A new method of fishing, you can try your luck with drone fishing next time you are in Florida! Drone fishing is when you attach your line with a hook and bait to a drone and use the drone to carry it to your desired location before releasing it. Or you could just carry bait over to where you want the fish to go and see if it works by watching from the drone’s real time camera footage. This technological advancement makes tuna fishing easier and smarter, and lets you bring in more fish! You do not use the drone to reel in any fish, they are only meant to bring bait to them. Never catch a fish on a drone and try to drag them to shore or your boat.
It may seem daunting to start using a drone to fish. Plus, what kind of tuna is even in the waters of Florida? You will be surprised at how helpful and fruitful using this new fishing method will be on your next tuna hunting adventure off the coast of Florida!
What is Tuna
Tuna caught off of Florida is known for being delicious—and for putting up a strong fight as you reel them in! You are in luck, because there are many different tuna species to fish for in these waters, from bluefin, blackfin, yellowfin, and skipjack. Blackfin and yellowfin are the most popular for anglers and charters to go after.
Blackfin tuna only grows to about 30 pounds, but don’t be confused, they will put up a strong fight! And there are plenty of them below the surface, so you won’t go home disappointed if you use your drone to entice them correctly. You will have the best chances fishing for this species of tuna during the spring and fall as they migrate closer to Florida’s shores. They disappear during the summer to mate in the deep ocean waters. You should head to reefs that are home to smaller bait fish in order to find blackfin tuna. Blackfin tuna can be baited with live or dead bait and can be found around commercial fishing boats that are cleaning off the bait for the day—or by shrimping boats!
Yellowfin tuna is the second most popular tuna to go after in Florida. You will be able to find these monsters a little farther off of the shore in deeper waters. Yellowfin found in deep waters can be over 100 pounds! You will have the best chances of catching these if you head to the Gulf of Mexico. You want to make sure your reeling in gear can handle a yellowfin’s strength and power, or else they will destroy you line and rig.
What is Drone Fishing
You have certainly seen drones and drone footage before, whether at a music festival, a backyard party, or just people playing with this new technology at a park. But you may be surprised that you can also go fishing with drones! There are drones that have the ability to carry and drop items off while being controlled remotely from a distance away. Typically, when you go fishing for game fish, like tuna, you have to release your bait and then troll the boat away to entice the fish in. With a drone, you don’t have to go to your chumming spot. All you have to do is figure out how to use the drones clipping features and use the camera on it to figure out where you want to place your bait. Be sure to set the return feature to “return to home” and not “return to takeoff point,” since your boat has certainly drifted away from where you first started.
To dive a bit deeper into this, you first need a drone. Drones come in a variety of costs, but you are getting wait you paid for. A drone that is less than $500 may not have the capability to lift objects or a long enough battery life to be useful for fishing. You should expect to buy between $500 and $1,500 for a drone that has lifting power and a good battery life (most drones in this price range can be used for about 30 minutes, so you may want to have spare batteries on board just in case, you don’t want to lose this helper in the water!).
Once you are ready to set your bait, you have to clip it onto your drone. Look out for drones with longer landing legs, which will have room underneath them to be secure. Bait lines should be placed right below the middle of the drone. You can either rig up your own release system by creating a harness with fishing line from leg to leg, or you can purchase a bait release system that mounts to the drone’s underbelly. Now that this is becoming a more popular way to fish, technological advancements are happening!
Working and flying a drone can take come practice, but not too much so don’t stress about this! It is best to get used to the controls in an open field or area the first time, rather than on the open water. Please be aware that when flying in the United States, you cannot fly higher than 400 feet of the air, as per the FAA. Also be sure to register the drone with the FAA online before taking it out. You will also want to make sure your drone never exceeds 55 pounds; if it does, you will need a pilot’s license. Drones can fly in winds up to 20 mph, but this will kill your battery faster. You will also want to practice catching the drone upon its return since you will have to catch it from the air. Once you are comfortable with flying the drone, you can practice the type of rig you want to use to carry the bait.
Not only can you release bait with your drone, but drones also have real time video capability, so you can use them to scout out the locations tuna are feeding at! You can view the footage on a smartphone or tablet and see exactly what is happening below, and who is feeding on your bait. You will be able to see bait and small fish among the weeds and rocks, and you should be able to see the predators having a meal of them.
How do you go Drone Fishing in Florida
Now that you know what drone fishing is, you may be wondering if it is legal or not in the state of Florida. And it is! But also, be sure to check with what state you’re going out of, since this isn’t always a legal practice. You can use a drone to fish in Florida as long as the line you are attaching to it for bait release from the drone once the fish bites. This also saves your drone from being pulled down below the water and destroyed!
In order to fish legally in Florida, make sure your drone is equipped with a quick release method, where you can attach a hook underneath your drone in an upwards direction. This will keep the line attached to your drone as you are transporting your bait to where you hope the fish are—or where you see them on your camera! Your bait and drone will be attached to you line on a pole. As you release your drone, slowly let your line out—very slowly or else you will have a giant, tangled mess on your hands which certainly won’t help you reel anything in! You will drop the line from the drone by slowly moving the drone away so the line unhooks itself where you want to drop your bait and line.
Where to go Drone Fishing for Tuna in Florida
While you can go drone fishing throughout Florida, here are some places where drone fishing is becoming more normalized—and where you can find some great tune!
Miami
When tuna fishing in Miami, you will typically opt to use live bait to attract tuna to your line. Miami anglers and charters have been using kites for years to place bait far away from the boat, so transitioning to drones was certainly the next step. You’ll be going for blackfin tuna in these waters, most likely. You cannot fly your drone within a half mile of large or sporting events. You also need to have a permit to fly a drone with detachable cargo, so be sure to double check before using your drone to go fishing.
Bonita Springs
Located along the Gulf of Mexico, you will most likely be fishing for yellowfin tuna in these waters. There are plenty of charter boats that you can join, but you may want a smaller charter or a private boat in order to test out your drone for fishing. Be sure you are not within 25 feet of buildings or power lines, and that you do not fly over Bonita Springs’ Community Park.
Defunik Springs
There are tons of different types of fish you can catch near Defunik Springs, like sailfish, mahi-mahi, wahoo, and of course, tuna. You can test out your drones clipping capabilities in one of the areas freshwater lakes when you fish for large mouth bass before trying it out for real. Just be sure you are not flying over anyone’s property in Defunik Springs, since this is illegal without their consent.
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a great place to go fishing for blackfin tuna, especially at The Humps. These underwater mountains are about a thousand feet above the ocean floor and create a nutrient-rich water around them, which a lot of bait fish will come and feed on. And when there’s bait fish, there is tuna! This area is where many people come from all over to go game fishing, so you will not be alone out here. Make sure if you are using your drone to place bait that no one else is around you and that you will not get your line caught on another boat. You will certainly have a great time tuna fishing in these waters, so make sure you’re only dinner plans that night involve these tuna!
Drone fishing is a fun way to mix technology advancements with the love of a sport. You will up your tuna fishing game and will fish smart, not harder, once you start using a drone to bait the tuna you know is down below and as you watch the live-time footage to see exactly where to place your line. Always double check the local regulations on drones and register any new drone with the FAA before heading out. And good luck finding the best tuna in Florida’s waters!
