Let's be honest - most fishing stories are about the one that got away. Mine is about the one that never showed up, a very judgmental seagull, and how I learned that simms fly fishing gear doesn't automatically make you a better angler. This is the tale of how I attempted to combine drone photography with fishing and ended up as entertainment for local marine life.
It all started when I decided to upgrade from my trusty south bend rod and reel to something more sophisticated. After extensive online research (read: three hours of watching fishing videos), I settled on a shiny new sienna rod and reel combo and began browsing simms fly fishing accessories like a kid in a candy store.
My simms fishing tackle bag arrived looking so professional I almost didn't want to get it dirty. Almost. I filled it with every small soft tackle box I could find, each containing enough spoon crank box lures to start my own tackle shop. The spare spool collection alone was getting ridiculous - I had more backup plans than a NASA mission.
For my mobile needs, I opted for a small fishing tackle backpack that could hold my spinning piscifun reels and snakehead fishing gear. The spiderwire fishing bag seemed like overkill until I tried to fit all my soft tackle boxes fishing into it. Note to self: when the simms essential gear bag says "essential," it doesn't mean "bring everything you own."
The big day arrived. I had my snapper rod and reel combo for deep water, my smallmouth bass rod and reel for shallows, and even some speargun fishing gear just in case I decided to go full Aquaman. The simms sling pack fly fishing system made me look like I knew what I was doing, which was the most important part.
As I launched my drone, I realized I might have gone slightly overboard. The spin fishing gear alone required its own storage system, and my simon fishing tackle collection was getting out of hand. But I was ready. Or so I thought.
What followed was two hours of the most spectacular fishing failure ever captured on drone footage. The fish weren't just not biting - they seemed to be actively avoiding my expensive simms fly fishing gear. At one point, my drone captured what appeared to be a fish giving me what can only be described as a piscine eye-roll.
The highlight came when I attempted to use my fancy simms fly fishing accessories and managed to tangle myself in line so thoroughly that a nearby seagull actually stopped to watch. I'm pretty sure it was laughing at me.
As the sun began to set, I packed up my small fishing tackle backpack and numerous soft tackle boxes fishing, having caught exactly nothing but some great drone footage of fish avoiding my lures. The spare spool remained unused, the spoon crank box unappreciated, and my snakehead fishing gear completely unnecessary.
So what did I learn from this experience? First, that simon fishing tackle doesn't catch fish - fishermen do (and I'm apparently not a very good one). Second, no amount of speargun fishing gear will help if you can't actually hit anything. And third, sometimes the best fishing stories aren't about what you catch, but about the absurd lengths we go to try to catch them.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go edit this drone footage into a blooper reel. At least my spiderwire fishing bag looked good throughout the whole ordeal!