Drone for the Everglades...?

[peter odell]

I'm going down to Flamingo to fish for tarpon, snook and redfish early december (guided).

I'm looking for an inexpensive drone that can go up 50 feet, video the landing of some of the fish and then come right back down without a lot of driving. (waterproof/floating likely an asset as well).  my fishing buddy and I are typically trading off, so one of could launch the drone at hookup.

Has anyone done this?  I've seen the results on a few of the youtube channels, but I'm hesitant to go out and buy without some good advice.....

[Daniel Lazenby]

May, I suggest checking the national park rules if you plan to be within the boundaries of Everglades National Park?

Daniel

[Jeffrey Silvan]

Drones aren't allowed in any national park without written permission, which NPS will not give to individuals. I fish Everglades National Park all the time, and they actually enforce this heavily there. Most drones' software also won't allow a takeoff in national park zones due to these regulations, either. Last, even if you want to risk it, check with your guide whether he'll even look the other way while you fly it - his permit to guide in the park will be on the line, too.

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[peter odell]

I should have thought about the Park rules, so this trip is out for drone footage - thanks for the quick feedback.

How about other places with more relaxed rules?  anyone shot any good footage or have a recommendation for a drone that would work?

[Jeffrey Silvan]

The DJI drone family always had good quality - you can probably find a reasonably priced previous generation for sale.

Your biggest barrier to use will be the software, since most now have the no-fly-zones GPS programmed. I think the DJIs are all like that. Now assuming you beat that, you can probably get away with using it in Biscayne National Park. I've never seen NPS anywhere around there, and FWC is more interested in controlling all the drunk people on the sandbars than looking out for drones. 

Staying completely legal, you don't have a ton of options, and you may be limited more by driving distance depending on where you're staying. The flats in Biscayne Bay are almost exclusively NPS territory. Everglades park boundary runs along the gulf side of the keys, but mostly with +/-1 mile buffer from land, until roughly Long Key. So until that point, you're limited to ocean side flats or the near-shore gulf side flats. Further south, you're fine anywhere. You can go north of ENP into some of the canals for peacock bass, too. Another option is the gulf park boundary isn't terribly far from Flamingo, and it's stone crab season, which means just outside of the park boundaries, you can find tripletail on the stone crab trap buoys. So weather dependent, you could always ask the guide to run to the traps, but to me, that's a bit of a waste if you only have one day booked.

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