Fish spotting at scenic places
On a visit to Florence Falls (Litchfield National Park, Northern Territory), we managed to spot some black bream (Hephaestus fuliginosus) in between the many tanned tourist legs.
Trophy shots of crocs
Hook-less fishing for trophy shots of saltwater crocs - a true Aussie activity in the Northern Territory. I actually wondered if anyone tried to attach an angling cam to that type of fishing rod? #Adelaide river
Trophy shots on ice
This is surreal crystal clear and crispy cold water in the Austrian Alps in some glacial lakes. Not much action re: macro animal life wise, but insane colours.
Urban hook-less fishing
I should check the market whether any of the fishing camera manufacturers have actually come up with an anti-gobble condom to prevent pike from swallowing these delicately shaped devices such as the waterwolf or spydro cams. I could have used such a thing in this case. An eager one went for the spydro. Gobble gobble, urban hook-less fishing in the Netherlands - no frills, but still some thrills.
Pier review
As drsnapper’s mission is to promote the concept of hook-less fishing using an underwater camera (and also trialling the custom-made camera trap), I’ll try my best to populate this blog with exactly that. Underwater footage of fishies nibbling away at some hook-less bait contraption. Here you go - an example from the West Pier at Dunlaoghaire harbour, Dublin, Ireland. Species: White pollack (Pollachius pollachius), filmed with a spydro cam.
Buried bull ray slammer
The Mornington/Schnapper point pier is home to a resident bull ray (Aetomylaeus bovinus) which I was hoping to catch on a waterwolf camera. The nice thing about the Schnapper Point pier, you do not have to travel far when chasing those hook-less trophy shots. The next clip is going to be about a vegan fishing session on-board a fishing charter vessel though. Coming soon.
Lobster tug-of-war
During my visit of the National Marine Science Centre in Coffs Harbour I was shown around the tank farm equipped with a flow-through system. The larger tanks were currently housing some Eastern rock lobster (Sagmariasus verreauxi), yellowfin bream (Acanthopagrus australis), and some well-sized Mangrove jack or red snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus, as pictured). I asked for permission to record with a waterwolf camera how the Eastern rock lobster behaved towards the mesh bait bag that I normally use for the drsnapper underwater camera trap. These pretty strong fellas played tug-of-war with it. They were fighting amongst each other over who will have a go at it first. And when one of them did and tried to seize and evade with its food, the rotation actions of the waterwolf camera make you dizzy. Clearly, the medical-grade mesh bait bag will only last for an attack or two until it is ripped to shreds.
Shark bay
At a rocky headland along the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales, I baited and deployed the drsnapper underwater camera trap (which is pretty much a BRUV – Baited Remote Underwater Video station with a mechanical trigger function). A wobbegong shark (Orectolobus spp., a species of carpet shark) seemed to show some interest in the bait odour (chopped mackerel) or at least it stayed about for a little while. I picked a pretty choppy day for it with a southerly blowing, so the drsnapper PVC frame contraption equipped with an underwater action camera (modified as prototype camera III) got moved around a fair bit. Although the bite of a wobbegong shark can be pretty nasty, it felt more like a pudel dog was circling around my legs than a shark.
Inside an ancient fish trap
On the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, I went for a snorkel inside an ancient fish trap and spotted some yellowfin bream (Acanthopagrus australis) and Stripeys (Microcanthus australis), amongst other fish.
Irish soaktime revisited
The camera trial in Ireland (see post “Irish soaktime”, August 2018) finished before it started with prototype II soaking up some brine. It got pickled at depth on the first deployment. Something I had expected though, given the water pressure at the weak spot (where the trigger cables run through the epoxy coat of the housing) that it would leak some water. To compensate for the loss, I got given some footage to feature here. These are underwater images from a GoPro showing the escape of some fish through a 300 mm, squaremesh netting panel inside an otter trawl. A little bit unrelated to promoting drsnapper’s hook-less fishing concept, but at least some decent underwater footage of fish. The fate of at least one escapee was not very lucky being munched upon by a vessel-following harbour seal. Image courtesy: Martin Oliver, Galway, Ireland.
Vegan fishing in Mundaka
Took the spydro for a spin to stunning Mundaka. Was pretty busy during the day, so spontaneously watered the camera at night. Scanning the footage reminds me of these postcards at the cornershop - pitchblack picture with a title “Fishing - at night - Greetings from Blankenberge”. Similar thing here, just belief me the mullet actually ate the bread ball, they just shied away as soon as I turned the lights on. In any case, vegan fishing works - we (and the mullet) had a ball!
Corfu's delights
During a summer holiday, I visited Corfu - a lush Greek island in the Ionian Sea. The idea was to test two commercial underwater fishing camera's in direct comparison. Have not yet processed all the video, so watch this space.
Off to the Emerald Isle
This week prototype I and II went for a hitch across the ditch to Galway, Ireland to ring in a field trial. More on it soon.
Big Day Out
This was my Big Day Out. I was invited to present my concept idea of an actively triggered underwater camera trap to one of the leading fishing camera manufacturers in Europe. The trip was exciting and a bit of a The Yes Men moment by suggesting that hook-less angling with a camera trap may also tickle an angler's fancy. To cut a fun story short....my own enthusiasm was met with a listening ear, but also some doubts. Understandably, as I learned later on, because there is a camera forthcoming by some competition which offers exactly that functionality that I was proposing!!! Can't wait til that thing hits my doormat.
Mingling with fish-mad minds
First small "market study" a.k.a. spending a day with a good mate onboard a North Sea fishing charter - pretending to talk serious game. But our disguise got caught out quickly, when I pulled out that bulky white PVC frame with a camera mounted on top of it.
