FWP commission will consider ban on drone fishing
An angler catches bluegills with a drone in this screenshot from You Tube.
The posts read in typical YouTube fashion, “I caught a monster bass with my DJI Drone!!!!”or “Catching big dumb Bluegills with a Drone!”
But they are real. People are really catching fish with drones. While it hasn’t caught on too much in Montana — yet — the Montana the Fish and Wildlife Commission will hold a public hearing via a telephonic Zoom platform on Dec. 1, at 10 a.m., to consider a new rule pertaining to banning the use of remote-controlled devices and drones while fishing.
Phil Kilbreath of the FWP enforcement division in Helena said while he didn’t see it himself, when he was a game warden in Libby he’s get phone calls from anglers reporting people using drones to try to catch fish in closed waters below the Libby Dam.
In that case, it wasn’t aerial drones as much as it was remote-controlled boats. The drones are used to carry the line, lure and bait farther than a person can cast, Kilbreath noted.
In the YouTube videos the Hungry Horse News watched, one angler in Manitoba used a drone to pluck fat bluegills out of a lake, another used a drone to catch a large bass.
Right now, Montana doesn’t specifically have a law that bans the use of drones for fishing. It does have a law that outlaws their use in hunting and the filming of hunts, however.
Like those laws, the proposed ban for fishing speaks to “fair chase” in pursuit of game.
“The proposed rule represents a proactive approach in regulating this activity and would make it clear that the use of remote-controlled devices for the purposes of fishing is prohibited.,” FWP said in a release.
To view the proposal notice and submit written comments online visit http://fwp.mt.gov/news/publicNotices/rules/.
Public comment will be taken during the public hearing. Written data, views or arguments may also be submitted to: Phil Kilbreath, FWP Enforcement Division, P.O. Box 200701, Helena, Montana, 59620-0701; or e-mailed to pkilbreath@mt.gov. Comments must be received no later than Dec. 4, 2020.
To participate in the telephonic public hearing, call 1-646-558-8656, enter the meeting number: 956 6313 6821, followed by the password: 198904.