# Cobia drones?



## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

Why not, I bet you would have an easier time spotting them.


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

And after you spot them with a drone, might as well use a hand grenade to harvest them. Take all the sport out of fishing. :thumbsup:


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

Its just eyes, this does not guarantee you will catch one. The same could be said about boats with and without towers (lol). I think this would be good for lifeguard stations as well.


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## atlantacapt (Oct 2, 2007)

The typical drone can fly for all of about 12-13 minutes on a battery...its pretty comical if people think this is really an issue at all. Go fer it. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled, staring into the water while you stare at a 4 inch monitor. I'll make large cash bets on who will win that battle...


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## BananaTom (Feb 16, 2008)

I know one that uses a drone fitted with an infrared camera. 
This would be good to use for Cobia hunting.
Then a second drone to drop the hook in front of it.

Think about it.
Sit there anchored up, send the drone up, quick infrared scan, locate the target, drop a hook in its mouth.

Sure save allot of fuel.

Heck, I bet a Surf Fisher could use this method.
Who needs a boat to catch a Migrating Cobia


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

Hell even if it was 10 minutes you can cover a a ton of area in that time.


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## FleaBag (Oct 19, 2016)

yea right. you can dream up all kinds of ideas to get the advantage (drone, airplane, chopper, parasail, somebody looking out the window of high rise condo) but in reality they seem to always pop up right in front of the boat.


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

I was thinking what is a lifeguard was able to drop a inflatable float to a swimmer in distress in a matter of seconds vs swimming out to them.


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## FleaBag (Oct 19, 2016)

try that drone on the pier and see if they honor the old "first shot" excluding Navarre of course, they'll throw pyramid sinkers at it as they should.


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## MaxxT (May 9, 2015)

Drones will work well for sight fishing, I just want to be the guy picking up all the dead drones in the water after they lose them. They can easily be rigged to drop a hook too.


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## J0nesitheSecond (Jun 27, 2016)

im with you on the drone use! thought about that the first time I saw one.


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

Pier-Dude said:


> I was thinking what is a lifeguard was able to drop a inflatable float to a swimmer in distress in a matter of seconds vs swimming out to them.


http://youtu.be/ywT9tgCGqd8


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## jiggly (Apr 12, 2015)

Thought about this last week, a good DJI drone will run $1300-1500 or so with extra batteries. With each charge lasting 30 mins, I'd get one if I had other uses for it besides cobia spotting...


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

DLo said:


> http://youtu.be/ywT9tgCGqd8



Wow that is awesome. :thumbup:


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## speckledcroaker (Mar 23, 2012)

Wirelessly posted

I use cold beer to catch cobes


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

What happens flying them when the wind hits double digits like it is right now?


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

kanaka said:


> What happens flying them when the wind hits double digits like it is right now?



I guess you wouldn't fly it.


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## BananaTom (Feb 16, 2008)

kanaka said:


> What happens flying them when the wind hits double digits like it is right now?


They handle it quite nicely from the demonstrations I have seen in high winds


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## bbarton13 (May 4, 2009)

atlantacapt said:


> The typical drone can fly for all of about 12-13 minutes on a battery...its pretty comical if people think this is really an issue at all. Go fer it. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled, staring into the water while you stare at a 4 inch monitor. I'll make large cash bets on who will win that battle...


the newer ones are getting 20 to 25 mins flight time.


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## FishinSpot (Oct 16, 2007)

I have 2 phantom drones and they are amazing. I fly them all the time. Taken it from the north east side of the bay and fly it from there to Destin several times. Great videos of the beaches also. Flies very good in winds. I've flown about in about 14mph and it's very stable. I also fly it around my property to check my perimeter and also checkout my food plots, ponds, and the river. I have it set up to fly to certain waypoints and altitudes and it flies on its own course so I can run the camera and get good shots along the way. I also have used it when I was planning to put up a couple new shooting houses. I pick a spot I think is good and fly it up to that spot and check different heights and take video of what I can see to find the best spot to build the house. Also helped some folks find a lost dog around the neighborhood. Takes great videos of fireworks shows also. Pretty cool machines. Has great telemetry that does amazingly well and very similar to a lot of military telemetry systems I've used in the past.


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## Dynamic (Oct 3, 2007)

I'm glad I don't need a drone to catch a cobia.


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## VandalRefugee (Jul 16, 2016)

BananaTom said:


> I know one that uses a drone fitted with an infrared camera.
> This would be good to use for Cobia hunting.
> Then a second drone to drop the hook in front of it.
> 
> ...


Using an infrared camera to spot a cold blooded fish in cold water? I can't imagine that would work.


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## markw4321 (Oct 4, 2007)

I want to be the first one in my neighborhood to down a drone.


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## bbarton13 (May 4, 2009)

Dynamic said:


> I'm glad I don't need a drone to catch a cobia.


Me being in a kayak its hard to spot them! Need that height advantage like them big fancy tower boats. I can bring it on your boat one day ?


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## SHO-NUFF (May 30, 2011)

Stay away from the pier rats! 
Click link below, funny chit!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nVRoXbbSGc


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## markw4321 (Oct 4, 2007)




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## Inn Deep (Oct 3, 2007)

Do they make them heavy enough to drop a bonita or a ray for shark fishing?


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## Jgatorman (Jun 8, 2013)

yes, it all depends on how much money you are willing to spend,


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## Jgatorman (Jun 8, 2013)

FishinSpot said:


> I have 2 phantom drones and they are amazing. I fly them all the time. Taken it from the north east side of the bay and fly it from there to Destin several times. Great videos of the beaches also. Flies very good in winds. I've flown about in about 14mph and it's very stable. I also fly it around my property to check my perimeter and also checkout my food plots, ponds, and the river. I have it set up to fly to certain waypoints and altitudes and it flies on its own course so I can run the camera and get good shots along the way. I also have used it when I was planning to put up a couple new shooting houses. I pick a spot I think is good and fly it up to that spot and check different heights and take video of what I can see to find the best spot to build the house. Also helped some folks find a lost dog around the neighborhood. Takes great videos of fireworks shows also. Pretty cool machines. Has great telemetry that does amazingly well and very similar to a lot of military telemetry systems I've used in the past.


Yes drones have many uses. They are also expensive and do not prefer moisture especially salt water, unless you have one that is waterproof/resistant. I mentioned a long time ago about the advantages for sight fishing and I believe this would be a great advantage for tournament cobia fishing. The issue with this is when flying any mechanical object remotely is stuff happens, including mechanical failure or electronic failure. The problem with this is unless you have a waterproof drone with flotation you have the potential to lose this piece of equipment permanently. I have flown RC for many years and trust me watching $3000.00 worth of helicopter with 5 ft diameter blades spinning at 2300 rpms contacting terra firma at any speed at the wrong attitude is bad and expensive. If you are comfortable with the risk of flying a drone near or over Saltwater the potential rewards are great.


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## FishinSpot (Oct 16, 2007)

I agree gatorman. Risky to fly over water but I started doing it after getting very familiar with the operation of my drones. I do thorough preflight and post flight to try to keep them in tip top shape. I monitor battery voltages pretty close also to make sure I see any indication of a potential issue. It's amazing how smart these things are. At any second in the flight I know exactly how much time I have left to fly. it monitors how far out I go and tells me when I need to return to make sure I get back. I love these things. But yes, it is very risky and I've been around RC's and seen them crash and it is a terrible feeling. It's always a risk whenever I take off. I definitely think it's much worse when an RC you spend a lot of hours on crashes. Very bad feeling. Either way a fairly large cash loss when an RC or drone goes down.


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

Funny...in the 80s all the recreational fishermen were raising hell about commercial fishermen using spotter planes to find fish...now, recreational fishermen are wanting to do the exact same thing. We recreational fishermen have decimated the schools of cobia once the kill tournaments started...yeah, I'm old. I started fishing for cobia in the 60s. Our "cobia" boat...an 18 foot trihull Cobia with a step ladder tied down. Fishermen at the pier would make fun of me throwing at cobia and get made when I would hook up because interferred with king fishing. In the 80s, seeing large schools was still common. 1 manta at PCB came in with probably 45 cobia on it...24 of us on the end, 18 hookups at once, 12 landed. Those days are gone. Put away your plans for your drones and leave a few fish unmolested...because eventually, someone will figure out a way to kill cobia with a drone a will kill large fish they don't have a chance at to keep anyone else from catching it.


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## johnsonbeachbum (Oct 1, 2007)

In a yak you would be better off with a commercial helium balloon with a camera on it.
With lots of $$ still in your wallet.


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## Jgatorman (Jun 8, 2013)

The wind would be a problem


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## Jgatorman (Jun 8, 2013)

Drones are a great idea for functionality. I do not intend to get into the morality on this subject of using drones for fishing. I also am fairly certain that us Kayak fisherman do not decimate any population including cobia. The only issue with the drone is if it malfunctions and goes swimming. One can do preventative maintenance, maintain and monitor batteries, use way-points, ect however none of this guarantees that once your drone goes up it is coming back. The way I see it it is risk vs reward and if someone is willing to risk their drone while knowing the potential consequences then they deserve the reward(refering in this case to kayak fisherman specifically)


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## Hook (Oct 2, 2007)

MANY, MANY years ago a certain General had Friday flights into the Gulf and if they saw water change it would not be a bad thing to report along with the rest of their mission.


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## CHUMM BUCKET (Jul 2, 2008)

It's fish finder from the air. What's the damn difference? It is far less of an advantage than modern fish finders or fish finders 20 years ago.


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## 60hertz (Oct 1, 2007)

BananaTom said:


> I know one that uses a drone fitted with an infrared camera.
> This would be good to use for Cobia hunting.
> Then a second drone to drop the hook in front of it.
> 
> ...


IR will not work. IR will only show the surface temperature of the water. Even if IR could see "through the water" fish are cold blooded - this means that they do not regulate their own body temperature; instead, they are the same temperature of the water they are swimming in.


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

Guess I just like to boat ride and not stare at a computer screen. Y'all do whatever floats your boat.


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

kingfish501 said:


> Funny...in the 80s all the recreational fishermen were raising hell about commercial fishermen using spotter planes to find fish...now, recreational fishermen are wanting to do the exact same thing. We recreational fishermen have decimated the schools of cobia once the kill tournaments started...yeah, I'm old. I started fishing for cobia in the 60s. Our "cobia" boat...an 18 foot trihull Cobia with a step ladder tied down. Fishermen at the pier would make fun of me throwing at cobia and get made when I would hook up because interferred with king fishing. In the 80s, seeing large schools was still common. 1 manta at PCB came in with probably 45 cobia on it...24 of us on the end, 18 hookups at once, 12 landed. Those days are gone. Put away your plans for your drones and leave a few fish unmolested...because eventually, someone will figure out a way to kill cobia with a drone a will kill large fish they don't have a chance at to keep anyone else from catching it.


Seriously? people will willfully murder large cobia, because they saw them from a drone camera and don't want others to catch them? Really? This is brilliant.


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

Hook said:


> MANY, MANY years ago a certain General had Friday flights into the Gulf and if they saw water change it would not be a bad thing to report along with the rest of their mission.


What......what?


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## Hook (Oct 2, 2007)

Most just go to their baited seasonal fads for larger ones


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## marlinchaser (Oct 11, 2007)

Hook said:


> MANY, MANY years ago a certain General had Friday flights into the Gulf and if they saw water change it would not be a bad thing to report along with the rest of their mission.


Wonder if we know the same general!! When I was at the Hurlbert Command post in the late 60's we installed a CB radio and big ass antenna so we could relay O-1 pilot reports of any fish they saw while going to or from the ranges!! Great fun seeing how fishing was my second "F" after flying. Not going to talk about the 3rd "F".


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

DLo...back when the tournaments were firing up, a boat out of Destin saw a huge fish. They couldn't get it to eat, so they shot it to keep any other boat from catching it.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Hey Hook--*

Would that General be General Prichard?


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## piscator (Feb 11, 2009)

kingfish501 said:


> DLo...back when the tournaments were firing up, a boat out of Destin saw a huge fish. They couldn't get it to eat, so they shot it to keep any other boat from catching it.


That's disgusting.


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## FleaBag (Oct 19, 2016)

oh your gonna go there, somebody please join in and discuss the Pensacola boat that got busted cheating the scale in destin and another(maybe same boat) something about a crossbow? maybe just rumors.


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

FleaBag said:


> oh your gonna go there, somebody please join in and discuss the Pensacola boat that got busted cheating the scale in destin and another(maybe same boat) something about a crossbow? maybe just rumors.


 I used the example out of Destin because I knew about that one. Not saying Pensacola or Panama City or any other place doesn't do dirty tricks, when money is offered in return for killing fish.


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## marlinchaser (Oct 11, 2007)

captken said:


> Would that General be General Prichard?


Bingo!!!


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## Hook (Oct 2, 2007)

marlinchaser said:


> Bingo!!!


 We have a winner !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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