I’ll be honest, when I first saw someone mounting a fish finder camera on their kayak, my immediate thought was “that’s not proper fishing”. But after watching a mate use one on the Wye last summer, I’ve completely changed my tune. Not because it turns fishing into some kind of video game, but because it actually makes you a better angler when used properly.
Gear Used in This Article
The thing about fly fishing from a kayak in the UK is that you’re often dealing with completely different conditions to our American cousins. Our rivers are murkier, more intimate, and frankly a lot colder for most of the year. When you’re drifting down a stretch you don’t know well, or even one you fish regularly, understanding what’s actually happening below the surface changes everything.
I started experimenting with an underwater camera after years of stubbornly refusing. What surprised me wasn’t seeing fish (though that’s obviously useful), but seeing structure I’d completely missed. That bit of the Usk I’d fished a hundred times? Turns out there’s a massive undercut bank I’d been casting three feet short of for years. The camera showed me trout tucked right back in there, completely out of reach of my previous presentations.
Here’s where it gets interesting for fly anglers specifically. You can actually watch how fish react to your flies in real time. I know that sounds a bit like cheating, but think of it as an accelerated learning curve. Seeing a trout rise, inspect your dry fly, and turn away tells you something immediate about your pattern choice or presentation. You’re getting feedback that would normally take dozens of sessions to piece together through trial and error.
The waterproof models designed for kayak use in the UK market have come on massively in the past couple of years. They handle our typical visibility (or lack thereof) much better than the early versions. Most now have infrared capability, which sounds fancy but really just means you can see something even in the peaty water of Welsh rivers or Scottish lochs.
Mounting one is straightforward enough. Most kayak anglers I know run the camera on a short pole off the side, angled forward and down. You want it seeing what’s about ten to fifteen feet ahead of you. The screen sits in a waterproof case on your lap or mounted within easy viewing distance. If you’re interested in trying this approach, I’ve been using this portable underwater camera system (https://amzn.to/4dbkzUH) which works well for the money and doesn’t require permanent installation.
Now, before this sounds like I’m suggesting you stare at a screen all day instead of reading the water, let me be clear. The camera is a tool, same as your thermometer or your bug net. You’re not meant to be glued to it. What I do is check it periodically, especially when approaching new water or when I’m not getting takes where I’d expect them. It’s about gathering intelligence, not replacing actual fishing.
The biggest revelation for me was discovering how spooky our fish actually are. Watching trout scatter when my kayak drifts over shallow water, even when I thought I was being stealthy, completely changed how I approach certain stretches. I now give fish much more space than I used to, especially on clear days.
One thing to remember is that this technology works best as a learning tool rather than a constant crutch. Use it intensively for a few sessions on your home water, learn what you’re seeing, then put that knowledge to work without relying on the screen. The goal is to become better at reading water and understanding fish behaviour, not to create a dependency on electronics.
For your next kayak session, try this: use your fish finder camera for the first hour to properly map out one specific pool or run you think you know well. Watch where the fish actually hold versus where you assumed they were. Then put the camera away and fish that same water based on what you’ve just learned. You might be surprised how much your catch rate improves when you’re casting to where fish actually are, not where you hoped they’d be.
