A Beginners Guide on Drone FISHING

 Is it Legal to do Drone fishing in Australia? 

According to Avlaw, an aviation law consulting firm, using a drone for fishing is legal in Australia. According to their website, they are:

“Once again, there is no general prohibition (or even really any regulations) on using drones for fishing.”

Avlaw went on to say that there is even an Australian company that specialises in drone fishing, selling the latest equipment as well as providing tips for safe and effective drone fishing.

What are downsides of drone fishing.

Nonetheless, let us consider a few disadvantages of drone fishing.

• The very first disadvantage would be the requirement to purchase an expensive drone. A low-cost drone will lack the GPS functions, lifting capacity, and control range required for drone fishing. 
• Another disadvantage is the very real possibility of losing the expensive drone due to unforeseen line tangles, technical failures, or piloting errors. Investing in a waterproof drone designed specifically for fishing could help to mitigate this risk. Even if it’s waterproof and floats, crashing it 500 meters offshore means you’ll probably never see it again

• Another disadvantage is that you may not be permitted to fly a drone wherever and whenever you want. People get upset with drones as they fly over their heads. Drones, busy beaches, and weekends don’t fit very well.

What’s needed for drone fishing.

1. Fishing Drone

Obviously, the first and foremost thing you need is a  Robust drone.Not Just a drone , but an appropriate drone for fishing.

As a matter of fact,  a very few appropriate drones are available in the market. They all have a relatively high price tag in common.

The Drones that can be perfect for Drone fishing:

• The most costly drones, like the Swellopro Fishing drone, are specifically made for fishing. The drone is water-resistant and has a release mechanism designed to drop the apples

• If these speciality fishing drones look a little too costly, a DJI Phantom would be the next best choice. The phantoms are not waterproof but have otherwise a very good lifting capacity and a control range of over 1km.

The advantage here is that there are many used ones around and you could pick up a slightly older second-hand model for far less money. The Phantom drones have no built-in release mechanism, unfortunately.

You can buy them aftermarket, or build them yourself – if you are technically good.I have not tried doing it myself though.

Other drones can be used for fishing on the market. However, I think the above two choices are the best.

And it doesn’t matter which drone you get. At the very least, you’ll need one or two spare batteries.

Drones don’t last long in the air. The DJI Phantom can fly for approximately 20 minutes on a single charge. It’s enough for three or four longer casts. You’ll get 6-8 casts from two batteries.

2. Suitable Rod and Reel.

You can probably use this if you already have a surfcasting outfit.The most important consideration is that the bucket has to be very large. I believe you need a line of at least 500 meters.

It’ll hold more lines than mono if it’s spoiled up with the braided line.

Fishing on a long distance with the braided line is also more fun, as you can feel each bite without stretching.

I wouldn’t use a monoline for drone fishing for that reason.

Thus, preferably with a free-spool function like a shiman bait runner, with a spoiled 30-50 lbs of braided line, I would suggest a large casting surf.

Or better, a large overhead bag with 30-50 lbs of the braided line (shimano tld25).

The chances of line encounters and drone collapse with an overhead reel are significantly reduced. There is a lot to be done with the bigger rolls. Ensure that a roller can hold a braided line of at least 500 metres.

The downside of an overhead reel is that for old-fashioned casting it’s not good.

So if you’re looking for a multi-purpose reel, a surfcasting spool is a bit more versatile and can also be used to fish for beach, rock, boat, etc.

3. Rod holder or beach spike.

You don’t have a free hand to hold your rod when you are ready to fly off your bait.
Make sure either you have a keen assistant or maybe a holder – a little bit more reliable.

It is best to keep rigging simple to get things started.

The simple two hook dropper device is just right for you. Add it with uni to a uni knot directly to the braided line.Use a medium to light sinker for weight and place some delicious bait on the hooks. Just like you do when you surfcasting. 

Now you have the rod in the holder of your rod, you have your rod ready and all the hooks baited.

 It’s really better to turn it on while baiting the hooks already.

It takes a while for the engines to warm up before flying.

4. Ready for the drone to start.

When the drones are ready to start, fly them to the water’s edge. Grab your hooks baited. Make your bucket in free spool or at least drag and walk to the drone with the hooks. Check the drone height on your other hand with your controller.

Try to fly the drone high enough to just attach your bait with extended arms.

I simply attach a small piece of bend wire to the sinker. The curved end of the wire only hangs over the release mechanism’s bolt.

I’ll fly up the drone and make certain that it pulls the line as soon as I put the wire onto the release mechanism.

I go back to my rod so that I can keep eye on the roll if everything looks good.
Then I fly to wherever I want to drop the bait about half speed. Offshore usually about 300 meters

5. Landing the Drone

I’ll manually land the drone and turn it off once it’s back overhead. Then it’s back to the rod for more bites.

Once you’ve hooked up, you’ll need to reel in over 300 metres of line. It takes some time, but it’s totally worth it when you get a good fish on the other end.

Wrapping up

I hope this introduction to drone fishing has given you a better understanding of how it can be done.

When you first start out with drone fishing, there is a lot going on. Flying the drone and tending to the hooks and line may not appear to be difficult, but it can be quite difficult on the first few tries.