Ice Fishing Explorer Brian “Bro” Brosdahl Reconnects Retinas with Aqua-Vu
OutdoorHub 12.17.12
Bro, as he’s known far and wide, has a number of ice fishing firsts to his name. He was the first to popularize micro dropper-rigs for panfish – minuscule hooks tethered below a weighted lure. We first heard the term “dimple in the depression” when Bro dissected so-called featureless ‘holes’ and recognized that panfish concentrated on these baby divots. And, after experimenting with early underwater cameras, Bro along with Dave Genz fixed the horizontal lenses at an angle, opening their eyes and minds to breathtaking, never before viewed underwater panoramas – the origins of ‘downviewing.’
So it’s fitting that Aqua-Vu – originator of the underwater camera – would pair with Bro leading into this renaissance of underwater viewing.
“Back when I first tested-out early Aqua-Vu cameras, over a decade ago, they proved to be an incredible ‘bonus’ tool for locating and seeing fish in their natural surroundings,” said Bro of deploying the Brainerd, MN born Aqua-Vu brand. “Owning one was a luxury – something for the affluent ice angler who had everything.
“That’s all changed. Because of Aqua-Vu’s advanced approach to engineer better performing products at affordable prices, the everyday angler now considers an underwater camera as fundamental as an auger or sonar.”
One of those progressive pieces that puts fire in Bro’s belly is the new AV Micro Plus with DVR. “This was the stuff for daydreaming in the shack not so long ago. Well, our wishes came true. The smartphone sized, techy camera lets me slog around and search for fish, never being cumbersome, never slowing me down.
“It’ll be killer this spring on openwater, too, when I’m searching for panfish and want to verify that the sonar marks are in fact bluegills, crappies and perch.”
Equally enthusiastic about the Bro partnership is Aqua-Vu President Ben Gibbs. “He embodies ice fishing. From that unmistakable fiery red goatee and approachable realness, to his status as a founder of modern ice fishing, Bro’s simply the best.
“That, and he’s legitimately an endorser of underwater cameras. It’s not in Bro’s DNA to promote products you won’t find in his garage, fish house and truck. Bro fishes with cameras.”
