Drone fishing

[Mark]

Does anyone own a Drone and have you tried to fish with it? New Gov't Reg's. allow you to use one but less than 400 feet in altitude and a weight limit of 55 Lbs. It must be kept/flown within eyesight. So you could take one out in your boat to a desired area for Perching, let the Drone go to a spot several hundred or more yards away with a minnow rig on it and hoover it over and into the water. If it should, and can, catch a few fish you then return the drone back to the boat. If you're not catching anything but the Drone is, then you simply move over to that spot(?).
My question is....If it's just you and the Drone out fishing....Can you keep 30 Perch and can the Drone keep 30 too?

[Longliner]

Yes the drone can have a 30 limit of perch as long as it has a fishing license.

[Ted]

Lmao......

[branhamautomotive]

I can't believe with all that is wrong with this workd, our government took the time to pass rules and laws on this. That is sad.

When I was kid I used to tie a line to rc boat in papas pound and troll for blue gill. Worked great till I caught a big bass and it sunk the small rc boat. Guess at age 7 we don't have the minds to think every through. Kind of like our government on this one.

[Walleye_Rick]

Apparently drone fishing can work to catch tuna

https://youtu.be/8sdUZqOoAq4

[Capt. Ted]

I've seen the tuna catching drone, pretty cool. Also, musky schools can be seen in Lake St. Clair. I can see where could be used as a tool.

[West Basin]

Could you? Sure. Real question is why?

It would be very difficult to do, several issues with how it would work, such as getting the depth right, knowing if there is a perch biting, and the weight drag of the water if you did hook one when lifting it up. Not to mention the risk of crashing it into the water and ruining it. Imagine a gull chasing the perch as you try and fly it back to the boat! Simply not any good reason to try it.

A much better use is for ice fishing to check ice conditions. Look for cracks, obstacles, and other dangers.

[Capt. Ted]

Hey West,

I like your idea about checking ice and open water.

Haven't you ever been on shore and wanted to cast out to where the boats are? With the new "bobber" fish finders, the drone could drop the fish finder over an area and check it out. Have you ever seen how they kite fish for sailfish/marlin/tuna? The drones could replace the kites; holding the bait away from the boat or shore, and right at the surface waiting for the bite. Have you ever wanted to fish a pond for that lunker bass, but couldn't cast over the cattails? As I mentioned, a drone could see schools of fish, or bait fish in clear water without running your boat several miles. When fishing saltwater we are always watching for birds. Now we could follow the birds with the drone.

There is no longer a limit to the size and capabilities of this technology. I haven't read any regulations beyond registering your drone. But all the regulations will apply whether you're fishing, hunting, or peering over your neighbor's fence. This will lead to an interesting and ongoing conversation. WE haven't even had a discussion of property rights. What are you going to do when you're in a tournament, and a drone is hovering just above your head?

We are already witnessed the Canadian drones watching for charters fishing over the border. You better have proper documentation not only for the crew, but for the boat.

At what point will a submersible "drone" be available for your research? The technology already exists. Should that be regulated? I hope not, but someone will say there "outa be a law", and then here we go....

[West Basin]

Lots of questions, but we already have a lot of the answers.

National and State Regulations are already in place, with more to probably come. Local rules will also come into play. These rules limit the height and distance UAV's are legally able to fly, and also the areas they may or may not fly within.

The abilities of the UAV's and their operators also restrict what they can do. It takes a lot of experience to fly one well, and that's under good conditions. How you attach and use various equipment also takes experience, and fishing equipment is no different. Dropping sonar transmitters and fishing lures is not going to be easy. The battery life is very limited. What do you do once you drop a lure? Put the control down and pick up the fishing pole? What does the UAV do in the meanwhile? A lot of problems to overcome, and the risk to the UAV has to be figured in.

Flying miles away to check fishing spots is not going to be legal for the recreational user. I see limited uses for them in outdoor sports, some could be quite useful (checking ice), other's pie-in-the-sky.

The technology that is going to be the game changer is sonar and underwater ROVs. Not too many years from now sonar will be able to tell you the fish species and it's actual location and depth relative to the boat. No more guessing what you are looking at on the fish finder. As a scuba diver I can tell you for certain that a lot of stuff people think they know on a fish finder isn't what they think it is, I've seen it underwater firsthand.

Remote control boats can also have good uses for fishing, such as taking your lure way out past casting distance on those calm Lake Erie days. There are actually RC boats designed for fishing, with remote control compartments to put your lure in and drop it where you want. I see those being much more practical than a UAV.

[SeniorMac]

The FAA has just released their rules and regulations, however besides size, altitude limits and flying withing visible sight, they're not very restrictive. The FAA regulations are developed to keep drones out of the airspace used by regular aviation. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association lawyers have issued their opinion regarding flying drones. One of them is, you are not allowed to fly over private property without permission. I would shoot down any drone that may be over my property taking pictures of my wife or daughter in the pool out back. State Fish and Game Departments are developing rules regarding drones. Can you imagine night vision video camera on a drone before daylight while your out deer hunting? Sounds tempting but I would think that it would fall under the regulations of regular flying to spot game animals besides being pretty unethical.