Fishing gear and techniques are improving every year as people learn more about fish and what makes them tick.

Technology gives you high performance gear and a truckload of new lures, artificial baits and rigs that need instruction manuals to use…

….and then there’s those cunning people that just go a bit ridiculous on the whole fish catching theme and come up with real different fishing methods.

Have you ever wanted to cast out into the middle of a lake or out past the breakers at the beach but it’s just been too far?

You know the fish are out there but it’s impossible to cast that far….not any more.

There are a couple of options on the market right now that will let you get your bait into deep water….without any effort at all:

• Remote control boats
• Drones….
• Bait caster cannons!

There are hard core anglers using these things to bring in big fish from the deep.

Remote controlled boats have been around for a while. They’re made specifically for dropping bait in water like lakes and reservoirs.

They’re the simplest option for getting bait out long distances but they only work on calm water….they’d be sunk in the surf.

European anglers have been using them for years to chase “specimen” fish of all types and they do the job pretty well. 

They’re simple to use and even kids with enough money are fishing with them.

They’ve got a hollow centre built on an angle so the bait slides off. You just plop in your hook bait and berley and send them out to the right spot. Then you click a switch and the back doors open and the bait slides out….

….bingo….you’re now fishing in the deep!

The great thing is that they float so if the battery fails you just have to wait for them to blow back to shore…

…so, a kids toy has become a pretty effective bait casting machine.

 I have seen a few get attacked by swans and sail out of control but in most cases they get the job done.

And let’s face it….if it can be used in any way to catch fish….anglers will use it!.

Drone fishing is a pretty new approach and when you add a camera it takes on a whole different perspective.

You actually fly over and get a birds eye view of where you’re dropping your bait…‘course , you gotta know how to fly these things…and not everyone does!

The drone is fitted with a release clip. The angler loops his line carrying the hook bait and sinker or lure to the clip. Then they  open the bail arm on their reel and send the drone off into the distance until it reaches the right spot over the water. The release clip opens and drops the hook bait.

What a  hoot!

You follow the whole trip by camera…

…thing is, drones can cost an arm and a leg and you lose one in the drink and your fishing trip gets mighty expensive. 

Needless to say…. there’s an internet full of epic fail videos on fishing drones  and you’ve got to wonder what goes through the mind of some of the crazy users….

…anyway,  they can be real effective at getting a bait way out in deep water where big fish swim.

The other real bonus with drones is you can send them out over the water to check out the best spots to fish. It’s like using Google earth to zoom in on your favourite spot but drone cameras give a lot more detail….

…imagine finding a small reef and being able to drop your bait right next to it. (Who says you need a boat?)

There’s plenty of evidence to suggest drones will stay part of the fishing scene and we could see improvements that make them a ‘must have’ piece of gear.

OK so now we go the next level of fishing….with “bait caster cannons”….. 
…Yep, CANNONS!
These fishing “weapons” are real cannons and the force they use to blast a bait into the distance is amazing…and a little scary!! 

As they say in all the spy movies “if this technology ever got into the wrong hands…” 

….well,  it has”!

Bait caster cannons are both home made and commercial built types. They’re all roughly the same design.

They’re usually made from PVC piping, built in the shape of a rocket launcher and are attached to a compressed air cylinder. 

The cylinder is filled with air by a battery powered compressor or manually with a car tyre pump and the pressure levels get pretty high…some might say ridiculously high!  

The bait has the hook, a short length of line and swivel attached and then is pushed into a missile shaped cylinder and stuck in the freezer.

Once frozen it’s ready to shoot.

When the angler goes fishing they just take a bait cylinder out of the esky, warm it a little so the bait slides out…. in the perfect shape of a missile, and is loaded in the barrel. 

The fishing rod is placed next to the cannon, the line is attached to the swivel on the bait….and the angler pulls the trigger.

These cannons fire the bait into the distance. Some say they can launch 300 metres. The ones I have seen landed 150 metres out….which is still a hell of a distance!

There’s no doubt that getting your bait out that far should get it into deeper water…trouble is….the whole process carries a bit of danger.

I know a couple of anglers who always combine fishing with alcohol….

…mix that with a bait caster cannon and the whole outing could end in tears.

I’m pretty sure that Australian police would take a dim view of this “bad boy” fishing gear…. but hell, it’d be a real hoot to use…if you like extreme fishing!

The results in the US have been pretty good in bringing in big fish….and half the fun is just using the cannon.

I’m pretty sure it wont be long before there’s a heap of epic fail videos on YouTube showing poor anglers who didn’t follow all the safety procedures….

… not drinking when operating the cannon

…. checking no line is wrapped around body parts before firing

…. not aiming at other anglers or boats….

…and remembering to open the bail arm on their fishing reels!

Anyway it’s good to see that technology is helping us anglers scale new heights in fish catching capability.

I remember a few years ago when I thought hand held fish finders were cutting edge…

…you’ve got to wonder where we might go from here!!!!!