Fishing with my Phantom 3S

[Earls Court]

We (South Africa) have just moved to Level 2 of our lockdown regulations and we are now permitted to travel within the boundaries of the country again! I am going fishing (rock & surf) to a remote part of the country/coastline and can finally put my P3S to work for what it was bought - as a bait carrier dropper machine. I fitted and tested a Gannet Pro Release mechanism/attachment (dronefishing.com) successfully and would like to hear from any fisherman that uses a drone to fish, who can give advise as to techniques that I should consider to maximise the use of the drone. I only have two batteries and only a generator (for lights) to recharge at night and have to conserve battery life flying missions dropping bait.

 

[SelfBiased]

1/4 sticks of dynamite comes to mind
or
maybe combine with this link?

Building up coastal Phantom drones in Alaska.

This group is a dream come true for me. I just got turned on to Phantom Pilots about a week ago. Looking to learning more about these versatile quads from China. Its great to see this advanced group of pilots and tech support on drones. I just you average 62 year old x-commercial fisherman...

phantompilots.com

 

[Earls Court]

I knew I was running the risk of receiving some non-helpful advice from some non-fisherman pilots. Maybe someone will respond with some helpful hints!

 

[SelfBiased]

Sorry, love fishin, not a pilot yet, love logic, other than thermal imaging, or maybe just drone visual can't "see" how a drone "helps catch fish". maybe if the payload was a drift net? maybe line drop? although explaining that to the DNR folk might be interesting

 

[KachemakDiver]

I knew I was running the risk of receiving some non-helpful advice from some non-fisherman pilots. Maybe someone will respond with some helpful hints!

Maybe PM @Capt KO ,,, he’s the guru on release systems for fishing ?

 

[Earls Court]

Drone fishing is when you use the drone to firstly “scout” the waters with the camera to see what the sand/rock formations look like and how far from the beach. Secondly to use the Drone to fly your bait or lure to the spot you identified and use the release system to drop it at the right spot. This helps to reach the spots that are to far to reach with a cast from the shore/beach! The dangers are flying over water and secondly, getting your line entangled with the drone.

 

[KachemakDiver]

We (South Africa) have just moved to Level 2 of our lockdown regulations and we are now permitted to travel within the boundaries of the country again! I am going fishing (rock & surf) to a remote part of the country/coastline and can finally put my P3S to work for what it was bought - as a bait carrier dropper machine. I fitted and tested a Gannet Pro Release mechanism/attachment (dronefishing.com) successfully and would like to hear from any fisherman that uses a drone to fish, who can give advise as to techniques that I should consider to maximise the use of the drone. I only have two batteries and only a generator (for lights) to recharge at night and have to conserve battery life flying missions dropping bait.

@Capt KO has a lot of experience doing exactly what you are asking.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

Me used this homemade dropper or swivel slider,,hover above ground clip on trace with swivel on rod,fly out,either stop tighten drag on surfcaster or fly slow when your our and tighten drag on fishing reel and line slides off the back,,I use braid aswell,6 once sinker 2 or 3 hooks depending on bait size,,great for getting past the breakers,,only 900ft is me furthest drop due to so much line behind the drone,,when taking line out must be confident and not stop and go or you might get tangled, even if no wind you might need to fly bit sideways depending on what the line behind is doing,,only downfall with this method is takes long time to wind line back in so electric reel would be perfect for retrieval,,,used this homemade thing so much it's great for me and it was free,no tangles to date,,ps,,i do use sport mode on the p4,,the p3s not as powerful as p4 so test some sinkers to see how your drone reacts in flight,,practice on the beach before you try real drop,,you become a master pretty quick

 

[SelfBiased]

so my "line drop" is on the logic train, the DNR train, here anyways, might be a thing ?

 

[PhantomWetSuits]

Drone fishing is when you use the drone to firstly “scout” the waters with the camera to see what the sand/rock formations look like and how far from the beach. Secondly to use the Drone to fly your bait or lure to the spot you identified and use the release system to drop it at the right spot. This helps to reach the spots that are to far to reach with a cast from the shore/beach! The dangers are flying over water and secondly, getting your line entangled with the drone.

Being over the water with lines, , fish and weather you might consider getting a Rescue Jacket for your Phantom 3:
Rescue Jackets stay out of the way of the fishing setups and provide security for your drone allowing it to float on water.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to float your Phantom.
You can email me at [email protected] for more info.

 

[Capt KO]

Yep, I use the Gannet Sport and XSport on my Phantoms. My battery supply has shrunk recently through sales and failures but I keep them charged on-site. Using an ac/dc inverter (plugged into my charger) attached to my truck battery keeps me plenty charged for the day. When one gets below 50% it gets placed on the charger while still flying the other. I’m using Gannet’s that automatically release if jammed or attacked by birds. Just remember to leave a length of line, 2-3ft, below the drone to attach the fishing line. Avoids prop entanglement.
Add bait, go fish. Trial and error. Have FUN!

 

[lannes]

This is my favorite drone fishing video (not mine), needs to be a 2 man team

 

[Earls Court]

Thanks for the responses, I can’t wait to go fishing. I can relate and understand each one of the replies. and come away with the following recommendation to try.
1. Do a proper preflight (calibrate) and make sure you have a registered RTH position
2. Check your dropper/release attachment to make sure it works and test the emergency release function
3. Make sure the drone drop loop/line is long enough (1m+) for the bait and tackle to hang far enough below the drone to avoid your line being entangled with the drone
4. Start the drone and hover about 2 meters facing the line of flight to the drop zone.
5. Hook the drop loop onto the dropper release arm and fly to a reasonable altitude and to the drop zone smoothly
6. Once you reached the drop zone activate the dropper release (manually like ianzone or mechanically like the Gannet system)
7. Once dropped, activate return to home and put remote aside while reeling slack line, set the drag and place your rod in a vertical holder
8. Pick up remote and land the drone to await your first catch!

 

[Earls Court]

This is my favorite drone fishing video (not mine), needs to be a 2 man team

The ultimate sport fishing for tuna using a drone!

 

[Capt KO]

This is my favorite drone fishing video (not mine), needs to be a 2 man team

I have to go at least 20 mi for tuna. But the same idea works for boats.

One more suggestion, when windy, it's best to takeoff facing the winds to stabilize before heading out to sea.

 

[D_pwater]

A couple of tips using the Gannet and the Phantom (from another drone fishing beginner) ...
1. check your line release pressure is on the light side, the impact on the rod is quite harsh at release.
2. It sounds like common sense but be aware of how much line is out so you release the line before it spools. My 30lb braid snapped last time.
3. Have a 10m trace or dropper connected straight to the release to avoid pendulum effect of the sinker and bait.
Hope that helps.

 

[Earls Court]

Thank, appreciated

 

[Flyguy1234]

Crazy, I got the same idea on vacation in early June in Florida. We like to surf fish but getting bait passed the breakers can be challenging depending on the tide. So we bought 2 used phantom drones. We got 1 3 4K so we could scope the water and 1 that had been crashed with no camera to just carry line and bait The drone with no camera weights about 200 grams lighter. Then the virus gets hot and we haven’t got to go back yet to test out. Purchased same Gannett mechanical drop. Dying to try. I’ll post when we go m

 

[Earls Court]

Look forward to your report back! Will return to forum after out fishing trip to report. Will also fly chum (spoiled bai in anchovy oil) to a spot within casting distance to attract fish.

 

[Flyguy1234]

Kids won’t let us go for awhile. Stinks. Gotta get passed this virus. looking forward to seeing how you do also. ?