Putting the GoPro to good use
A couple of weeks back during an unsuccessful troll I came across this in the 20's:
After pulling the lures in I went back to the spot and tried jigging....nothing. I then sent down some large bites, lots of pickers but no hook-ups. Down sized the hooks and tried again, after two consecutive double headers of king wrasse I was very much discouraged so decided to move on.
Like others on this forum it left me wandering what it was I was actually looking at on the sounder. I decided I had to find out so the next day I set about building a frame to send my GoPro to the depths to see what was actually down there. Tested my frame in the pool and thought it would do the job so next time I took the boat out I took my frame and GoPro with me, went back to the spot and did a couple of drifts with the GoPro and frame on a heavy hand line. When I got home I viewed the GoPro footage on my laptop and this is what I saw:
Wow! I had been looking for a KG spot for so long and finally I found one, courtesy of the GoPro.
Other residents that showed up on the GoPro footage:
I'm not 100% sure what that last fish is, I'm thinking either a nice pinky or a sweet lip of some sort. Also saw a number of gold spot sweet lip and foxies.
Next time out on the water I went back on a KG hunt, again I started with a double header of king wrasse but then came the KGs and this was the final result:
Gold! Also caught some nice Skippy, all released, and undersize pinkys.
While the frame did a reasonable job in the pool there were some definite problems on the water. The whole thing spun quite a bit and I could never tell whether the frame was on the seabed or off it - bit of a problem when you have a $500 camera attached to it! Also the GoPro 3+ housing is only rated to 40m. I've since made some mods to the frame and bought the GoPro 3 housing rated to 60m, can't wait to try it out on some of my lumps in the 40's. Looks like the laptop will now become standard "fishing" equipment on the boat!
Couple of things I found very interesting. It was obvious that all the fish are naturally very curious, they all came up to the frame to check it out. Makes me wander how much truth there is in fish being spooked by swivels, sinkers and the like. Also the king wrasse appear essentially colour less, some people swear by red colour on jigs, hooks etc when the red all but disappears at depth.
Still working on the GoPro footage, will post a You Tube link once I've got it uploaded.
squidvicious1
Posts: 821
Date Joined: 22/07/10
Is the go pro wifi,wonder if
Is the go pro wifi,wonder if it would work from that depth to a iPad or 'puter?
Vinesh87
Posts: 2751
Date Joined: 02/04/11
No wifi wont work even 1cm
No wifi wont work even 1cm under water, Water is too dense ( or something like that)
Same as no GPS under water!
Spewing....
OLD BANGA
Posts: 267
Date Joined: 02/04/10
Go Pro
Good article, looking forward to more photos of sounder and what the bottom looks like compared to sounder.
Old Banga!
OLD BANGA
Paul H
Posts: 2104
Date Joined: 18/01/07
Great to see, planning on
Great to see, planning on doing the same when on a trip in April. Can you upload a pic of the frame you made up - I'm interested to see what you used. Some sort of vane setup on the frame should stop it spinning.
Love the cray in the background in the third pic - last pic def a small snapper
One tip though I know a few people who have flooded/ruined gopros putting them underwater despite the housing and I'm only talking a metre or two in depth, you have to be very careful there is not grit etc. on the rubber seal when you close it as this can cause a leak.
Cheers
Youtube Channel - FishOnLine Productions
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbUVNa-ViyGm_FTDSv4Nqzg/videos
wrasse magnet
Posts: 125
Date Joined: 16/10/10
Excellent point Paul RE leaky
Excellent point Paul RE leaky housing. I first tested my 3+ housing in the pool and found it leaked through the lens! JB replaced that one. Before I sent the GoPro down I did a test run with the housing only, it held fine in 28m. I did buy the generic 60m water proof housing and again tested it empty first, found it held fine at 15m but leaked at 20m, no idea of the leak path though. Took it back and replaced it with the genuine GoPro housing but have not had a chance to test it yet.
Will post pictured of the frame when I get home from work.
Paul H
Posts: 2104
Date Joined: 18/01/07
Good point yourself - might
Good point yourself - might send it down first minus the camera in a test leak run!!
Friends both had their cameras replaced as they were virtually new for Xmas. I've had mine longer so will do the test run first!!
Youtube Channel - FishOnLine Productions
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbUVNa-ViyGm_FTDSv4Nqzg/videos
Seafari
Posts: 116
Date Joined: 17/03/12
Very good advice about
Very good advice about checking the seal. I (my kids) have now drowned 2 x GoPro's and I just bought #3 (Hero 3 black) which is locked away. Gotta say the last drowning was entirely my fault. In a big hurry as always I put the wrong back cover on the waterproof case (the slotted one for sound) and daughter hopped over side of boat and promptly flooded the housing. The GoPro's are quite hardy and with quick thinking and fast action it can be saved. Reove battery and SD card straight away and drown camera in fresh water for a minute or two. Shake out excess water and and repeat. Then leave the camera in the hot car for a day and there's a pretty good chance you'll get to use it another day.
Vinesh87
Posts: 2751
Date Joined: 02/04/11
Awesome work, been going to
Awesome work, been going to do this for a while !!
pale ale
Posts: 1755
Date Joined: 02/01/10
That is quite cool.Very clear
That is quite cool.
Very clear pictures. Like the whiting :)
Stevo81
Posts: 1278
Date Joined: 16/04/12
They're really cool stills
They're really cool stills mate. Would love to see the footage. Would be a good dive spot by the looks
•••••••• Electrical Contractor NOR ••••••••
chris raff
Posts: 3257
Date Joined: 09/02/10
Good post and pics mate ..
Good post and pics mate .. showed some nous and it paid the dividends , might have to change your username now , well done .. Feel free to pm your co ords
“Intelligence is like a four-wheel drive. It only allows you to get stuck in more remote places.”
axey45
Posts: 1758
Date Joined: 26/11/13
Looks like a blue morwong in
Looks like a blue morwong in the last pic, is that a leather jacket under the parrot fish also in last pic. great pics, be good to have live feed.
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
Thats awesome mate! Grab
Thats awesome mate! Grab yourself a red filter and youll get true colouration at that depth
Notorious
Posts: 914
Date Joined: 23/02/12
sweet pics!
sweet pics!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/174055815943047/?fref=nf
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
That isnt such a small pinkie
That isnt such a small pinkie either, looks solid!
Coity
Posts: 47
Date Joined: 14/07/11
awesome stuff mate. Well
awesome stuff mate. Well done, going to have to try this myself
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Thanks for the great post
I really like the pics and look forward to seeing the rest when you can show what the sounder depicts and then what the bottom is really holding is great.
unhurry
Posts: 236
Date Joined: 23/10/12
great post
appreciate it - nice work man!
sea-kem
Posts: 14853
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Brilliant! A bit of
Brilliant! A bit of everything there, bloody hell lol. Geez even the crays came out for a looky see. Nice work mate!
Love the West!
Robbo88
Posts: 72
Date Joined: 07/01/09
Great snaps
Awesome post mate! We have also spoken about rigging something up to be able to throw out the go pro, just haven't had the time lately. Definitely got some motivation back after reading this!
I love the 3rd pic with the Cray sitting outside the ledge!!
Cheers
JoRn
Posts: 368
Date Joined: 20/11/07
any chance of uploading the
any chance of uploading the frame that you bad....
i think i need to do the same thing, i found some nice ground and came up empty handed...will have a laptop with me to view for sure!
wrasse magnet
Posts: 125
Date Joined: 16/10/10
Will post some photos of the
Will post some photos of the frame in the coming days, but gotta warn you guys, it's nothing hi-tech! Was going to do it this arvo but work got in the way and then I ran out of sunlight. Thanks for the tip on the red filter Beau, will definitely look into it.
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
They make a huge difference!
They make a huge difference! Most of the spearos use them for their vids. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijZBC5Tov_4
grantarctic1
Posts: 2546
Date Joined: 03/03/11
Great post
Great post mate. Thanks for sharing the results of your effort. That fish might be a Somber Sweetlip .
axey45
Posts: 1758
Date Joined: 26/11/13
Theres a ocky in the pic
Theres a ocky in the pic with the 2 dhu's and looks like another ones tenticle in the bottom left corner.
Versus
Posts: 918
Date Joined: 06/03/09
thats sweet, i've been
thats sweet, i've been wondering if this could work for a while... a live feed function would be off the hook!
Sand_whiting
Posts: 90
Date Joined: 21/07/12
can antine see the fish
can antine see the fish hiding in the fifth picture? hes in the weed next to the dhu. Nice work.
Early to bed ... early to rise ... fish all day... this is our lives.
wrasse magnet
Posts: 125
Date Joined: 16/10/10
Man, you guys have sharp
Man, you guys have sharp eyes! I never noticed it. Axey called it for an occy but I think it is a fish, went back and looked at the footage, looks like a gurnard perch or similar to me.
axey45
Posts: 1758
Date Joined: 26/11/13
I thought a gurnard or sea
I thought a gurnard or sea moth, pec fins dont seem rite they look like tentacles, sharp eyes from carrots n spotting fish since a wee tacker.
wrasse magnet
Posts: 125
Date Joined: 16/10/10
Links below to video clips
Links below to video clips from my original two drifts, unfortunately quality is not anywhere near as good as the original Full HD footage. It's my first attempt at uploading videos to You Tube, I would appreciate any tips on how to get better quality footage up.
http://youtu.be/gndraCy23Js
http://youtu.be/GYhdvF_N4bU
You'll notice some obvious issues caused by the frame and attachments design - frame sitting on sand / reef, whole thing spinning quite a bit, and crooked picture due to frame being dragged sideways.
I've built a whole new frame to eliminate the above, have tested it off a Swan River jetty, here's the result:
http://youtu.be/745okLtSJj8 - Bream fishos will like the last 2 minutes or so
You'll notice much better stability, no spinning and the frame/camera stays off the bottom. Now I just need to test it in deeper water but so far looks much better.
Apologies to those waiting for pictures of the frame, haven't taken them yet, will post in the next day or two.
axey45
Posts: 1758
Date Joined: 26/11/13
how deep n where was first
how deep n where was first to filmed, swan river better stability m8.
wrasse magnet
Posts: 125
Date Joined: 16/10/10
In 28m off Hillarys
In 28m off Hillarys
axey45
Posts: 1758
Date Joined: 26/11/13
Good ground.
Good ground.
tim-o
Posts: 4657
Date Joined: 24/05/11
I do the same with a 20 buck
I do the same with a 20 buck camera from officeworks, shows what fish and ground the sounder is showin. Take a 15 buck ebay 12v screen to view the footage out there, love seein the footage, nice one mate
I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.
wrasse magnet
Posts: 125
Date Joined: 16/10/10
Yeah, normally would have
Yeah, normally would have been shitting myself sending a $500 camera down there but since it was a gift from work I felt much better about it. In any case, nothing ventured nothing gained!
Seafari
Posts: 116
Date Joined: 17/03/12
wrasse magnet
pls post pic of your frame.
thanks
Alan James
Posts: 2206
Date Joined: 30/06/09
Trolling GoPro frame
Some of you looking at towing or drifting a GoPro around may find the attached link interesting. The frame was made from a few sections of PVC pipe. Doesn't look too complicated.
http://www.fishing.net.nz/asp_forums/gopro-contour-filming-marlin_topic98346.html
dkonig82
Posts: 2091
Date Joined: 06/07/10
That's awesome mate - good
That's awesome mate - good work, and it has paid off by the looks!
When asked by a non-fisherman 'how many fishing rods do you really need?' the correct answer is either:
n+1 (where n is the number of fishing rods you currently own); or
n-1 (where n is the number of fishing rods which would cause your significant other to dump you.
crasny1
Posts: 6986
Date Joined: 16/10/08
Thats brilliant
I have been thinking of mounting a GoPro in a crab net. Basically to see how quickly they "hit" the bait. Just gave me some ideas for crabcam.
"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk
trymyluck
Posts: 908
Date Joined: 06/05/12
How cool is that !!!!
How cool is that !!!! awesome, thanks for sharing
NORUN NOFUN
Posts: 1018
Date Joined: 15/08/11
Great report
Just happen to be making a frame at the moment to do the same.
Looking at your screen shot, it says 3497nm, would that be relating to distance travelled ? If so, that's quite a few !!
I would also like to see a picture of your frame if possible !
Cheers