# SWELLPRO SPLASHDRONE 4 / Does anyone use one?



## [email protected] (Jan 14, 2005)

A guy stopped by and we had a conversation. he had a SWELLPRO SPLASHDRONE 4 and he showed it to me. It looked noce. I looked at it on urban drones . com. Bit pricy. If you have one tell me more.

Thanks


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## yep (Jul 25, 2006)

I have one being delivered today. Hope to fish it this weekend, I'll post up how it goes next week. Saw a guy fishing with the sd3 and I was sold, he ran 4 baits out before I could have paddled one in my kayak.


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## yep (Jul 25, 2006)

Yeah it is great. I can run 3-4 baits out with the drone in the same amount of time that kayaking 1 out would take. Granted they are not 10 lbs worth of stingray but half mullet, crab or a chunk of stingray and a 12 Oz spiderweight. It flies it out 250-300 yards with the line out of the water so I don't have to reel in the belly of the line. It handled the 15=20 mph winds easy. It also measures the distance so you know if you are in a productive area where to drop again.
I am having wifi issues between the rc and my phone which I use as a monitor. My biggest question though is how long will it last? Will it still be flying strong in a couple of years?
So far I am pumped about it, super easy to keep baits out, but they do attract a crowd.


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## Power Fisherman (May 23, 2007)

yep said:


> Yeah it is great. I can run 3-4 baits out with the drone in the same amount of time that kayaking 1 out would take. Granted they are not 10 lbs worth of stingray but half mullet, crab or a chunk of stingray and a 12 Oz spiderweight. It flies it out 250-300 yards with the line out of the water so I don't have to reel in the belly of the line. It handled the 15=20 mph winds easy. It also measures the distance so you know if you are in a productive area where to drop again.
> I am having wifi issues between the rc and my phone which I use as a monitor. My biggest question though is how long will it last? Will it still be flying strong in a couple of years?
> So far I am pumped about it, super easy to keep baits out, but they do attract a crowd.


Glad you are having fun. The drone opens a lot of opportunities but also brings some headaches. Sometimes restriction in one form or another. The salty air seems like a drone killer. 

I have an Inspire 2 and a Phantom 4. I saw the splash pro in person this last weekend. seems like better quality than what gannett normally puts out.

Do you have any video or pictures?


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## Capt_Gilligan (Jun 8, 2016)

The worry for me is that the drone doesn’t carry a big enough bait to really constitute it’s purchase price. To me, a shark bait is 10+lbs with a 1-3lb breakaway type sand digger deployed at least 1000yds off the beach. Kayaks do that, even though it can take a couple hours to pick up all the belly. We do tie on the breakaway top with 20-30 mono so it will break and turn loose.

The drone does have a speed advantage but smaller baits mean smaller fish usually. We run the drag tight enough that a sub 50lb shark won’t hardly even run the clicker and 50-150lb sharks on a 50W or larger don’t really put up much of a fight. It’s harder to fight the gear than the fish.


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## habanerojooz (Dec 4, 2006)

Power Fisherman said:


> ……. The salty air seems like a drone killer.


For the drone pilots, it appears that Corrosion-X is special stuff:


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## yep (Jul 25, 2006)

Power Fisherman said:


> Glad you are having fun. The drone opens a lot of opportunities but also brings some headaches. Sometimes restriction in one form or another. The salty air seems like a drone killer.
> 
> I have an Inspire 2 and a Phantom 4. I saw the splash pro in person this last weekend. seems like better quality than what gannett normally puts out.
> 
> Do you have any video or pictures?


Just got some video bugs worked out in the wifi settings and everything seems to be filming smoothly now. I'll post up a video once I get more than just a test flight.


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## yep (Jul 25, 2006)

Capt_Gilligan said:


> The worry for me is that the drone doesn’t carry a big enough bait to really constitute it’s purchase price. To me, a shark bait is 10+lbs with a 1-3lb breakaway type sand digger deployed at least 1000yds off the beach. Kayaks do that, even though it can take a couple hours to pick up all the belly. We do tie on the breakaway top with 20-30 mono so it will break and turn loose.
> 
> The drone does have a speed advantage but smaller baits mean smaller fish usually. We run the drag tight enough that a sub 50lb shark won’t hardly even run the clicker and 50-150lb sharks on a 50W or larger don’t really put up much of a fight. It’s harder to fight the gear than the fish.


Yessir I agree, that drone is not going to haul a 10lb+ bait out 1,000 yards or 100 for that matter. I think it has a max payload of 4.5 lbs so it is aimed at a different consumer. Who knows, a drone capable of it may be coming soon. 
But for running mullet and crab for reds or smaller ray portions for sharks, you can't beat it. The ol' cobra fish and dive may start collecting dust this summer. 
Tight lines and smooth seas...


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## Capt_Gilligan (Jun 8, 2016)

yep said:


> Yessir I agree, that drone is not going to haul a 10lb+ bait out 1,000 yards or 100 for that matter. I think it has a max payload of 4.5 lbs so it is aimed at a different consumer. Who knows, a drone capable of it may be coming soon.
> But for running mullet and crab for reds or smaller ray portions for sharks, you can't beat it. The ol' cobra fish and dive may start collecting dust this summer.
> Tight lines and smooth seas...


I have the perfect items for deploying big baits way out… a 14 year old son and a kayak lol


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## Power Fisherman (May 23, 2007)

Well I am going to weigh in on this.

These drones are a game changer if you fish the Texas Coast. Bait does not have to be big, I have seen a 12 tiger pick up a 2 lbs electric torpedo ray. They do cost money so some can afford and others cannot.

As much as a factor as the drone would be, fishing beaches and jetties where you do not have to run the line far makes all the difference.

A drone can allow you to fish alone. That is a big plus.

The other game changer is a 12' Zodiac with a 20 horse engine. You do need a crew for this. If you want to run lines out 1,000 yards this is how you do it. A Zodiac is very very tough on a one man effort. The Zodiac can be taken a few miles off the beach to drift for sharks. Lots of action out there.


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## Power Fisherman (May 23, 2007)




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## Power Fisherman (May 23, 2007)




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## yep (Jul 25, 2006)

Yeah, I'd say that was successful. Nice hammer. What were the specs? Length estimated weight..


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## [email protected] (Jan 14, 2005)

yep said:


> Thanks for the information. Good to know before I spend my money.


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