I finally got some time to make this special GoFish Cam review which I have been waiting for a long time to do. Well, since fishing is my best hobby, I always looking for new things that can improve my fishing. One of the things I really wanted to have was a fishing camera. Well, there are 2 kinds of fishing cameras. The first kind is a camera that is not attached to the mainline, but I can see live footage from it. The second type is a camera that is attached to the mainline, but it does not provide live streaming video.
Each kind has its own advantages and disadvantages, and I won’t get into that in this post. I was interested in the second type of camera I just mentioned – the one that is attached to the mainline. In the market, among the few available fishing cameras, GoFish Cam is by far the most popular camera out there. And after having this camera with me, writing the GoFish Cam review was something that I felt obligated to do, so in case you are interested to purchase it, here I will provide you with all information you need. One important thing to note is that I am writing this review after having the GoFish Cam for 2 years now.
GoFish Cam Review – Facts
Before diving into the review of the camera, here are a few facts that you might didn’t know about:
- First, GoFish Cam is the most popular fishing camera in the world today.
- GoFish Cam is having the best price, but still is one of the best cameras out there.
- It is made in the United States.
- GoFish Cam provides a full warranty in case you lose your camera (for an extra 80$). This type of warranty is not provided by any other company in the world.
GoFish Cam Package Content
Well, the first thing I will start with is what you will be getting when receiving the GoFish Cam.
Inside the box, you will have:
- The GoFish Camera
- Float
- USB Cable (for charging the cable).
Downloading the Mobile App
The second thing you need to do after receiving the camera is to download and install the GoFish Cam mobile app. I will explain in the next chapters more about this app. But before I get into it, I recommend you to download and install it, this will help you through the reading of this GoFish Cam review. So, you can click here to go directly to the GoFish Cam app webpage directly from the Google Play website.
GoFish Cam Review – Mobile App
One of the main things that you should be considered in a fishing camera is having a mobile app. I am not sure that you understand why there is a need for a mobile app, so I will explain it to you now.
Having a mobile app is very important since it’s your door to the underwater world without the need to connect your camera to the computer. This is especially important since you don’t have your computer with you on the water. But that is not the only reason. With the mobile app, you can view all of the videos that your camera took. See other videos from the community, share your videos right away, and more.
Turning the Camera ON and OFF
When taking off the camera’s back cap you will see several controls. At the bottom, you have a power switch. This button has 3 states. When it is in the middle, it means that the camera is off. If you put it towards the red recording button, it will turn on. Once you do it, you will see a green flashing light, indicating that the camera is turning on. And once the light will stop flashing and will be solid it means that the camera is all set. And if you move the button to the left it will turn on the camera with its night vision on.
If the green light won’t stop flashing, that means that you did not place an SD card into the camera. Note that the GoFish Cam comes without an SD card.
In case you are trying to turn off the camera, but the lights are still on, just press both the buttons the black and red, and it will turn it off.
By the way, above the power switch button, you have the USB charging port, and above it the SD card slot.
Using GoFish without the Mobile App
If you don’t want to take your smartphone with you when you go fishing, you can use the GoFish Cam without your phone. Just take off the back cap, and press the red recording button. This will manually start recording, so you can put the back cap back ob the camera and start fishing like you normally do. Once you are done, click on the red recording button again to stop recording.
Another important thing to know when not using the mobile app is how to set a different recording mode. This can be done by pressing and holding the red recording button. Once you do it, you will see that the color of the light indicator will change. Green means that the camera is recording at 1080p 60FPS. Dark blue means that the camera is recording at 1080p 30FPS. Turquoise means it is recording at 720p 60FPS.
Using GoFish Review – Using the Mobile App
If you would like to use the GoFish Cam with its mobile app, you will need to turn on the WiFi on the camera.
For that, you need to press the black WiFi button, which is on the left side. Once you press it, you will see an orange light flashing, which means that the camera is on search mode. And when it is connected the orange light will stop flashing and will remain solid. Also, if you already paired your camera with your phone it will auto-connect. But, if you never connected your camera to your phone, the next section is for you.
How to Pair the Camera with Your Smartphone?
In order to connect your smartphone to the GoFish Cam, you will need to follow these simple steps:
- Open the cap of the GoFish Cam.
- Click on the black WiFi button.
- Once you clicked the button, you will see an orange light flashing. This means that the camera is in search mode.
- Go to your WiFi settings on your smartphone.
- Look for the GoFish Cam WiFi network, and click on it.
- You will be prompt for a password. The password is 1234567890. You can change the password later on. (Don’t worry when seeing “No Internet Connection”, this is just indicating that the GoFish Cam WiFi isn’t a real HotSpot with an internet connection – your smartphone is still connected to the camera)
- Go back to the GoFish Cam mobile app, and now you can click on the tap to connect
button. At this stage, your phone will search for the camera, and you will be seeing “Trying to connect”. - If everything went well, your mobile phone will connect to the camera and you will automatically be seeing live streaming on your phone directly from your camera. Also, the orange light will not be flashing anymore.
Once the camera is paired, you will see an orange light indication turned on. And as said before, you will need to do it only once for the very first time you use the GoFish Cam.
GoFish Cam Review – Resolutions
Well, once you are connected with your smartphone, you can configure the video resolution of the camera. As much as the resolution is higher, it means that more storage will be needed. The default resolution setting is 1080p at 60 frames per second. I highly recommend you to stay with this setting since sometimes the fish attack extremely fast, and having more frames in each second means that the video will be with higher quality and details.
The other options you have are 1080p at 30 frames per second, and 720p at 60 frames per second.
G0Fish Cam Camera Settings
Except for the video modes, there are other settings that you can control directly from the mobile app. In the mobile app, there is a setting button. When clicking this button you will be able to change the following:
- Adjust White Balance.
- Taking on or off from the videos the GoFish Cam logo.
- Change the orientation of the camera.
- The name and the password of the WiFi connection.
What is the biggest Mini SD card to use inside the GoFish Cam?
You can put inside the GoFish Cam mini SD cards that are up to 64GB. This will allow you to store an approximate of 2 hours of videos. So, if you know that you will need more than that, I highly recommend you purchase two SD cards or even 3, depends on your needs (and your budget).
When and Where using GoFish Cam won’t help
Well, the only time and place that it won’t work with the GoFish cam in when water clarity is bad. Remember that the clearer the water the better it will be. And this exception is not relevant to the GoFish camera, but also for other fishing cameras.
GoFish Cam Review – How Deep can it go?
Well, for a long time, the GoFish cam was advertised that it can go up to 450 feet. However, recently it was tested and found working at 600 feet (around 200 meters). This is very impressive and it definitely goes the deepest among other competitors in the market.
Float
Inside your GoFish box, you will find a green float, the float is used especially in ice fishing. This way you can place the camera pointing down and see live what exactly is going on under the water. in order to make sure your video is straight, place the float as much as the back of the camera so it won’t tilt. Failing to do so, will prevent the camera from staying straight and you won’t see straight downwards.
One Minute Video
Before doing the GoFish Review, I used the camera and tested it for myself. And very quickly I noticed that the camera is creating one-minute videos. So, in case you filmed a 10 minutes video, the camera will output 10 videos of one minute each. I honestly don’t really like it, but it is better than having a 1 hour video that I need to go through in order to find something specific.
Rigging the GoFish Cam
One of the main reasons anglers are afraid to use a fishing camera, like the GoFish Cam, is to lose the camera. Assuming a big fish will attach and break the line. Well, for this fear I have two solutions. The first one is to rig the camera properly to your line. This will be done by keeping the mainline stronger than your leader line. This assures that the leader line will break and not your main line.
By the way, GoFish Cam offers a warranty when purchasing the camera, that is in case you lost your camera in the water. In this situation, GoFish Cam will send you a new camera. This insurance will cost you half the price of a new GoFish Cam.
Things that I didn’t like with GoFish
Well, part of me doing a review is by saying what I also didn’t like with the camera. I have to say, that in general I really liked it, but here are the things that I didn’t like.
The Cap
The first thing that I didn’t like with the GoFish cam is with its cap. It is not easy to remove it, and after you will be doing it several times it is likely to get scratched. Removing the cap is necessary at least to be done at least twice, first time to turn it on, and the second to turn it off.
Basically, you have to do it every time you need to change something in the camera, like turning the lights on, charging the camera, reconnecting the WiFi connection, or even changing the SD card. I understand that this is for the protection of the camera, bt still, it is not very easy, especially when I am on the water and my hands are wet.
WiFi Connectivity
The second thing I didn’t like with the GoFish cam is its WiFi connectivity. If I get the camera back within 5 minutes, the camera will auto-connect to the camera, and I will be able to click on the “stop” button to stop recording. However, if you didn’t get the camera back within 5 minutes, GoFish Cam will lose its connectivity and you need to open the camera (by removing the cap) in order to turn the WiFi connection back again. So, if you are fishing from a boat, getting the camera within 5 minutes is something that will probably happen several times a day. I honestly find it quite annoying. By the way, GoFish Cam said that they are doing it this way in order to save battery life.
Lens Cap
The cap of the lens is made of plastic that can be scratched easily, however, having said that, you can unscrew this cap off and replace it with another one (which you will need to purchase).
1-2 seconds gap between videos
Remember me telling you that the camera is creating one-minute videos. Well, between each video there is a gap of 1 to 2 seconds that is not being recorded. So, in case something important happened during this time, it won’t be captured.
The Million Dollar Question: Does it worth it?
Look, after going through the GoFish Cam full spec details I can’t say that it is the best fishing camera out there. But, price-wise, the GoFish Cam is the best thing you can have for your money. Usually, the price for GoFish Cam is 199$, however, currently, till the end of 2020, it will be trending for 149$. But as for 2021, the price of it is back to 199$.
As a side note: If you are after the best fishing camera, then take a look at the Spydro fishing camera. Spydro is truly the best fishing camera and it is currently being sold for 269$, which means 120$ more expensive than GoFish Cam. If you didn’t buy a fishing camera yet, and you are one of those guys that are willing to pay a bit more in order to get the best of the best, then go with Spydro, trust me, you won’t regret it.
If you don’t know which one to chose, you are welcome to read our comparison that I did between the two cameras here.
Conclusion
I hope this GoFish Cam review helped you out in making a decision. I have this camera and I enjoy it, and I am sure you will enjoy it too. If you still have any questions about the GoFish Camera drop me a question down in the comments section and I will answer them as soon as I can.
