Volitan

Not really easy to identify. There are dozens of models all pretty similar, but big differences in power. You need to look for brushless motors, battery of 7.4v/2500mAH or thereabouts. With arms extended mine measures 250mm from motor to motor on the diagonal and propellers are 60mm per blade. As guidelines those would be the minimum. most that look similar don’t have brushless motors and don’t generate enough power.

I’ll attach a picture of the drone upside down so you can see the release mechanism. It’s just a piece of thin gal steel shaped as a forward-pointing hook, wired onto the bottom of the drone. It actually points downward slightly. It works because the line is always pulled to the rear of the hook, even on takeoff. As soon as the drone stops and the tension comes off the line it falls off. the red sheet on the ground is actually to keep the drone out of the sand if I do something dumb and it crashes on takeoff. I did use it previously for landing but now I usually just let it land on the hard sand. The sand can’t get into the motors from underneath. Not able to provide drone name at present. I can’t find the original order or invoice if I got one. There are no identifiers on the drone except the word ‘Witness’ and even the case and batteries have no identifiers so I guess they are just generic. Will look harder tonight. BTW, I went fishing off the beach last night but caught nothing except two shovelnose sharks. I’m starting to think there isn’t much out there except when pelagics come through.

Good idea. Do plenty of trial runs over dry land first. drone fishing is like BASE jumping - so many ways to die. I have a mini 3 pro that I thought I might use for the job but really it’s going to be underpowered. Lift capacity is over 200 grams for the mini 2 but you need a safety margin.

I haven’t seen a swellpro up close but they do look like old technology there is a fishing drone sold out of WA called the aeroo. Cost about $600 or $1200 for the pro version. They look like a chunky mavic. I have seen mixed reviews, but may investigate them a bit closer later.

No idea why the giant font

I’m thinking some of you may find my approach to drone fishing interesting. i started on drone fishing because we live beside the water but in front of us it’s shallow and the fishing is poor. About 70 meters out there is a dropoff to much deeper water where the fishing is better but I don’t like kayak fishing or turning every fishing trip into a distance casting marathon. Drones are the solution and I have a DJI drone with which I’m pretty confident - confident that is that I’d do something stupid and loose it straight away. So I looked around for a cheap drone that was capable of doing a bait drop in the 150-300 meter range, up to 100 grams payload, able to ‘park in the sky’ and sit unattended, and able to do an unattended ‘return to home’ and most importantly wouldn’t bother me if I lost it (plastic pollution issues aside). I also wanted one that could be piloted completely by visual line of sight, ie not requiring to be flown using an app, phone or screen, as I wanted to keep things simple and robust. i bought a reliable little drone that does these things for just under $100. 100 grams payload gives you a 40 gram sinker, a whole pilchard, hooks and a swivel or two. Usually though I don’t use any sinker unless current is a problem - sinkers become less important when you’re not casting. I usually fish alone but using this outfit solo is pretty easy. If I remember to attach the photo you will see that I have a little home-made takeoff platform which allows fairly carefully thought-out positioning of the rod, drone and rig. This means I get a smooth take off each time. There is a tiny home-made hook on the bottom of the drone over which I hook a swivel attached to the mainline. The line only stays attached if the drone is flying forward, as soon as the drone stops it falls off. This gives me 100% reliable bait drops. It’s only good for bait dropping though - no flying around looking for fish or big changes of course. After the drop the rig is fished just like a normal cast rig. It’s actually quite easy to feel what’s going on 200 mtrs out if you use good, thin braid. Does it catch more fish? Well, so far no, or maybe. I have used it a bit on the flat water estuaries near home without any great result but i haven’t really focused - waiting for the evenings to get warmer and the fishing better. I have used it twice off a local ocean beach - doing drops of pilchard baits 2-300 meters out - but only caught banjo sharks and scaley tailed puffers. Maybe that’s all there is out there in that zone at this time of year, I don’t really know. Next time I will attach a camera and see what’s there. I really enjoy this type of fishing. It’s the combination of tinkering with gadgets, learning new skills, refining the process and demystifying environments that have been previously just beyond my reach. I’m hoping I can refine it towards getting out among pelagics and kingfish this summer. I might buy a better bigger drone (mavic or phantom) if I do more trips to the ocean but at the moment this one is doing everything I ask.

Very enjoyable read. Thanks.

It seems this hot water eddy is having a devastating effect. I was on a Central Coast beach (don’t know it’s name) yesterday and there were heaps of dead shearwaters on the high tide mark. We did a rough estimate based on the distance we walked which came out at about 1000 dead birds for that beach alone. There was a scientist on tv saying this was due to the eddy starving the birds of food during a critical point in their migration, and then when hit with a bad storm they are not strong enough to survive. im not sure what effect it will have on fish, but as we know it’s all interlinked.

I wish I had some advice to give you but as I said earlier I don’t want to give advice unless I have some recent experience. I haven’t fished in the Rotorua area for years and I’m sure it’s all different now. good to see you getting the fish in Auckland anyway.

Not convinced. No problem with them being hauled upstream at all. Lures are about critical stimuli, not imitation, so the fish may have no problem with a baitfish or even an insect lure swimming upstream. Flies are a bit different because they are typically fished slower and are examined more closely so have more emphasis on imitation. Also a lure is unlikely to work unless it’s exhibiting something close to the action it was designed to have. In any case, you have to mix things up and see what works. Try different strategies. The only constants are to fish light, wear dull colours or camouflage if you can, minimise movement and be stealthy near the streambank, fish small lures, minimise splashing, don’t intimidate the fish with your lures, spell a pool for a while if you get a hit but no hookup. Don’t spend too long flogging one pool, trout are the type of fish where the likelihood of getting a strike decreases with each cast - not like a barramundi where you can goad them into striking by casting over and over. But in contrast don’t ‘waste’ the pools either by not prospecting them fully. the two soft plastics you have picked out look good choices.

Good selection. Those celtas - the ones in the middle row - they’re one of my favourites for streams. Trout love the buzz they set up, sort of reminiscent of a cicada and an aquatic insect and a little fish all at the same time. Also, they are a good lure for small streams where you can’t cast far because their action starts immediately you begin the retrieve - unlike most lures where it takes them a meter or two to get into their action. That allows you to catch fish close to the opposite bank. The only thing I would add is some white soft plastics for fishing muddy water. We forget that often a fish doesn’t take a lure simply because it doesn’t see it - it’s not like they have some magical method of seeing everything in the pool - if they can’t see it they won’t take it or worse you’ll get just a hit but no hookup where they haven’t seen it well and blunder the take. the hardbodies on the left are good too but remember not to drag them towards fish. Fish will be intimidated by another fishlike thing swimming towards them. I know there’s a big size difference but fish aren’t logical thinkers. It’s easy to spook trout with lures.

Further downstream and centered around Matamata, im familiar with the river near the Opal Hot Springs, and where State Highway 29 crosses the Waihou, and near Okororie Hot springs. All of these are good. Slower river, less clear (which can be an advantage because the fish don’t see you), lots of willows but lots of clear bank too. So if it’s easier for your family to spend time in Matamata then perhaps get them to drop you off by the Opal Hot Springs about 5km out of town. If you choose the opposite bank to Opal, and go downstream, you will find miles of fishable water with minimal willows. Seldom fished. Some nice big trout too. Going upstream is good too but there are long stretches of poor access due to steep banks. The farmhouses where you should ask permission are obvious. Keep moving when fishing a river - and when fishing a river wherein you cannot see the fish try to exploit the whole river, keeping your lure sometimes tight to the willows, sometimes down deep, and sometimes raking across the surface. also, check anything I have told you about open seasons and permitted methods. I don’t have time to check it myself. good luck

Yep. Walking and fishing along the Te Waihou walkway is great. It’s heavily fished and there will be other anglers there but don’t let that bother you. I’ve steered you towards the Te Wairoa track area because I’m assuming you won’t have a lot of time and will want to spend it all fishing not doing reconnaissance, so it’s important to go to a predictable spot even if it’s not the most productive. You could equally go downstream, or to anywhere else on the middle or upper Waihou or the waimakariri (a little further along state Highway 5) and you probably will be on your own and probably get better fishing. Actually I think the land around the walkway is private land, but DOCs or Fish and Game or whoever has negotiated access with the farmers so you are welcome as long as you behave yourself and shut any gates etc. You get that quite a bit in NZ, where anglers access has been negotiated and signposted etc. Elsewhere access is not a problem if you ask first - I don’t recall ever being denied fishing access in NZ. There’s also the ‘Queens chain’ law where the public has guaranteed access within 22 meters of any permanent waterway, which is an interesting right but most anglers think it’s important to ask regardless. I spent a long day of about 14 hours on the Te Waihou starting at that car park you have highlighted and never got as far as the Blue Pool so it’s a long way when you are investigating every pool or run. As I said, the river there is clear, the fish wary, the fishing pressure is quite high, so don’t expect lots of fish or big fish. Treat it as a lovely bush walk and an exercise in learning about trout and how they inhabit a river and exploit the resources in it. Learn how to sight fish by spotting fish in the water and presenting your lure without spooking them. Look at where they lie when they are feeding and where when they are resting. Learn their tolerance for close approach etc etc. It’s best if you have Polaroid glasses. Waders are good too, although not essential for lure fishermen, especially if you don’t mind crossing the cold river every now and then. Make sure you have very light trace material, and a range of lures, and make sure you have a lure or two that will get down deep very quickly as there are a few deep holes. Be biased towards small lures.

Isn’t Herries a park near Te Aroha. That section of the Waihou is in the ‘lower Waihou’ and its deep and sluggish and dirty water. It’s willow lined mostly. Fishing is unpredictable - I’ve read that it has some large fish but I’ve never met anyone who’s caught one. Plus your family won’t thank you for making them spend time in Te Aroha. That would be a struggle. I don’t know what your family likes to do, but what I would try to do is sell them the benefits of a day out like this. all get up a pearly and drive south. Drop you off near Tirau, on the upper Waihou. Probably near the junction of Whites and a Leslie Rd, a short diversion of State Highway 5 to Rotorua. They continue on to Rotorua, about another hours drive. you fish the upper Waihou On the way back to Auckland, you meet where they dropped you off and return to Auckland. that way both parties do what they want to do without bothering each other. Rotorua is probably the number one tourist spot in the North Island with something for everyone. There are loop roads past various picturesque lakes, all that geothermal stuff like geysers and hot springs, plus they could have a nice leisurely lunch somewhere. They have a great day out and the only thing extra they are doing for you is driving a short distance up Whites Road. You get to fish for 6 hours or more. if they won’t come at that, then here’s another suggestion. Go to the Middle Waihou around Matamata or Okaroire. This section is ‘middle’ in every way. Middle water clarity, middle current flow, middle terrain, middle water volume. It’s willow lined and flowing through farmland so you will have to ask permission from a farmer, but they rarely refuse. It’s also ideal spin fishing, rather difficult with a fly rod because of the willows, which makes the fishing under-utilised. It’s quite good fishing for good size fish. so maybe your family can drop you off at the river then go to Matamata which is a nice modern town, with some good restaurants for lunch. Matamata got a lot of tourists because it had that Hobbitown thing going on. Doing the Middle Waihou/Matamata will be much better then Lower Waihou/Te Aroha, I really recommend against that. Cheers

Hey Albert, I’ve just been reading this document https://fishandgame.org.nz/assets/Uploads/82808-FG-Fishing-Regs-NI-22-23.pdf and noticed that the Waihou, Waimakariri and most of the Waipa are open year round. Not what I was expecting - I thought they had a closed season. most of the other rivers in the district are closed till October 1 but I guess they have to keep something open for the sake of visiting anglers. So it looks like you could fish a river if you wanted. id be heading for the Waihou. let me know what you decide and I can give more detail (as long as my knowledge is current).

That’s a shame on the timing. Fishing the lakes around Rotorua probably will be your best bet then. I don’t feel my knowledge is suffiently up-to-date to advise. I’ve fished the rivers I told you about in recent years but not Rotorua district.

To get advice on Sydney locations it’s best to tell us where you will be staying, how much free time you will have, and how you will be getting around. Then we can point you to nearby fishing opportunities. Sydney is a big city with a 100km long coastline so we need to narrow it down a bit. I’ve sent you the details on a kingfish charter that operates just north of Sydney. I have no connection with them but have been out with them several times and they always go the extra mile to get people fish. Another thing to consider is hiring a boat. or perhaps a Sydney based Raider can put their hands up for having you fish with them. Cheers

Two photos of the upper Waihou just above Tirau. Taken in 2003 although I doubt anything has changed. Fly fishing heaven. just talking about it is making me jealous.

It all comes down to when you will be there vs what is open. Most of the rivers and streams will be closed till October 1. it also depends on what sort of fishing appeals to you. In my case i love dry fly fishing streams and small rivers - usually involving day-long walks upstream slowly fishing each pool. So I’m biased towards that sort of fishing - which may not be appropriate for everyone and seldom leads to either large fish or large numbers of fish. I think if I had a day or two out of Auckland, and the rivers were open, I would go to the South Waikato and fish rivers like the upper Waihou (above Tirau, 2 hours drive from Auckland), the Waimakariri (nearby) or the Waiomu (near Matamata) These are on the way to Rotorua, but maybe one hour less drive. Be aware the fish tend to be on the small side and spook easy in the really clear water (spring fed mostly, although the Waiomu is quite dirty as it flows across dairy country). Fly fishing should be best but I imagine some of the rivers allow lures or soft plastics. If I had to pick one spot for one day it would be the upper Waihou. Alternatively, you could go south west instead of south east and fish the rivers verging on the King Country, like the upper Waipa near Otorahanga, which is just over 2 hours drive. if the rivers are not open then you will need to fish a lake. Most of the many Lakes in the Rotorua district will be open. Karapiro, on the way to Rotorua will be open but I’ve never had much luck there. Rotorua is good because of the diversity of fishing environments. It is a long trip though for a day and will have you fishing in the less productive middle of the day times. still, comparing fishing in Rotorua or South Waikato or King Country to fishing in Lake Pupuke is comparing the sublime to the ridiculous. So we need to know what days you will be there to see what will be open.

bait. usually in the quarry, not in Pupuke itself.

Be a bit wary about spending scarce holiday time fishing Pupuke. I used to live nearby and spent hundreds of hours fishing it for the massive total of two small rainbows. Fortunately there were enough rudd, perch, tench and wild goldfish to keep me occupied. On other occasions it’s fished quite well because for a while Fish and Game NZ stocked it with two year old hatchery fish every second year. These fish were used to hatchery pellets so they were pretty desperate in the wild - a lot of people got good catches if they fished after a release and didn’t care that their ‘trout fishing’ involved pursuing ex-hatchery fish slowly starving to death. In any case, Pupuke has little chance of sustaining a wild trout population so without recent stocking it would be coarse fish only. Perhaps find out from Fish and Game NZ if they have done any recent releases there or try to talk to someone who actually fishes there. otherwise, I’m not going to advise because my knowledge is too out of date.

We just heard on the local news that a leatherback turtle was freed from the shark net at Killcare a day or so ago. I guess that’s our guy. Happy outcome.

Yes cobia are looking very likely, with the stiff pectoral fins and their habit of following marine turtle and other large slow moving or stationary objects.

I was flying my drone offshore of Killcare Beach (Central Coast, NSW) last night and through the on-board camera I saw something odd in the water. Approaching, I could see it was a leatherback turtle caught in the shark net. Sad. Its way past time that these nets were removed. There is plenty of science around to say that they do nothing to prevent shark attack but kill numerous marine animals. The State Government, apparently, acknowledges this but wants them to stay because they 'give comfort' to people (who probably don't swim in the ocean anyway, but do vote). I took a few photos and videos but unfortunately it was nearly dark and the light level very low, though the drone camera was doing a great job of compensating for the low light the stills arent much good and the videos werent either. I called WIRES who have an association with a marine turtle rescue group and they were keen to help but by that stage it was dark and I doubt a rescue could be possible even if someone was prepared to take a boat out there at night. Anyway, this is a fishing site so lets concentrate on the fish side for a minute. Throughout the time I was hovering above there were three large fish slowly circling just a few meters away from the unfortunate turtle. There were also lots of smaller ones - one or two of which were remora which were probably accompanying the turtle when it became entangled, but some were clearly not. I couldnt identify the three big fish in the poor light. In some photos they look like kingfish, in others perhaps sharks. Sometimes they even looked like cobia, at least with the stripes sometimes visible on the sides. Here is a videocap. Sorry about the poor quality, but any thoughts on what these are?? cheers Volitan.

Barred trevally looks right. Thank you for that. i never knew they existed. it would be interesting to know what happens to them. I assume these are summer visitors from warmer waters just like bonito, how long do they stay in our area, how big do they grow here. Do they complete a reverse migration in autumn - if so how late? cheers