observing fish or structure in deep water conditions or when fishing after dark.
The camera is capable of taking SD cards and an 8 GB card for storing underwater recordings, so you can save cool underwater fish catches or when view large schools or large fish.
One of the biggest advantages of using this particular underwater video camera is the exceptionally long battery life. The Eyoyo camera will allow observations for 6 to 8 hours straight giving you a full day of use when ice fishing.
The battery that is included with the Eyoyo camera is a 4500mAh high capacity rechargeable battery and the cell box also included.
- Long battery life
- Large screen size
- LED lighting
The Moocor underwater fishing camera is an incredibly compact and light camera design that folds up like a laptop when not in use.
The Camera features a 4.3 inch LCD monitor and when unfolded the top half serves as a sun visor to shield sunlight from the screen and improve screen visibility for the angler.
The camera itself is a 1000TVL HD camera, which features a CMOS sensor and 3 infrared lights to illuminate dark areas.
While not having an SD card slot, the Moocor camera makes up for it by having 16 GB of internal storage and an intuitive menu system to delete any unwanted video data, which frees up space.
The Camera does feature a USB cable option to allow you to upload saved videos to your computer or laptop, and the camera cable length is nearly 50 feet long, which is more than long enough for any normal ice fishing situation.
- Long camera cable
- 16 GB of internal video storage
- CMOS sensor on camera
The Anysun camera is another compact ice fishing camera that is highly mobile and compact.
The camera is a 1000 TVL pixel camera similar to other underwater fishing cameras on the market, but comes with more LED lighting than many of the other models with a total of 8 infrared lights to illuminate the darkest corners of the lake bottom.
The camera housing and lens are very durable, and the lens itself is made of IP68 clear waterproof material and it is exceptionally leakproof.
The cable length of the Anysun is nearly 50 feet long so you have plenty of depth that you can cover.
- Long camera cable length
- Compact and portable ice fishing camera
- Leakproof and durable camera housing
One of the big perks of the Marcum underwater viewing system is that was designed with mobility in mind, and as a result, it is very portable.
The camera features a 7-inch widescreen flat LCD panel that features high resolution and color. The screen itself can swivel vertically as well for easy viewing.
The camera also features LED lighting and infrared lighting for use in dark water conditions, and a camera has a built-in CMOS sensor which will allow you to see better in low light environments without needing to use the LED lighting.
The Marcum underwater viewing system features a 75-foot cable, which should be more than enough for the average angler on the water.
The camera body is fin-stabilized, which allows for great image stabilization and image quality.
- Fin-stabilized camera
- Large screen size
- 75-foot cable length
Aqua-Vu is one of the most trusted underwater ice fishing camera manufacturers in the fishing industry and is trusted among ice anglers.
This camera has some of the best features available while being very competitive in price, giving you an advantageous product for less.
The camera comes with a 5 inch LCD screen (hence the name 5.0) with video out and DVR capabilities which allow you to save videos clips.
The screen is also IP67 rated for waterproof performance, and also comes with an integrated hood and screen protector.
The camera also has a fully adjustable LED lighting system so you can fine-tune to use as little lighting as possible, saving on battery life, and Colored CMOS camera optics for improved low light performance when the lights are off or not needed.
The camera comes with 60 feet of camera cable giving the angler plenty of cables to fish deep, and a 12-volt 7-amp rechargeable battery with a charger.
- IP67 rated waterproof screen
- 5-inch screen size
- Adjustable lighting
The Gofish cam is a wireless inline rigged-style camera. While it was designed more so to be used in trolling situations with the camera attached directly to the fishing line, it can be adapted to be used on the ice as well.
You can use this camera to look directly below the ice as if you were sight fishing, or rig it so that the camera faces horizontally as well.
The Gofish Cam can has video rendering of 1080P at 60 Fps or 30 Fps. You can also film in 720P at 60 Fps.
The battery life on the GoFish is 1.5 hours of constant filming time, but this can vary a little depending on the video quality selected.
The SD memory card compatibility of the Gofish camera is excellent and supports cards of up to 64 GB.
Last but certainly not least, the night-vision green LED lights excel at viewing in dark water conditions, and the camera is rated for a maximum depth of up to 500 feet.
- Can be used in very deep waters
- Night vision green LED lights
- Great rendering options
We already took a look at the Eyoyo 7-inch screen size variant at the beginning of this post, but it’s worth noting that the camera is also available with a larger 9-inch screen size as well.
All of the great features available in the 7-inch screen model are also included with the 9-inch screen size model.
- Large screen size
- LCD screen
- Very long battery life
Ice Fishing Camera Buying Guide:
Screen Size
Screen size is more of a personal preference decision. If mobility is high on your list, the small screen cameras that come with great carrying cases will likely be the best camera choice.
If you fish mostly out of a permanent ice shack and do not walk around on the ice all day jigging, you can definitely use a camera with a larger screen and have zero issues.
Cable Length
Most underwater ice fishing cameras come with plenty of cable length for the vast majority of anglers fishing for species like panfish or pike.
With anywhere from 50 to 75 feet of cable length most anglers have more than enough. Unless you are fishing very deep water for species like whitefish or lake trout, you shouldn’t have to worry about cable length.
Field of View
Most cameras have varying fields of view from one brand to the next, and most have also taken into account that wide fields of view are more advantageous when it comes to viewing underwater environments.
A camera with a 90 degree field of view will suit you just fine on the water, and you will easily be able to see your presentation and any fish in the background or that comes near the bait.
Portability/Storage
We discussed portability a little bit in the screen size section, and it is an important factor when choosing an ice fishing camera.
If you are driving on the ice with a car, truck, four-wheeler, or snowmobile hauling a large sled portability isn’t a big issue.
If you are pulling a sled and walking around a lake portability and space really matters.
Make sure you take the size and the portability of the camera into consideration when deciding which one to purchase.
Battery Life
You can’t use your ice fishing camera if the battery dies on you early on in the fishing day.
For this reason, you have to decide how much battery life is enough for you.
If you plan on using your camera nonstop you will want to be sure the one you pick will last, if you plan on only using your camera from time to time while fishing, a camera with 2-4 hours of battery life can last an entire day on the water.
Price/Budget
Price and budget is another factor that varies greatly from one angler to the next.
At the end of the day buy the best camera that you can afford, and always keep in mind that you get what you pay for in most cases.
Do Ice Fishing Cameras Scare Fish?
Ice fishing cameras themselves typically won’t scare away fish, the only exception to this rule will be turning on the lights when fish are in front of the camera.
Having the lights on isn’t a bad thing and if the fish see it from a distance, they will still approach it.
Think if it like a scuba diver, fish show little fear of scuba divers or drones in the water, and you can swim through schools of small fish, and fish being curious will approach something unfamiliar in the water simply to investigate it.
Many camera housings are also designed to have the profile of a fish, and some go even further and paint the outside of the housings to resemble fish like bluegills, but at the end of the day, a standard underwater camera with no disguises won’t scare away fish.
Are Ice Fishing Cameras Worth It?
Yes. Ice fishing cameras not only show you the fish and how they react to your jigs, they also give valuable insight into the structure or cover you are fishing.
Ice fishing cameras can also be used in the summer when fishing from a boat to scout structure, see what fish are in school that you marked on sonar, or find how dense deep weed growth is.
Final Thoughts on Ice Fishing Cameras
There you have it, our top picks for the best ice fishing cameras on the market today. Be sure you consider what is most important for you when ice fishing with a camera, and pick the best one you can afford.
