Ready to take your fishing game to a new height by embracing drone fishing? Find the best fishing drone right here!
As an angler, a reliable drone can be your best companion out on the water giving you an edge. You can send the drone to scout potential fishing sites. Use it to find out where the fish are and best spots to drop your bait. Enjoy a birds-eye perspective of the underwater world. Study your target species in their natural habitat. Cast farther and in otherwise inaccessible places.
You’ll become more efficient at casting and catching fish and you’ll be having a lot of fun while at it combining the thrill of flying with that of fishing. If you love both flying drones and angling, it can’t get better than this. All this is possible with the best fishing drones. They have a long battery life, quality inbuilt cameras, good distance range and sufficient payload limit.
If you’re looking to embrace drone fishing or at least try it out, the first step is to acquire a quality drone for fishing. To help you out, we’ve reviewed the best drones for fishing on the market right now. Check them out below.
QUICK ANSWER: THE BEST FISHING DRONE
DJI Phantom 4 PRO Professional Fishing Drone
- What Makes This Fishing Drone Stand Out
- High quality camera and sensors
- Sleek and stylish look
- Titanium alloy and magnesium alloy construction is rigid yet lightweight.
- Easy to fly and control
- Smart specs and features
- Return to home key
- Impressive distance range
- Withstands a wide range of temperatures
- Control with a remote controller as well as mobile device
It features a powerful camera equipped with a 1-inch 20MP CMOS sensor. It can shoot 4K/60Fps. DJI’s stabilization system ensures smooth image and video quality. Exploring fish in their natural habitat will be a pleasure with this drone.
Its distance range of just over 3.5 miles is superior and plenty for drone fishing. Its hovering is stable and doesn’t require any effort from the pilot.
It has a long battery life which can do for as long as 5 hours, with a maximum flight time of 30 minutes on a full charge. This should give you about 25-27 minutes on air, which should be sufficient to cast your bait and hit the return to home feature.
With a 500g payload, it’s capable of flying with your lines and baits attached. You can use it drop bait in inaccessible places where the fish you’re after hang out in plenty. However, you won’t be able to lift big fish out of the water with it.
With the bright, 5.5in 1080p screen, viewing footage in direct sunlight is not a headache.
It’s easy to operate with intuitive features and you can focus on what the camera is capturing.
This drone also has self-protective features. It can sense obstacles from five directions and avoid them. You don’t have to worry about collisions.
DJI Phantom Quadcopter 4K UHD Video Camera Fishing Drone
- What Makes This Fishing Drone Stand Out
- High quality camera takes amazing footage and images
- Very user-friendly with intuitive flight controls
- Solid build quality and can survive the occasional bump or fall
- Sleek look and feel
- Good distance range
- Beginner friendly
- Live HD streaming
Its standout feature is its stabilized camera. It can capture high quality 12-megapixel photos and 4k UHD video at up to 30 frames per second. You’ll love this feature whether you’re studying the fish species you target, studying topography or watching how the fish interact with your bait. You can view live HD video of what your drone’s camera is seeing on your mobile device.
It offers 23 minutes of flight time, which should be sufficient for scouting missions or dropping bait. You can also opt to have a spare battery included with your purchase.
FCC: 5 km (outdoors and unobstructed) CE: 3.5 km is its maximum transmission distance, which is good.
It also features the standard DJI features: GPS navigation with auto takeoffs and auto landings, intelligent flight battery, and a built-in no-fly zones database. The control and stability are also great.
DJI Phantom 3 Standard Quadcopter Fishing Drone
- What Makes This Fishing Drone Stand Out
- Amazing drone for the price and excellent value
- Easy to fly and control
- Excellent camera quality takes great photos and video
- Good control using the remote controller and mobile app
- The live feed is great
- Automatic takeoff and landing
- Automatic takeoff and landing One key return to home function
- Intelligent flight modes
- Low battery alert
The stabilized camera is capable of capturing 2.7K video and 12MP stills. Though not at the same level as the Phantom 3 Professional above, it takes amazing photos and videos. You can stream live HD view on your mobile device.
GPS assisted flight lets you concentrate on capturing images while the drone helps you fly safely.
The battery gives you up to 25 minutes of flight time, which is ample time for the fish to take a bite given that it shows you the best place to drop the bite so you can cast precisely. Its load capacity is about 1.2kg/2.6 pounds.
The maximum unobstructed range is 1000m. This range of about half a mile should be sufficient for most fishing missions.
Features intelligent flight modes. Waypoints make it possible for the drone can fly itself Follow me and point of interest hands-free controls enable shooting of high quality images and video.
It is lightweight and well-built, which is a great feature if the wind sends it into a tree because of its light weight, it holds up well to bumps.
Yuneec Typhoon H Pro with RealSense Technology Fishing Drone
- What Makes This Fishing Drone Stand Out
- Good payload limit
- Superior GPS tracking
- Obstacle sensing and avoidance
- Easy to set up and fly and steady in the air
- Captures professional videos and pictures
- Professional grade with an accessible price
- Ability to dodge collisions
- Retractable landing gear and arms
- Great customer support
- Excellent build using carbon fiber to decrease weight and increase durability.
The 3-axis anti-vibration CGO3+ gimbal camera with 360 degree range, 98 degree field of view, wide-angle lens and manual camera settings captures 4K Ultra HD video and 12 megapixels stills while in flight. It’s excellent at scouting the surrounding scenery, can scout a large amount of the water making it easy to spot where the fish are.
The controller has a large 7-inch Android display for stunning real-time video viewing.
This is a strong hexacopter. You can attach your fishing lines and bait release mechanism with peace of mind that the drone will handle it.
A 20 – 25 minute flight time is good for drone fishing as it gives you plenty of opportunity to drop bait. Its range of 1.6km is also ample room for casting your line.
It is equipped with Intel RealSense Technology to detect obstacles, avoid them and remember to avoid them.
Its tracking feature uses GPS – not just vision. It’s able to locate subjects, even when there might be obstructions, such as trees.
The landing gear retracts during a flight to ensure unobstructed views.
Flying this hexacopter is easy and safe as it features 8 flight modes with GPS stabilized flight control: point of interest, orbit, curved cable, journey, auto take-off and auto landing and return to home. It also has 6 rotor safety with 5 rotor fail-safe. You can let this hexacopter fly itself as you concentrate on what the camera is seeing.
It has fold up arms and snap on propellers that disconnect easily for easy and compact transportation. Retractable landing gear and arms minimize damage in the case of a crash or a collision.
3DR Solo Quadcopter (No Gimbal) Fishing Drone
- What Makes This Fishing Drone Stand Out
- Affordable price
- Easy to fly and control
- Control using intuitive video game-style controller or mobile app
- Well built
- Great features and capabilities for the price.
- Auto takeoff and landing
- One return to home key
Features and Specs
The battery powers flight for up to about 20 minutes. With a transmission range of up to 0.5miles/800 meters with transmission, it makes for a great scouting tool and is also capable of casting your line a good distance into the water. It has a maximum payload of about 0.4kg.
It works with GoPro Hero 3+ and Hero 4 for capturing shots and footage and is also compatible with 3-axis Gimbal for smooth footage. You have to purchase the GoPro camera and Gimbal stabilizer separately. You can stream live video to your mobile device.
This is a smart computer controlled drone with a host of intelligent flight modes including Auto Takeoff, Auto Land, One-Key Photos and Recordings, One-Key Flight Pause, Smart Shots, Orbit, Cable Cam, Follow Me, Selfie, and more.
With autonomous flight modes, you can set up the drone to fly itself around your fishing route.
Autel Robotics X-Star Premium Fishing Drone
- What Makes This Fishing Drone Stand Out
- Excellent price
- Easy to fly and control with one-touch buttons and an LCD display on the remote controller.
- High visibility orange coloring makes it easy to track midair
- Backed by excellent customer service
- Solid and well built
- Auto takeoff and landing
- Low battery auto return home
- Automatic return home and 3 Autonomous flight modes
- Top of the range drone camera with 3-axis gimbal
With the 108’s degree field of view 4K camera and 3-axis gimbal stabilization, this drone captures superb quality images and footage. It’s capable of recording video at 4K30, 2.7K60, 1080p120, 720p240 and 12-MP stills. It offers HD live view transmission for up to 1.2 miles away. You can remove the camera and gimbal easily when you want to upgrade. Capturing and exploring the underwater fish world is a joy with this quadcopter.
The 14.8V LiPo battery provides up to 25 minutes of flight time. Its maximum distance coverage is 1.2 miles/2km. This is enough distance and time to scout your fishing surroundings, locate where the fish are hanging out and drop your bait.
It’s pretty much capable of flying itself when you want it to allowing you to focus on capturing images and video. This is made possible by the autopilot features such as follow me, orbit, waypoints, automatic take-off and landing and return to home.
Control is easy with the intuitive remote control that features one-touch controls and an LCD screen that displays critical flight telemetry data such as altitude, range, and battery level.
With the Starpoint Positioning System, dual GPS and GLONASS navigation, the drone stays safe and stable even where there’s poor GPS signal, magnetic interference or when flying at low attitudes
To top it all, Autel Robotics offers 7-day per week customer support. If something is wrong, it won’t be difficult to get the customer support you deserve.
DJI Phantom 4 PRO Quadcopter Bundle Kit Fishing Drone
- What Makes This Fishing Drone Stand Out
- Includes must-have as well as nice to have accessories
- Powerful camera and sensors
- Advanced obstacle sensing and avoidance
- Strong yet lightweight build
- Easy to use with intuitive features
- Return to home key
- Amazing distance range
It features a 20 Megapixels Camera with a mechanical shutter for stabilizing images. It is capable of recording 4K 60FPS footage. Image and video quality is incredible! The 5.5in 1080p screen makes viewing footage in direct sunlight easy.
With a superior distance range of just over 3.5 miles and a 500g payload, it’s capable of flying with your drone fishing line release mechanism attached. You can use it to drop bait in hard to reach yet optimal fishing spots.
The battery can go for as long as 5 hours. The maximum flight time is 30 minutes on a full charge. This gives you about 25-27 minutes on air, to scout fishing spots or cast your bait and hit the return to home key. It also comes with two extra batteries for extended flight time when out on the water fishing.
Bundle Kit Accessories
Apart from the drone and its standard accessories, the bundle kit also includes two extra high capacity batteries, a 3 battery charger that manages up to 3 batteries charging in sequence, 1x carrying backpack, two SD cards, a Surmik drone care kit, a remote controller neck strap, an extra mobile device extension holder for large tablets and USB cable for iOS devices.
These extra accessories give you more convenience and functionality when flying your drone and fishing with it.
UPair Quadcopter Fishing Drone
- What Makes This Fishing Drone Stand Out
- Affordable price and best value for money
- Stable and easy to fly
- High quality 4k camera
- Auto takeoff and landing
- GPS one key return to home button, altitude hold, and headless mode
- Backed by exceptional customer service
The HD 4K camera onboard with a 2.7K gimbal captures high-quality video and aerial photos.
You get to enjoy real-time viewing of the footage from the 7-inch screen on the remote controller and find the best spot to fish.
Battery offers a maximum of 18 minutes of flight time. The maximum flying distance is 800m while the maximum video transmission distance is 500m. It’s great for exploring and fishing nearby. Its weight is 2.82lbs/ 1.28kg.
Once you learn how to use it properly, it’s stable and easy to operate. It’s flying control and response is excellent.
UPair Quadcopter , 2.7K HD Camera Fishing Drone
- What Makes This Fishing Drone Stand Out
- Super easy to fly
- Customer service is good
- The range is good
- Attractive, sleek look
- Great GPS positioning
- Battery low fail safe
- Well built and durable
- Accessible pricing
The Sony 2.7K HD camera works great at capturing clear pictures and high quality videos. You’ll love the 7-inch screen display of the live footage.
It’s flight time is a bit limited with 12-15 minutes runtime and a maximum 18 minutes flight time. You can stay in the air longer by having a spare battery.
The maximum communication distance range is 1000m and full load is 1350g. You can fly the drone to locate the best fishing area or study the surroundings. You can also attach some line and bait for the drone to drop in a hard to access location.
One return home key, headless mode, and altitude hold make operating this drone easy.
DJI Inspire 2 Quadcopter Starters Bundle Fishing Drone
- What Makes This Fishing Drone Stand Out
- Dual battery design maximizes flight time
- Heavy payload limit
- Amazing distance range
- Excellent camera quality with 5.2K Gimbal
- GPS, remote control and control via mobile devices
- Solid quality build from magnesium alloy and carbon fiber
- Flies very well even in the cold
- Advanced obstacle sensing
- Auto return to home and follow me features
- An advanced drone with a lot of extras included
The stabilized 4k camera works with 5.2K Gimbal. It captures cinema-type footage in H.264 and H.265 formats and takes professional quality photos. It features CineCore 2.0 Image Processing and supports CinemaDNG and ProRes Recording. Scouting missions will be a pleasure and you can view the underwater fish habitats in great detail.
Featuring two batteries onboard, this drone is capable of up to 27 minutes of flight time and a distance range is about 6km on a full charge. This is quite impressive given its solid build and other capabilities. It’s ample time to explore a fishing site and drop bait in spots otherwise inaccessible without a kayak or boat.
Another great feature that make this the best drone for fishing is it’s higher than average maximum payload. It will comfortably carry the mechanism for dropping your fishing line and casting bait. Refrain from testing its limits by using it to haul fish you’ve caught if you want to protect your valuable investment though.
How To Choose The Best Fishing Drone – Buying Guide
A fishing drone is a valuable investment and it’s essential to do your research so you can select one that will suit your fishing needs and give you the best value for your money. Here are the most important things to pay attention to when buying a drone for fishing:
Battery Life
One of the challenges faced when using a drone for fishing is the short battery life drones usually have.
Fishing requires patience and a drone with a long battery life is a must. Running out of power over the water could lead to you losing your precious investment. The ideal fishing drone would have a long battery life allowing anglers to spend as time on the water as they want. Unfortunately, this is not the reality right now.
The top drones currently available offer a maximum of 30 minutes of flight time. As an angler, this will be even shorter given that you’ll be attaching some lines and bait and the flying conditions won’t be perfect.
On the bright side, the drone will show you the best place to cast your line for optimal success. The 20 – 25 minutes flight duration should be enough to fly it out to the location where you want to cast your line, drop your bait successfully and instruct your drone to return where you are.
As a passionate angler, you probably find yourself out on the water for hours at a time. You will want to buy extra batteries and have a portable battery charge on the field to have more flying time.
The future will probably bring longer-lasting drone batteries.
Camera
The drone’s onboard camera is the reason why you can use it for fishing. Without it, the drone would be useless when it comes to fishing.
You will definitely want a drone with the ability to capture clear and stable footage of the underwater world and show you where the fish are.
Choose a fishing drone equipped with a high resolution camera mounted on a stabilizing system to ensure it captures high quality stills and footage. Some drones allow you to attach your camera of choice.
Distance
The third most important factor when selecting a drone for fishing is range. You’ll mainly use your drone to scout and cast in areas you can’t access easily. You want your drone to be able to cover long distances without losing the transmission signal. A stable hovering function that will keep it steady in mid-air is also important.
If fishing in rivers or smaller bodies of water, the range may not matter much. For offshore fishing in the ocean, you will want one with a longer range, especially if you’ll be controlling it from the shore.
If you currently have a drone with a short range, you can purchase a signal booster to extend its range.
It’s also important to remember that the law requires you to keep your drone within your line of sight as you fly it.
Payload
Unless you’re going to use your drone only for scouting and photography, you will want it to have the capability to fly with some weight attached. A drone’s payload is what determines how much load it can carry and still fly safely.
Choose a fishing drone capable of carrying your line, hooks and baits and the release mechanism. Keep in mind that a heavy payload will deplete the battery quicker and also affect how the drone flies. It’s important to attach only what is necessary.
FAQs
Q: What Is Drone Fishing?
A: Drone fishing is the application of drone technology in fishing. Drones are being used both in recreational fishing and the commercial fishing world.
Anglers are using consumer drones to scout fishing environments and look for ideal fishing spots. Others attach fishing line and bait release rigs and use drones to cast line and drop bait in hard to access areas.
Some are using them to study the fish in their natural environment and capture aerial footage of the underwater world. And there are those who use drones to film their catches.
Q: How Does Drone Fishing Work?
A: With its ability to fly and cover larger territories quickly and featuring an integrated camera and transmission system, a drone is able to capture footage of the underwater world and the fish in water while transmitting this to the angler who can view the live feed on a screen attached to the remote controller or via their smartphone or tablet.
The angler is able to explore the water via the drone’s camera and locate the best places to fish. The fisherman can them go to the location using a boat or kayak and cast the line where the fish are.
If the fish are in a hard to access location or if the angler chooses to do so, the drone can also drop the bait at a certain area.
This requires the use of a release mechanism. The fisherman attaches a down-rigger clip that holds the fishing line, hooks, and baits to the drone. Once the drone is at the optimal location for casting, the angler locks the reel and the release mechanism drops the bait into the water.
Once a fish is hooked, the tension in the line releases the line from the clip. The angler can then instruct the drone to return to the starting point.
Some adventurous saltwater anglers are even using drones to drop bait lines as far out as 400 yards from shore to reel in the real big offshore game fish like bluefin tuna.
Q: What Makes A Drone Good For Fishing?
A: A drone that’s good for fishing should be easy to control, have a long battery life and flight time, have a high quality camera onboard, have a decent distance range without losing signal, have a stable hovering function and be able to fly easily and safely with some weight attached to it.
It’s also important that it’s built tough so it doesn’t come apart just if it lands forcefully or collides with a tree.
Q: How To Use A Drone For Fishing?
A: To use a drone for a scouting mission, you only have to send it flying with the camera attached. You will then be able to view the footage of the fish and determine the best places to cast.
If you want to go a step farther and use your drone for bait deployment, you’ll have to do some farther set-up before you send it flying.
You will need an accessory called a down-rigger release clip, which is a drone fishing line release mechanism designed for holding fishing line and casting bait.
Attach this clip in the middle of the drone to avoid balance problems. You can attach it on the legs, landing gear or motor struts. Attach your fishing line to the clip and then your bait to the fishing line.
Your drone is now ready to fly and go cast your line where you want it to. Unlock your reel before it starts flying to ensure the drone won’t be hampered by any resistance from the line.
When you find the perfect spot full of fish, lock your reel to activate the release mechanism that will drop your bait into the water.
When a fish is hooked, tension will build up and it will release the fishing line straight down the water. Your drone has done its part and you can hit the return to home button. You can reel in your fish using your rod.
Using the drone to lift the fish from the water and bring it to you is a risky way to use your fishing drone. Unless the fish you caught is small, you risk the drone being dragged into the water by a heavy fish or having its battery power run out in mid-air.
Before You Use a Drone for Fishing
Make sure it’s legal to fly a drone and use it for fishing in your area and that you’ve fulfilled all the requirements. Always check the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements and the state, local and federal laws before you go drone fishing. Unfortunately for those in Oregon, the state of Oregon has banned the use of drones to aid any hunting or fishing.
Make sure you’re comfortable flying and controlling the drone in normal circumstances before using it to fish. Refer to the instructional video and the user manual it came with. Practice flying your drone with the drone fishing rig attached to see how this affects flight.
Precautions When Using a Drone for Fishing
Make sure your drone is fully-charged and that all components are in good condition. You don’t want it to malfunction in mid-air, fall into the water and be severely damaged or lost forever.
Ensure the weather is great and avoid flying in windy conditions as this will compromise battery life, steady hovering function and your ability to control it. One strong gust could mean the end of your drone and it could also be risky to those around.
Disable return-to-home features before each flight. Unless you will be staying in the same spot throughout the duration.
Keep your high tech bird away from living birds. Birds can be aggressive toward drones and attack it. You don’t want to lose your precious investment that way.
Don’t fly your drone too close to other anglers. You wouldn’t like it if someone hovered theirs above you. You’re maneuvering a device with four propellers that could cause serious injury. Be aware of your environment and be respectful to others.
Keep the drone 10m above the water level as the vibrations from the drones’ propellers can startle the fish. The drone’s shadow has also been found to spook fish.
Keep an eye out on the battery level and range. Avoid attaching heavy loads to your fishing drone as it will drain the battery quicker and affect how the drone flies.
Q: What Are The Benefits Of Drone Fishing?
A: The benefits of drone fishing are that you’ll become a more efficient angler, catch more fish and have more fun.
Drones make it possible to cast in places that would otherwise be inaccessible without a boat or kayak. They are able to access hard to reach areas and enable you to cast farther getting your fishing line to waters that are way beyond reach.
Drone fishing makes it possible to catch more fish by transmitting aerial footage that shows where the fish are so you can drop the bait precisely and catch fish successfully.
Fishing with drones combines the thrill of flying with the joy of fishing so anglers have more fun on the water while exploring their fishing environments and improving their catch.
By using drones to study your target species in their natural habitat and observe how they interact with your bait, you can use the insights gained to improve your fishing technique.
Globo Surf Overview
Drones are becoming more and more popular in all kinds of industries from real estate, weddings, agriculture to pizza delivery and fishing has not been left behind. A lot of fishermen are embracing the use of drones to extend their cast, become more efficient and increase their catch.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced angler, fishing drones can make your fishing experience even better. They can help you be more successful on the water if you learn how to use them.
The first step to embracing fishing with drones is to get a capable fishing drone. All of the above best fishing drones are excellent drones you can take fishing with you. They have the features and functionality that’s important in a fishing drone. Do your research to figure out which is the best for you depending on whether you just want to try this new technique out or are ready to dive into drone fishing fully.
After acquiring a quality drone, you’re officially one step closer to fishing with drones. All that is remaining is learning to fly and control it and taking it out there on the water. Happy flying and fishing!
More Fishing Reviews:
- Crappie Bait
- Fishing Sunglasses
- Tackle Box
- Spincast Reel
- Fishing Shoes
- Fly Fishing Reels
- Fish Fillet Knife
- Fishing Line
- Ultralight Spinning Reel
- Spinning Rod
Sources
- Drone Anglers Community, droneangler.com
- Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Aviation Administration
Have you embraced drone fishing? What drone do you use and what has your experience fishing with drones been like? We’d love to hear all about it. Share in the comment box below.
Globo Surf Fishing Drone Review
