Drone Footage of a Man Fishing in Shallow Water on a Beach

A drone’s built-in camera provides spectacular fishing photography. But even beyond that, the overhead view and territory-covering ability are perfect for scouting for fish, scrutinizing topography, and illuminating nuances of fish behavior. Those applications make it somewhat surprising that, thus far, few top anglers are actually using drones to bend rods and bring more fish boat-side.

For a clear view of the benefits and limitations of drones for fishing, I persuaded seven pro fishermen and photographers to share their tips for finding more fish, enticing more bites, and capturing better images using the drone’s-eye view.