ALL EYES UNDERWATER; VIEWING DEVICES HAVE LED TO EMOTIONAL CONTROVERSY OVER THE ETHICS OF ANGLING.

Byline: BRETT PAULY Angling

What's the point in fishing anymore, some ponder, when one can use an underwater video system to see the target from the comfort of a boat?

Why not just take a photo - perhaps the ultimate in catch and release?

Actually, manufacturers say a big complaint from anglers who use the underwater video systems is that they become so enthralled with the images, they never take a cast.

For others, something much more sinister lurks beneath the technology, claiming it spits in the face of ``fair chase'' - a sacred yet unwritten code of ethics anglers and hunters abide by in pursuit of game. In the wake of such pressing sports issues as baseball's Mark McGwire-androstenedione controversy, some spout the ``shooting fish in a barrel'' metaphor in calling the use of the devices cheating.

Proponents state the several brands of so-called ``fish TVs'' simply take some of the guesswork out of more traditional fish-finding electronics, with which an inanimate blip on the screen could just as easily well be a twig in the water as a trophy bass. It is another way of doing your homework, they maintain, but only the combination of skill and luck will put more fish in the boat. After all, detractors also called calculators and rifle scopes cheating.

Fish TVs represent the progression of technology, but the question beckons, what's next? The tricky query has spawned an emotional clash between the Minnesota manufacturer of one video system called Aqua-Vu and a politician from the same state with designs on outlawing the use of the device when fishing lines are in the water.

``I'm not saying to ban them, just don't use them for fishing,'' said state Sen. Bob Lessard (D-International Falls, Minn.), a veteran fishing guide and chairman of Minnesota's Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. ``In other words, take your damn line out of the water and enjoy the viewing. If you want to fish, turn the camera off.''

Lessard argues that in Minnesota - where the number of fishing licenses sold is second only to California, he said - fishing pressure is such a concern that throwing this technology into the fray could further impede a dwindling resource.

But is the use of fish TVs cheating?

``If I used one to catch fish, it would be `yes,' '' said Lessard, who guides walleye, Northern pike, lake trout and smallmouth bass anglers 100 days a year and manages fishing camps throughout Canada. ``Maybe I'm living in a dream world; maybe this is the way our fishing society wants to evolve.

``But I think we should be teaching our kids fishing is supposed to be sport with the thrill of the unknown,'' he said.

Last year, Lessard proposed legislation to restrict use of Aqua-Vu as a fishing instrument. It was tied to a more encompassing bill that was passed by the state Senate but died in the House of Representatives. The senator plans to reintroduce new legislation this year and is wrestling with the details.

That his device has become the focus of such controversy at first surprised innovator Jeff Zernov, who put Aqua-Vu on the market in February 1998 and topped more than $1.4 million in first-year gross revenues. But realizing the consequences - financial and otherwise - should such restrictions be approved, he chose to fight.

``We do not want to see legislation come into our sport, or any area of business in the United States, that starts restricting technology,'' said Zernov, who doled out $25,000 to lobbyists in an effort to offset Lessard's campaign - and likely will do the same this year.

``It's sort of like a nightmare. Like Freddy Krueger, he's back,'' Zernov said of Lessard. ``We'll have to start writing checks again.''

Critics suggest Fish TVs will increase the take of game fish, but when Zernov offered to hire an independent environmental-impact research group and fund a study to the tune of $20,000, Minnesota legislators rejected the offer, he said.

``If our technology or any technology is proven to increase the success rate of anglers which results in increased harvest and a decrease in the fishing population,'' Zernov said, ``then turn our technology into a not-harvest tool so that if you are in possession of a camera you cannot be in possession of fish.''

Zernov maintains that Aqua-Vu increases one's fishing knowledge by showing structure and other elements of fishing that no sonar system will display. When that knowledge is applied properly, it will increase angling success. Since the two elements are mutually exclusive, he said, no guarantees are made.

``We don't promote Aqua-Vu as a fishing tool, but as a teaching tool,'' said Zernov, who also promotes ``absolute catch and release.''

In fact, Zernov promotes the device for use in a new ``sport'' he claims Aqua-Vu has spawned dubbed ``viewing,'' which ``expands and enhances the appreciation of the underwater world.''

But Lessard, who admits his vocal criticism of Aqua-Vu is tantamount to advertising, calls the pitch ``a smoke screen'' to draw attention away from the fishing controversy. The manufacturer's platform does seem suspect when the product literature is rife with fishing applications and endorsements from anglers.

Despite all the publicity, Zernov said: ``I think the issue is dying. People are learning that it is a non-impact tool.'' Perhaps it is Zernov who is living in a dream world; Lessard isn't backing off.

Whatever the end result, anglers may indeed be closer to snapping photos of their quarry; Zernov plans to introduce by Christmas a video system that allows users to record still-frame images of what they see underwater.

FISH TV?

The evolution of fish-finding electronics has reached a period in which anglerscan actually see their targets via television monitors before dropping the bait. Do you think the use of such technology should be banned when fishing lines are in the water? Call our phone-in survey line at [phone], category 6600. Press 1 for ``yes''; 2 for ``no.'' Results will be posted in a future Daily News Outdoors Section.

- Daily News

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--Color) A product that allows anglers to see fish using a video camera and television monitor has prompted arguments over the elements of ``fair chase.''

(2--Color) Underwater video systems are not only used for trolling, drifting and still-fishing, but for ice-fishing, as well.

Special to the Daily News

BOX: FISH TV? (see text)