Need Mavic drone advice for new operator in high wind use + fishing

[nyctosf]

Hi all,

I love fishing here in the SF bay area to de-stress off work, and usually go explore the shores and look for new spots several times a week during the warmer season. And I ve been considering a drone for some time (not for fishing initially) but always assumed the good ones were out of my budget - till I looked again recently and noticed how cheaper they have become. And upon seeing people use them for fishing now to cast far, I got sold and decided to try one, especially seeing how portable these drones have become.

I've spent the last week reading, youtubing and comparing features of all kinds of drones - then bought a Mavic Mini that arrives in the mail tomorrow, registered with the FAA... but now I m thinking I should return it for a different type of drone. I'd like it small for easy plane travel.

I've weighted the 2 zip ties, hanger clip and smallest successful lures I could use, it would come at approximately 40-50 grams load on the drone.
I also purchased this 0.8oz floating camera strap (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DQMD6WG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) to try to attach on the drone for retrieval safety but not sure it could lift it all

Would appreciate advice from people with similar hobby use in possible high wind condition if I could safely operate a Mavic Mini with that load on top if I go fishing on low wind days or not? Or should I return it and get a Mavic Pro instead? Considering I m a noob pilot I definitely want it new to have insurance in case it falls in the sea and have to go swim in to retrieve it. Purchased a wind anemometer to make sure I only "drone cast" in low wind conditions.

I've read a bunch of comments here saying the MM is too light for wind use, and also especially risky if sensors are blinded by the water reflection. Thanks for any advice, especially from Mavic fishermen or people using their's over water and high wind.

 

[pelagic_one]

I’m an avid fisherman here in the Bay Area, and I am a proud owner of a non-blown-away Mini. But you’ll never see me trying to bring a fishing rig into deeper water with that little thang...

The Mini has served its purpose for DJI: It has shown me how fun it is to fly a drone, whet my appetite for a better drone, so I am now in full-blown shopping mode for the Mavic 2 Pro. I now want something with confident distance, better wind fighting velocity, and a better camera than I’d own on terra ferma from Nikon.

I understand your need for portability. But for an ultimate fishing machine able to handle the Bay Area’s afternoon winds, the Phantom 3 would still do better than most Mavics, in my humble opinion.

Check out our Hawaiian cousins surf fishing with what looks like a DJI Inspire in Hawaii. [12:20 on this video].

There are also tons of great material on this forum, with drone recommendations and contraptions for holding the line till it’s dropped: Search results for query: Fishing

 

[CactusJackSlade]

Before you invest any money you might look at where you will be fishing and the flight restrictions, there are many airports in the Bay Area and lots of no-fly zones... kinda sucks because the Bay Area is beautiful and I used to fly there all over the place (safely!) all the time before all the new regulations!

Also be aware there are many low-flying helicopters in the Bay Area especially near Fisherman's Wharf and the Bridges, they do not always stay above 500 feet!

 

[nyctosf]

Thanks for the replies, yeah now looking at effectively cancelling the mini and getting a pro to be safe. Yeah real bummer that a lot of shores are no fly around SF, but still kittyhawk app shows many spots free to fly. I contacted the FAA about Ocean Beach who told me it was fine by them but not with the national parks and i d need an exemption from the supervisor if i only use for casting

 

[chriscuk]

The mini will serve a purpose but putting weights on it and having it over the sea is pretty much just burning your money. It might work for a flight or three but the wind and additional load will certainly be it's downfall.

If you don't need a new Mavic a phantom 3 as suggested is super cheap and will carry all the load you've suggested.

 

[LeeB]

You may want to look at SplashDrone. They're waterproof.

 

[pelagic_one]

kittyhawk app shows many spots free to fly.

I don’t want to “burn” some great surf fishing spots online, but I agree with you that the apps show some open fly areas (that are neither national nor state park property). The national marine sanctuaries don’t allow flying over water, too, but you wouldn’t fish there anyway.

When you get the MPro or whatever drone you’ll use for fishing, let me know when you head out there, and I’ll join you. I’ll be happy to be your spotter, as long as you fly my bait out to sea, too!

I will also bring my Mini, so we can share a laugh at how it tries to fly against the offshore breeze!

 

[nyctosf]

I don’t want to “burn” some great surf fishing spots online, but I agree with you that the apps show some open fly areas (that are neither national nor state park property). The national marine sanctuaries don’t allow flying over water, too, but you wouldn’t fish there anyway.

When you get the MPro or whatever drone you’ll use for fishing, let me know when you head out there, and I’ll join you. I’ll be happy to be your spotter, as long as you fly my bait out to sea, too!

I will also bring my Mini, so we can share a laugh at how it tries to fly against the offshore breeze!

haha deal!

 

[Capt KO]

I only fish with Phantoms. They will handle most any condition I could put them in safely. My Mavic is used for spotter only and the Mavic mini could not handle the bait anyhow. If you need to stay small and within budget, you can pull it off with the Mavic pro. Check out Gannet bait release for Mavic and Phantom. It’s what I use.

 

[nyctosf]

Phantom are just too bulky for me to be able to travel with it - I even looked at the discontinued Yuneec Typhoon H as it supposedly has amazing strong wind resistance as an hexacopter. I received the Mini an hour ago, didnt even open the box and returning it now to get a Mavic Pro

 

[Capt KO]

Phantom are just too bulky for me to be able to travel with it - I even looked at the discontinued Yuneec Typhoon H as it supposedly has amazing strong wind resistance as an hexacopter. I received the Mini an hour ago, didnt even open the box and returning it now to get a Mavic Pro

Of course the phantom will carry more weight (1kg), but the MP will be strong enough to lift almost 1lb, enough for fishing. And way better in the wind than the mini. My mini hates (descends autonomously over) water and that’s where I do most of my flying. Have fun!

 

[Mossiback]

You might want to consider the Mavic Pro Platinum. It's an upgrade to the original MP and does not cost much more.

 

[nyctosf]

Absolutely, I definitely considered a Platinum but couldnt find myself justifying the price difference for 3 more minutes of flight vs a new battery for the pro. And I actually found a great combo deal on dronenerds

@Capt KO yeah I saw on youtube that I should disable the floor sensors over water, an option that is not available on the Mini unless you cover the sensors with tape.

@LeeB Yeah I was eyeing that Powervision Egg X and the Swell Pro but figured safer to go with the more established company

 

[Capt KO]

Congratulations, I think you’ve made a good decision for your needs. Hope you’re in the air soon.

 

[pelagic_one]

Mavic Pro showing us how it’s done:

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Hi all,

I love fishing here in the SF bay area to de-stress off work, and usually go explore the shores and look for new spots several times a week during the warmer season. And I ve been considering a drone for some time (not for fishing initially) but always assumed the good ones were out of my budget - till I looked again recently and noticed how cheaper they have become. And upon seeing people use them for fishing now to cast far, I got sold and decided to try one, especially seeing how portable these drones have become.

I've spent the last week reading, youtubing and comparing features of all kinds of drones - then bought a Mavic Mini that arrives in the mail tomorrow, registered with the FAA... but now I m thinking I should return it for a different type of drone. I'd like it small for easy plane travel.

I've weighted the 2 zip ties, hanger clip and smallest successful lures I could use, it would come at approximately 40-50 grams load on the drone.
I also purchased this 0.8oz floating camera strap (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DQMD6WG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) to try to attach on the drone for retrieval safety but not sure it could lift it all

Would appreciate advice from people with similar hobby use in possible high wind condition if I could safely operate a Mavic Mini with that load on top if I go fishing on low wind days or not? Or should I return it and get a Mavic Pro instead? Considering I m a noob pilot I definitely want it new to have insurance in case it falls in the sea and have to go swim in to retrieve it. Purchased a wind anemometer to make sure I only "drone cast" in low wind conditions.

I've read a bunch of comments here saying the MM is too light for wind use, and also especially risky if sensors are blinded by the water reflection. Thanks for any advice, especially from Mavic fishermen or people using their's over water and high wind.

You might want to consider the Sea Lander if your going to be fishing and flying over the water every day.
The Sea Lander Jacket was designed to give you some different ways to negotiate the water in an emergency or forced landing as shown in the video below.
It far surpasses any other flotation device.

We offer a nice discount to the Forum Members just
email me at [email protected]

 

[Dakarenduro]

Thanks for the replies, yeah now looking at effectively cancelling the mini and getting a pro to be safe. Yeah real bummer that a lot of shores are no fly around SF, but still kittyhawk app shows many spots free to fly. I contacted the FAA about Ocean Beach who told me it was fine by them but not with the national parks and i d need an exemption from the supervisor if i only use for casting

Best decision...canceling the Mini.

It is not the drone for the wind.

 

[nyctosf]

So my Mavic Pro fly more combo has arrived and I think maybe I got scammed by Drone Nerds? Need advice as this is my first time unboxing a DJI:
They sent me an open box, even though I bought what was listed as new. The box was resealed and all by adding a 2nd layer of the official tape on top, so it looked somewhat official... Yet I open it, stickers have clearly been restuck on the controller and the drone in various parts (not all seems restuck). Now first thing I do is check the battery life of everything. The battery on the drone is almost full. The 2 extra batteries and controller are dead empty. I have been trying to charge them on the HUB, only the near full one seems to charge. When I leave the other 2 batteries on the charger, hub shows a red light. I checked the manufacture date of these batteries, it is showing July 2018 (is that normal for an order placed in 2020?). They dont seem to want to charge on the HUB, and I am now trying to charge them individually but only 1 green light blinks occasionally.,)
Any tips or advice here would be greatly appreciated into how to deal with this situation or fix anything I can myself if possible.

 

[dronerdave]

Make contact with the people you bought it from and see what they will do. I'd request a brand new replacement of everything. Batteries if I'm not mistaken are supposed to be shipped at 60% so something is haywire.

 

[Capt KO]

Sorry for your problems. I know you’re excited to get this going but you certainly need to contact Drone Nerds ASAP. Then please get back to us with their reply. I think they, at least, OU an explanation and hopefully a brand new drone, and shipping both ways. That’s what I hope they would do, but don’t know the fine print for the price. (A deal?) Not with bad batteries that if they opened the box, would know they’re bad. Weird, good luck and hope you’re flying/fishing again soon.