One More Step Toward Taking the Sport out of Sportfishing

I'm talking, of course, about the use of drones, armed with cameras, to spot fish from above, so that all the fisherman has to do is cast a bait to that spot, get the fish's attention, and set the hook. Click on the following link to see a demonstration of what I'm talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVlbxkKRP80.

Thus far, this new wrinkle to the sport has been limited to recreational purposes. I, for one, truly hope it stays that way. Incidentally, if you're perhaps giving some thought to trying this way of fishing, here are some other things you should include in your thought process. For openers, a drone must be registered and marked. And, as already noted, you only can use it to fish for recreational purposes. You also cannot fly it higher than 400 feet. The drone must remain in your visible line of sight. And finally, you cannot fly it at night without proper lighting.

There's one other thing I'll add here, too, based on a different video from the one referenced above, which I saw yesterday. It will pay dividends if you take the time to first learn how to confidently fly a drone before you start trying to use it as a fishing aid. That other video I saw showed Scott Martin fishing with Jimmy Houston at the latter's Oklahoma ranch. The two of them are on the water in a bass boat, along with the drone operator, who just has crashed the drone somewhere in the brush. You see them beaching the boat to go looking for their "expensive toy."

Don't know about how the rest of you feel, but when I go fishing, the last thing I want to have is some kind of major distraction, e.g., such as having to go search for a crashed drone. It's bad enough just having to take the time to pick out a major backlash in one of my baitcasters.

Putting that aside, you further will need to check www.faa.gov/uas/recreational_fliers/ for more information about recreational flying. There you will find that you also must possess authorization before flying a drone, and you're required to possess the proper pilot license in your state.

If you get past all of this preparation, you may find that it's actually fun to fly a drone, but be advised: There's also an ethical aspect to fishing with one of these "expensive toys." It affords an advantage that no one really should have. Don't you reckon that reason likely accounts for why all the pro fishing networks...thus far, at least...have so much as said, "thanks, but no thanks?"

As subject-matter expert Coty Perry explained, "Drone fishing increases the efficiency of your casting accuracy, which can lead to over-exploitation. We're only in the beginning stages of technology to reach amateur fishermen. What happens, though, in 50 years, when fishing isn't even a sport anymore because it's so simple?

"Anyone with enough money can go out and buy a $1,500 fish finder and a $1,000 drone and catch anything they want," continued Perry, "because the technology is overpowering. It takes some (make that all, as far as I'm concerned) of the fun out of it, if you ask me."

Going to a body of water, trying different rods and reels, fishing in unique locations, and testing out different times and weather patterns--that's all part of the thrill of going sportfishing...whether you catch anything or not. It may be a primitive way of fishing, but it's the only one in which I want to be involved.

I don't ever want to see a day when I drop my boat in the water and know exactly what I'm going to catch before I even leave the dock. That'll be the day...with or without any music...that sportfishing dies.