Fishing with a drone...

[Ken Jones]

We saw a guy at the San Clemente Pier who brought out a drone to use in his quest for sheephead. He said there was a reef a long ways out from the pier that contained sheephead and that he could drop his bait over the reef and if the sheephead were around have them in minutes. He had a large spinning reel loaded, he said, with 500 yards of line, and did indeed send the bait out a far, far distance. He dropped his bait but no fish. He repeated the act several times but never got a bite but he was successful in getting his bait a great distance from the pier.

 

[scaryfish]

I hope they ban drone assisted take of all fish and game.

 

[Mahigeer]

He was not too friendly, so we did not talk to him much.

His rig was not really a correct one. Bait on a swimbait.

He also said sheepshead, but I did not correct him.

 

[MisterT]

I've seen this guy at San Clemente pier a few times. He seems to be regular at the pier.

 

[TheFrood]

There are several drone fishers there... But the ones I have seen are usually targeting sharks.

 

[SCPierGuy]

That is me in the photo. I am still drone fishing regularly but haven't had much success recently. I use this Google Earth photo to establish range and heading targets for my drops. When fish are in these reefs, they bite quickly. The challenge is dragging the line back without getting snagged. The fish also take refuge in the reefs so as soon as they bite you have to keep tension in the line or they will anchor themselves in the rocks. Then you have a waiting game, waiting for them to run before reeling them in. But as the second picture shows, I have had some success using this method.

A word of caution: casting the line 300+ yards and reeling it in repeatedly gave me a nasty case of tendonitis. I have had it for months and it kept getting worse. So I recently purchased a Daiwa Tanacom electric reel. I am using a bunch of complicated gadgets, but is less expensive than owning a boat!

 

[Ken Jones]

That is me in the photo. I am still drone fishing regularly but haven't had much success recently. I use this Google Earth photo to establish range and heading targets for my drops. When fish are in these reefs, they bite quickly. The challenge is dragging the line back without getting snagged. The fish also take refuge in the reefs so as soon as they bite you have to keep tension in the line or they will anchor themselves in the rocks. Then you have a waiting game, waiting for them to run before reeling them in. But as the second picture shows, I have had some success using this method.

A word of caution: casting the line 300+ yards and reeling it in repeatedly gave me a nasty case of tendonitis. I have had it for months and it kept getting worse. So I recently purchased a Daiwa Tanacom electric reel. I am using a bunch of complicated gadgets, but is less expensive than owning a boat!

Thanks for your note and the information. I too have recently developed tendinitis in my left arm, mainly the wrist area, and I can understand your need for an electric reel.

 

[bassfanatick]

Haha rich man's sport, love it!!!!

 

[evanluck]

That is me in the photo. I am still drone fishing regularly but haven't had much success recently. I use this Google Earth photo to establish range and heading targets for my drops. When fish are in these reefs, they bite quickly. The challenge is dragging the line back without getting snagged. The fish also take refuge in the reefs so as soon as they bite you have to keep tension in the line or they will anchor themselves in the rocks. Then you have a waiting game, waiting for them to run before reeling them in. But as the second picture shows, I have had some success using this method.

A word of caution: casting the line 300+ yards and reeling it in repeatedly gave me a nasty case of tendonitis. I have had it for months and it kept getting worse. So I recently purchased a Daiwa Tanacom electric reel. I am using a bunch of complicated gadgets, but is less expensive than owning a boat!

Welcome and nice to see you posting here! I've met you in person and chatted with you about your drone fishing a few times. Glad to see you have found a solution for the repetitive stress caused my such long retrieves! Happy New Year!