GoPro Fishing

I’ve recently purchased a Hero4 Black GoPro with hopes to record some video while out fishing. I dont have the first clue on how to use one of these things, but I’m sure I can figure out the basics between video, pictures, battery life, etc. Just wondering if anyone around here has any experience with a GoPro? Any tips or tricks that might make using one easier? I’ve read a few articles about which mounts are best for fisherman, but it seems like the standard flat base mount that comes in the box would be the best. Recommendations?

Might be a long shot, but does anyone have any experience with using GoPros at night? Most of my fishing is done in the dark and I’m not sure the most efficient way to light up the boat to get some decent shots. Thank you!

my recommendation is that hat/chest cam setups are getting a bit old. if you are shore fishing its about what you have to do. Night fishing they stink. at least the hero 3’s do. maybe the new ones are better.

if you fish in a boat mount the camera to your night light pole. its a much better watch. and you can catch all the action in the boat.

Get ready for the bugs if you’re wanting to use a GoPro at night on a boat. The new GoPro cameras have decent low light capabilities, but you still need a fairly good amount of light to make it enjoyable to watch. Start with LED strip lighting around the inside of the boat. Any light you will use to light up everything else needs to be behind the camera to not cause any ill effects on the video quality. A dim headlamp on while fishing is ok, as long as you don’t make a habit of looking at the camera all the time.

Looking forward to seeing some videos! Trial and error for sure!

hnd wrote:

my recommendation is that hat/chest cam setups are getting a bit old.

X2 I can’t stand watching video from a hat cam.

The headmount videos are usually pretty shaky and hard to watch.

I’ve found the jaws clamp mount to be my preference. You can clamp it anywhere in the boat and face it towards the action. The wide angle lens does a good job of capturing the full scene rather than only seeing a small piece of the action via the head mount. In my boat, I’ve found clamping onto the downrigger boom and then swinging the downrigger out (into the position it’d be in if you were fishing riggers) and then aiming the camera back into the boat captures everything going on in the boat and is probably my favorite view. Here is an example of one of my videos with this view towards the end:

The articles that I read really only talked about multiple angles from the sleeve, chest, and hat mounts, which really sounded like a pain to film and then create a video from. Also agree that they are difficult to watch. I like the idea of using the wide angle lens on the side of my boat with the jaw clamp you are talking about, Jake. I’ve got a pretty small boat so i cant imagine itll have a hard time catching all the action. LED strip lights around the boat sounds like a great idea. Only making one more trip north in open water season so it might be my goal for next year. Decent winter project to fart around with. Thanks for input!

I use a clamp and flexible arm mount. I take my rear pedestal seat off but leave the pedestal in then clamp the camera to the pedestal. Takes great footage and it can clamp to just about anything.

Excellent point. If I’m looking to set up a system with lights I could apply some lights to the bow of the boat, then use a mount clamped to the front seat pedestal, approximately 3 feet in front of the lighting system. I believe it was mentioned that you want your GoPro in front of the lights for the best lighting of the video, correct? This way I could avoid using any headlamp.

Might look like a fool out on the water, but if it results in some fish in the boat and a decent video to prove it, who cares?!

I don’t understand folks urge to film stuff. For me when I go fishing the last thing I’m interested in is filming anything. I’ll leave the worries about shadows, sun angle, light positioning to people like James who do this stuff for a living.

Anyway, have fun. I’m sure enough trial & error will produce the results you will be happy with.

Dutchboy wrote:

I don’t understand folks urge to film stuff.

Kinda like most people don’t understand our urge to catch fish…
I like filming, as it provides me another way to enjoy my fishing hobby in the winter: editing the raw footage into some videos. Also the videos create a better trip memory for me than still pictures. To each, their own.

At the same time, I absolutely don’t want to waste time putzing with a video camera when I could be fishing. I put a waterproof adhesive surf mount on either either side of my boat’s windshield with a gooseneck extension that adjusts to point the GoPro in any direction. I ran a wire under the console to each location from my 12v power plug so that the batteries recharge on the run and I put the cameras on the 20-minute loop record setting. Turn them on when we start in the morning, and only touch them again to save a file after we get a fish or something else interesting happens.
https://www.youtube.com/user/lambeaumuskie/videos

It’s a hobby like anything else. The nice thing about GoPro’s and other action style cameras is they generally don’t take away from your fishing. Mount them somewhere on your or your boat, hit the record button and fish. That’s it. I’ve started experimenting with underwater footage lately with mine. I’ve been clamping it underwater to my trolling motor to catch the fish coming into the boat.

Im certainly not trying to do any top of the line production here, just something to get into. Combo of it being a new hobby, as others have mentioned, and the fact that i fish alone 9 times out of 10. I love taking pictures of all the fish I catch to keep memories (kinda lame, i know), so i thought filming some would be a nice touch. And of course, its something nice to toss on social media for my friends and followers to not give a crap about, much like everything else i post!

Some of the ideas here are pretty cool. Didnt realize there were many people into it. Will be a fun winter project to tinker with things throughout the ice season to get it ready for the boat next spring. Thanks to all!

Dutchboy wrote:

I don’t understand folks urge to film stuff. For me when I go fishing the last thing I’m interested in is filming anything. I’ll leave the worries about shadows, sun angle, light positioning to people like James who do this stuff for a living.

same as pictures. we just now have the ability to easily film things like we could with snapping pics.

its fun. i can’t tell you the number of times the old guys i take my few fishing trips with have asked for the video of this or that happening.

I bought a GoPro this spring and just set it up in the boat and let it role while we fish. It creates great memories that do a great job of catching a lot more of the emotions that go with fishing.

If a picture is worth a thousand words a video is worth a million.

I have made several videos this summer and they are incredibly easy to edit and share. In my opinion it really enhances my love to fish.