Marcum Mission low light conditions

[HowSwedeItIs]

Hi all,

I have been looking at the Marcum Mission SD. I have a flasher already and thought a camera would be a good way to round out the arsenal. Problem is my local waters are fairly stained, and we always end up with about 3 feet of ice with heavy snow cover by the time the bite picks up during the spawn. Does not seem ideal for a camera.

Budget is about 600 bucks, anything else out there that might do better in low light? Or will they all have a hard time?

Thank you for your time and advice

[Zip-in-Z]

Or will they all have a hard time?


I have no first hand experience with the Marcum Mission SD, my Marcum 825C is a few years old & works great in Sylvan. On a bright sunny day I can look down the hole & see my flashing spoon in 16-18 FOW. My camera will pick-up the spoon clearly when it's about 6-8 ft behind me. Before day break or after dusk you lose sight of your presentation 3-5 ft away. In dark stained water, it's barely visible. I try to keep my camera at least 5-6 ft behind me, I find too many White's in shallow water are camera shy. Don't need to worry about Walleye, Pike, Burbs or even Perch lots have tried to eat the camera head.

Perhaps others can advise further.

You may wish to stick with the flasher.

Let us know what you end up with ... wish you all the success this hard water season.

Cheers

D.

[SamSteele]

I have had the Marcum 485C for probably 4-5 years. It isn't the exact model you are looking at, but I thought I would share my experiences.

I tend to use it in lakes like Slave, Calling, Pigeon, some Sask lakes, and various trout ponds. Depth and water clarity definitely play a role in how clear the images are. No issues down to the 15-18 ft range during daylight hours. I have used it down to 30 ft with a foot or two of snow cover and the visibility isn't great. At 23-25 ft of water on Slave with a couple feet of snow I am able to identify walleye and burbot to about 6 feet away. Set up properly, it will help you identify what is around your lure and how they are responding to various lures and jigging methods.

I have the camera mainly because I have kids that like to see what is going on down there. I set it up in my tent. Viewing the screen in bright daylight is a PITA, so you need to use it inside. When visibility is good and you are stationary, it can be fun to watch. If it's just me fishing I usually just use the flasher instead. Faster to setup, easier to move, and I can usually tell what I'm dealing with on it as well.

If you don't have a good flasher with GPS abilities I would get one before I went with a camera, unless you have kids or tend to stay in one spot for most of the day inside a tent.

SS

[RavYak]

Just to clarify you mean low light based on the example you gave (stained water, thick ice, snow cover) or true low light as in dawn/dusk?

At dawn/dusk and especially in stained waters you can barely see anything and flasher is the way to go. During the day you can usually see at least 3-6 ft which is enough to help out.

I learned far more from fishing with a camera than I ever would have with only a flasher. If you have the money to spend it is worth it and will make you a better fisherman.

What I usually do is move around till I find something with flasher (fish, drop off etc) then drop camera down to confirm I am setting up in a good spot. Whether I use camera or flasher once set up depends on multiple factors (fish species, weather, how long I plan to fish spot etc).

Edit: Oh and cameras only really work well inside a tent. Usually tough to read the screens in sunlight.

[old dog]

I have a couple of 825 and work great. Used them down to 30 feet or more. Like what was said once it get dark out the distance drops to 3-5 feet with the light on. Don’t usually use it much at that point. I like using it to understand how the fish r reacting to hooks and bait. Setting it up to look straight down your hole helps understand what’s happening as well

[Zip-in-Z]

It's a please to see all the positive suggestions members provided, I might have to go out & buy me a flasher now .... :scared0018:

HSItIs .... look forward to an update on your decision.

D.

[HowSwedeItIs]

Wow thanks for all the advice guys! Having a fish come up on the flasher but not commit to your presentation is supremely frustrating... Being able to see what they do is intriguing, maybe Santa will be good to me this year.

Yeah I meant with thick ice/snow, doesn't sound like anything really works well before the sun comes up. And I do tend to fish in a tent, good to know about the glare though.

Much appreciated as always!

[SamSteele]

Here’s a video I took on Pigeon a few winters ago. I believe it was 12-14 FOW. Decent snow cover outside.

https://youtu.be/b8dMkZvXvfw

SS


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