Deploying bait with the Solo

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I've seen videos of people deploying bait while fishing from the surf. I have a shark fishing trip coming up and it'd be much nicer not having to kayak the bait out.
Has anyone tried this with their Solo? Thoughts? Advice? Am I crazy? lol
Thanks
 
First thought is you'd need to figure out a bait release mechanism. I would be worried about the wind blowing slack line around so would think something to secure the bait beneath the solo and then something to secure the line/leader a little further back and down.

Second thought would be payload consideration. What kind of baits are you running? I can see cut bait or something. Most of our land based shark fishing is done with larger baits like sting rays (shark candy) or big chunks of big jack crevall or whole small ones. I dont know that I see Solo pulling that off.
 
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We are actually fishing for whatever bites but catching a shark would be fun. Yes, catch and release unless it dies fighting and then I'd consider donating the meat and making a pair of boots.

I was thinking of designing some type of rod to tie into the legs. Reverse the drone, lock the reel and back the bait off.

1lb leader with a chunk of sting ray, whatever that weighs?
 
Specs put max payload at just under a pound, 420 grams. I'm sure a bit of safety margin built into that but who knows for sure. I would surely want to test before sending out over the ocean. :)

Release could be as simple as a downrigger clip, if the solo would stay stable under the required tension to release the clip.

For larger/heavier baits, you might be able to use a slide line approach. Use solo to deploy your anchor line and then use solo to deploy bait on the second rod. Or, use a non return clip and use same procedure - drop weight and then fly bait down the anchor line.
 
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lol, I have decided to scrap this plan. However, Solo will make the trip and I hope to have some epic fishing footage to share. Thanks, y'all!
 
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Darn. I was hoping to see it. Haha. Where are you guys fishing at? Make sure Solo is put up good out of sea breeze when not in use. That salt will even rust plastic :) I would check out a polarizer for the GoPro. Makes a huge difference on water shots when applied correctly.

If you hook up, you could probably get some cool footage of a shark coming over a sandbar or something.
 
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We are fishing Mustang Island on the Texas coast. Got the polarizer covered! I plan to keep Solo in the backpack, in the truck when not in use. It toxic stuff!
 
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They've been doing some good shark catching down that way over the past few weeks, at least just further south around Bob Ball and down onto National Seashore.

Good luck, tight lines!
 
I've heard shark tastes like chicken- is that true?
They say that about rattlesnake but there's no way I would eat one.o_O
 
I think they say that about any mild flavored dense meat. Texture wise it's pretty dense - think swordfish like. Flavor wise very mild, so it takes flavor from seasoning well. I think it's pretty good either on the grill or broiled, careful not to over cook and just a little lemon pepper, or salt and pepper. Most people and places overcook fish.

Has to be cared for properly if taken for food. Some are a little sweeter than others, like mako.

Rattlesnake is about the same, a firm, dense, mild meat. Kinda like alligator lol.

And now that we've officially derailed the subject. I think a bait release system would be pretty cool :)
 
i was considering flying baits with my solo , my thoughts on this would be wrap the line around the gopro lens once or twice then when you get to the launch spot angle the camera down toward the water and it would unwrap and fall into the water
 
One could be built using the expansion bay, an arduino, and a linear actuating servo (rod pushes/pulls instead of going in a circle). You'd use one of the PWM channels available (7/8) in Solo and trigger it from the controller using one of the buttons (like pause). The bait line would just need a tied loop in it or something for the actuator arm to go through. When it's triggered, the actuator will slide out of the loop on the bait line releasing it.

I'm sure there are other ways, but they'd all involve using a secondary PWM capable device like an arduino and some sort of servo or claw mechanism to release the bait.

I wouldn't have the gimbal installed for this though or you could end up wrapping the line around it.
 
I saw a video somewhere in YouTube "Tuna and drone". It works beauiful! I will try to find it again and I'll link it here soon. Maybe tonight... I try my best
 
I found it and here's link to it.
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Please let me know if you success! Please
 
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I found it and here's link to it.
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Please let me know if you success! Please
Very cool- good find Rex! I couldn't see how he connected the line to the drone but it worked great.
 
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Very cool- good find Rex! I couldn't see how he connected the line to the drone but it worked great.

I couldn't tell for sure either but the line was attached for a while, even after in the water! I'm guessing it was beneath the drone a good 20 feet or so with a downrigger clip and when the fish hit it released the line from the clip and the fight was on. Basically free lining a squid so not much weight.
 
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Well I wasn't brave enough to try and deploy bait with my Solo but I did bring it with me. Had fun flying it on the beach and captured some cool shots. I'm by no means a cinematographer but here's a little video I put together.

Shark fishing was a sucess. Caught a nice 5' Blacktip. Thanks for all the feedback, gents!

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