Orlando, Florida (July 16, 2014) ---- Ah yes, the annual International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades, better know as ICAST, is the world's largest sportfishing trade show that we always like to attend. This year I was excited to get back down to my old stomping grounds in Orlando, Florida seeing as I'm a graduate from the University of Central Florida I always like to see whats new in the town, especially around world-famous International Drive. Once we arrived and walked off the plane, I was reminded why I moved back to Michigan after college----the sticky summer humidity of Florida is the worst! That----

and the torrential afternoon thunderstorms that struck just as we got into our rental car and hit the road. No this was not going to be a scenic trip through Orlando's numerous theme parks and palm trees, instead it was bumper to bumper car traffic and heavy rain just like the good ol' days at school. It didn't matter anyways, taking into consideration that we were here to attend ICAST and we typically stay busy visiting with sponsors and old friends.

Bennett Gibbs, President of Aqua-Vu Showing off the Trolling Motor Camera

Enough about the travel, "On to the show stopper" you ask! Don't worry I'm getting to the goods but I have to lead you in a bit first. A few months ago Cory Schmidt, a marketing whiz at  Traditions Media, called us hoping we would be willing to try out a new point-of-view camera that Aqua-Vu® wanted to debut at the 2014 ICAST event. The Aqua-Vu Trolling Motor Camera was a great concept to have a camera in the water all the time ready to view bottom content, nearby baitfish and potentially give us the "Hook n' Look" sort of fishing experience. We couldn't wait to get our hands on the TM-Cam and give it a whirl.

Our initial thoughts were that the TM-Camera was going to be a niche product for fisherman that primarily fishing in clear bodies of water. Perfect for us because we are always looking for clear water to film our Hook n' Look episodes. I'm not big into scuba diving when I can't see a minimum of 6-feet in front of me. I kinda get claustrophobic not knowing what's around me underwater, not to mention I would never get to see fish in time before they spook away.

Once we received the new Aqua-Vu TM-Cam System we headed right to the garage to install the unit on the trolling motor. First the TM-Cam System comes with all the necessary hardware for a quick and easy camera attachment to the base of any bow or transom trolling motors. It includes a small quarter-sized high resolution Aqua-Vu Micro camera along with 15-feet of durable camera cable giving you plenty of extra cable to attach to your existing Aqua-Vu Micro Underwater Viewing System. With the install completed in less than 30 minutes we headed out to the lake to see how well the camera performed. We noticed at first that we needed to adjust the camera angle that we initially set, which is easy to do with just a slight loosening of a couple  screws. Now that the angle was dialed in we were ready to start looking. That afternoon there was a slight wind that left some chop on the surface of the lake making it hard to see the bottom, even with our S11 polarized sunglasses, but with a simply glance down at or Aqua-Vu Micro 5 we were able to see that the bottom content had just changed from sand to a rocky bottom. Next we moved closer to some possible bedding bass and we could clearly see what beds had fish on them and others that had been abandoned. Next we decided to check under the docks and pontoons, knowing that when scuba diving I need to penetrate the shadow under the dock before I can get a glimpse of whats holding beneath them. This phenomenon held true for the trolling motor camera as well, but once we moved close to the dock we were able to see if there anything significant hidden beneath the canopy.

Aqua-Vu Trolling Motor Camera in Action

In an effort to help Aqua-Vu introduce this unique product at ICAST, we we're asked to produce a short video piece demonstrating a variety of uses and how much fun we had employing the trolling motor camera. Yes-this may be a niche product for only those who fish clear bodies of water, but for those that do fish within that scenario, the trolling motor camera can indeed be a useful tool to easily help you comprehend what's beneath the surface. And as you well know----on Hook n' Look----we're all about looking in the water. 

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