by GKC0806 » Mon May 18, 2020 3:06 pm
Hi Teegerstk,
Back in SA, most drone anglers target large non-edibles - essentially large sharks and rays - frequently over 100kgs - real arm stretchers. I've noted that in Australia and New Zealand and now in the USA, a lot of the drone anglers are more focused on targeting edibles such as snappers and the like.
I will certainly be putting in some efforts to fly out some large baits on this east coast - maybe off the headlands at Howth, possibly even off the South Wall pier, or a bit further south towards Bray/Greystones. Will also certainly be putting in some trips to the south and east coast to fly out into some seriously deep water with large baits.
Drone angling for large target species in deep water usually requires some serious equipment - typically a XH rated rod, ideally the largest reel you can fit holding something like >800m to 1000m minimum 50lbs braid, preferably 80lbs. I have a Torium 50 spooled with 1200m 80lbs braid fitted to a stout XH Shimano Talevera rod.
For targeting the Mackerel, I feel we can go much lighter and use our intermediate surf rods, since the terminal tackle won't be too heavy (maybe a few ounces at most), and reeling in a full string of macks won't be too heavy. This will also increase the number of flights out i could make before needing to charge the battery - maybe 8-10 drops at 300m.
The plan would be to simply knot (basic overhand knot) on a small party balloon (say two fists size) at the desired height above the string of sabikis (say 5m, 10m, 15m), with a small 1-2oz spoon or bucktail jig at the end as terminal unit to weight the whole string down in the current. I'd fly that out say 300m and drop, with drone returning on auto mode to pick up the next line for the next drop. As braid is so direct, i'm thinking that one would possibly get some feint tugs down the line (balloon could possibly get pulled under if a whole string of sabikis got connected), and yes, then either just let them drift around out there for a while, or slowly retrieve and see whether that elicits any hook-ups.
Flight distance (at least in populated areas) seems to be globally limited to regulated and prudent/common sense distance of 300m (that's edging towards the limit of naked-eye visual on your drone). Generally speaking we would not fly lines out higher than 30m above sea level, and constantly watching for errant (below legal height) aircraft and also sea-birds - gulls in particular have pretty shite eyesight and can cause a serious mishap to your drone in flight if a large seabird hooks into your line. You have to be ready to instantly jettison your line to allow the drone to recover stable flight.
In any event you would be limited in distance by the amount (and weight in the air) of the line - and bearing in mind you would want to keep at least 200-300m on the spool in case you connect to a proverbial Jaws.
regarding drone prices, don't get too stressed about the brands and prices. As with all technology, the prices do start falling, and remember, the DJI P4 and similar were primarily designed as airborne cameras/videos, not for carrying payloads and certainly not designed for "fishing". There are a whole lot of other brands our there that are designed almost exclusively for fishing (carrying baits),and don't then come with all the other fancy technology and 4G cameras etc.
Also, you may consider building your own custom payload drone. That would save a sack of cash. Just depends what you want to use it for.
Hope that helps.
GC