I think technology is getting out of hand…
People need to use it for everything. A person can’t even go for a fish without bring technology into the matter. Of course, there is a heavily debated forward facing sonar issue in the tournament bass fishing world, but we’ve seen people drone fishing, and now, strapping a GoPro to a fish… I mean, where does it end? Don’t get me wrong, I got my kayak rigged up with that beautiful Humminbird Xplore, but sometimes, I really enjoy leaving the graph on shore, dropping the trolling motor, and just flipping heavy cover along the bank. Big pole, big line, big fish and absolutely zero tech… just fishing with my eyes.
But as much as I think needing us fisherman need to power down every once in a while, this video did yield some interesting footage. And perhaps the most important part of this particular equation… carp. Originally brought over from Europe in the 1800s, common carp were introduced as a food source and to help fill American waterways with hardy fish. But over time, they became one of the country’s most invasive and ecologically damaging species. So if you’re gonna strap any kind of camera to a fish, it might as well be a dirty carp.
Types of Carp
Common Carp are found in nearly every U.S. state, where they thrive in warm, shallow, muddy waters like ponds, lakes, and slow-moving rivers. Grass Carp were initially brought in to help control aquatic vegetation, and while they cam be helpful in that regard, unless they are meticulously managed, they often times will overconsume plants and disrupt the ecosystem. Bighead and Silver Carp, also known as “Asian carp,” were introduced in the 1970s to clean aquaculture ponds in the South, but they escaped into the Mississippi River system and have spread rapidly. Silver carp are the ones famous for leaping out of the water and smacking boaters in the face. Black Carp are far less common, but also invasive.
Carp stir up sediment while feeding, which clouds the water and uproots vegetation that native fish rely on. They compete with species like bass, bluegill, and catfish for food and habitat. Asian carp, in particular, pose a major threat to the Great Lakes ecosystem, where officials have spent decades and millions of dollars trying to keep them out. But despite their invasive reputation, carp are popular among anglers in some areas, and I’d argue that it’s mostly because they grow pretty big and put up a good fight. Bowfishing for carp has become a popular and fun way to catch them, since most states ask you to kill them on sight. Many states also run carp culling tournaments encouraging anglers to catch as many as possible to limit the rapid spread.
Underwater Footage
The fisherman gets out on a bridge and straps up his rod with bread as bait. Yes, a whole slice of Wonder Bread. That’s the other thing about carp… they’re pretty easy to catch with just about anything you have in your pantry… corn, Jell-O, hot dogs, dough, bread… they eat anything. This amateur marine biologist casts out the bread and hooks into a big ol’ carp as he makes sure not to fall into the traffic behind him. He gets his catch to shore and says:
“We needed a big fish to strap a GoPro on and we got him first cast. Personally, I can’t wait until the GoPro is on the fish so it can show us other big fish we can catch”.
Those are high hopes for this but an interesting take on a fish finder. Let’s see how it works out…
The pair strap the GoPro fully around the fish with it sitting on top of its back. They aren’t completely foolish as they attach fishing line to the GoPro for retrieval. I just hope the line doesn’t get caught up and break. They release the fish with the camera rolling and it swims around a bit getting some good footage before they decided to reel it in. By the time the GoPro gets to shore the fish is long gone and probably hiding somewhere after that strange event.
Either way, it worked far better than I expected. The angler actually gets some pretty great footage of life underwater in this Florida canal:
Guy Straps GoPro On Turtle, Captures Video Of Pond Life
The Fish Whisperer is BACK.
If you remember back to 2019, a YouTuber named “The Fish Whisperer” strapped his GoPro on a turtle to get some incredible footage of life inside of his local pond. I mean, we’re talking Discovery Channel kind of stuff here, and people loved it.
As of right now, the video has over 17 MILLION views. And he did it again, this time strapping the camera to ol’ Tank here.
Tank dives into the pond, swims around for a while, bumps into a few fish and rocks, and perhaps the funniest part is when the man throws some food in the water for the turtle. Tank sees it, swims to the surface, and gets into a little tussle with another turtle for the food because mama ain’t raised no punk.
All we need now is David Attenborough to narrate this thing…. somebody call Netflix.
