Aerial Assault: World’s First ‘Fish-Finding’ Drone

There’s an old joke: Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and he has to buy a boat, rod, reel, tackle… and now you can add a “Fish-Finding Drone.”

AguaDrone is the “world’s first waterproof drone with a sonar fish finder.” You connect the flying fish finder to your smartphone and it ostensibly flies around and finds the fish for you, up to 300 feet away.

It can also take your lure and drop it further than you can cast, land on water, and capture images with the available HD camera pod above (and below) the water’s surface.

Shoot, why even bother going to the lake? Just pilot it from your couch and avoid all that nasty sunshine and fresh air.

It was bound to happen, and it might even work, but this invention has me shaking my head. Fishing is a journey, one made more pleasant by the lack of buzzing, whirring contraptions that remove all the guesswork.

I’ve been on million dollar marlin boats and winced at the excess. I even have a hard time understanding those who spend tens of thousands on boats to catch fish like bass that are easy enough to catch from a canoe.

But this one, well, at what point does technology take the fun or challenge completely out of fishing?

Call me old fashioned, but I tend to eschew motors for paddles and sails whenever possible and love the art of tricking a fish with a few feathers and hairs tied to a hook.

It’s sport fishing, with an emphasis on “sport.” And once you start adding flying contraptions to your fish finding repertoire most of the sport is gone.

If you must have the latest gadget, well, this is your baby, and it’s available on Kickstarter for around $1,000.

If, however, you enjoy fishing for the sound of water lapping against an aluminum canoe, the sight of swallows flitting against a night sunset, and the unexpected strike of a giant pike darting out from a weed bed, you should probably pass on the drone.

I know I will.