Startup Suggestions For Making Fishing Videos

[bkohlman]

Many of you make your own fishing videos, and I would love suggestions on equipment needed for starting to make my own videos. I am going to be giving myself a gift when I lose 30 lbs ( 9 lbs down in my first 2 weeks!). 

 

Some things to consider when contemplating a list for me.

 

1. I usually bank fish or use my small 8 foot plastic boat with a trolling motor.

2. My wife and I are both in education, so lets not look at the highest end materials.

3. Include video editing program suggestions.

4. I anticipate just documenting my fishing excursions at this point, but may want to expand into reviews and how to's. (Just like 2.3 million others, I know).

 

 

Thanks for all input, suggestions, and tips!

 

Love posting on here and hope to show off all my tiny Kansas bank fishing bass catches soon!

[Senko lover]

I'm looking at getting started myself. This is what I'm planning on:

 

-GoPros IMO are the way to go (no pun intended). Their cheapest version, although leaving a little to be desired, is going for about $130, I believe.

-Set yourself apart from other YouTubers (try something different; be yourself, don't try to imitate the popular channels)

-Stay as far away from "homemade videos" as possible: use good lighting, recording, ect. Try to be professional.

[Crankinstein]

I think the gopro hero is definitely a camera to consider. They redesigned the original hero and it's only $100 and is very easy to use. The gopro studio software can be downloaded for free from their site and its easy to use. You can find some great bundles floating around the web on fleabay and other sites that offer the camera along with head mounts, chest mounts, clamps, chargers, and all the extras for a reasonable price. I just did the same thing last year and have found making fishing videos to be a really fun experience. If you share your experience and some helpful tips or reviews that find their way to even one viewer that enjoys them is a success in my book.

[Rhino68W]

One thing to consider is how you'll be filming. First person with a head-cam, or third person on a tripod. That is where you start your search. GoPros will be the way to go though so a beginner. I think there are some cheaper alternatives as well. Also look into getting a microphone. No one likes watching a video where you can't hear what the people are saying due to wind noise and distance from the small mic. 

[FinCulture]

get a gopro that can shoot in 1080p (I think they all do) and figure out how you can mount it to your boat. headcams are the easy way to go, but a tripod would make for better footage and you can get them cheap.

[Lunker Addict]

I have been thinking about doing videos myself. A buddy of mine likes to skateboard and he has something, I think it is called a soloshot??? He sets his video camera on a tripod and wears this bracelet. The camera follows him as he skates and films it all, it is really cool. I'm guessing they are pretty expensive though.

[ClackerBuzz]

get an external mic! they are cheap.  nothing worse than someone getting great footage but you can't hear squat besides mumbling and wind.

[Scott F]

GoPros are designed for close up selfie type shots. If your videos are going to contain anything that is not a close up, you'll need another camera that does not have the ultra wide angle lens that is on the GoPro. Those long distance, curved horizon shots made by a GoPro are hard to watch and certainly do not make professional looking videos.

Editing videos takes a lot of time. 90% or more of what you will shoot is going to be stuff that will not make it into your finished video. Be prepared to put in a lot of hours looking at footage that you won't use.

Most people find they never look at the videos they spent hours editing after they are done. Make certain before you invest a lot of money that you will be making videos that you and others want to see.

Before digital video came along, I was making and editing videos of my fly in fishing trips. They made great souvenirs of the trips for the guys who went but filming can take away from your enjoyment of the event you are trying to capture. Today, I rarely film my fishing trips because I'd rather be fishing than taking videos of other people fishing. I could use a mounted camera like a GoPro to film myself, but I can't stand looking at those wide angle videos. Think about what you are going to do with the videos you want to make. Are you going to get enough use of them to justify the time and expense? Try and borrow someone's camera first to see if you enjoy the process.

[WIGuide]

I have been thinking about doing videos myself. A buddy of mine likes to skateboard and he has something, I think it is called a soloshot??? He sets his video camera on a tripod and wears this bracelet. The camera follows him as he skates and films it all, it is really cool. I'm guessing they are pretty expensive though.

Those are awesome, I looked into buying one when they came out though and if I'm remembering correctly they were north of $500. Some day I'll have one, but it's a bit steep for just a toy right now haha.  I'd also second these other guys in getting a gopro. They work great! 

[baxtervol]

Good luck to you guys! I gotta say the fishing channels on you tube are pretty good and there is always room for more. I subbed to around thirty because I am relatively new to bassin and need to speed up the learning curve.


I think you could start with whatever equipment u can afford. As long as u pay attention to focus and operate the camera steady, people will watch if the content is interesting. I do think it is essential that you be yourself. You are gonna have people like or dislike u anyway, so relax and be yourself. I think that is the key component you will find in the bigger channels. Guys just being themslves and being honest about what u know or do not know.

[bkohlman]

Great tips everyone! 

 

Any preferences on chest mount vs head mount videos, and comfort for the fisherman?

 

Thanks again!

[mnbassman23]

GoPro is a great choice as others have said. Get the model you can afford and get a suction cup or the jaw clamp for the boat, whichever will work best for your situation. If you are shooting from shore find a way to mount it on a tripod or something stable. Head/Chest cams are ok, but if you move around a lot your going to make your viewers nauseous.   

[bkohlman]

GoPro is a great choice as others have said. Get the model you can afford and get a suction cup or the jaw clamp for the boat, whichever will work best for your situation. If you are shooting from shore find a way to mount it on a tripod or something stable. Head/Chest cams are ok, but if you move around a lot your going to make your viewers nauseous.   

 

 

Great point! 

[garvin]

Head mounts suck for fishing.I tried it and every time your head moves around, so does the camera. Horizon was crooked, the camera tends to roam around your head, especially if you're wearing it over a cap; most of the footage I shot one day had 3/4 of the frame filled with sky. Chest mount is more stable and captures more of the fishing action.

I went with a Xiaomi Yi instead of the GoPro. You can use the same hardware for it that GoPro uses, except for the waterproof case. They make one especially for the Yi. It captures up to 1080p 60fps, and it's only about $80 on Amazon. There's no LCD on the back; you control it all through an app on your phone.

[Crankinstein]

I would also add that you make sure to enjoy your videos and not over scrutinize yourself. There's always going to be things you can improve on with every video and that's half the fun of it, every video is better than the previous one. On another note I would address the conflict of head mount vs tripod by some experimentation. I've found that for my fishing that the head mount works best with one camera situations because I'm all over the boat plus it gives a nice first person perspective but I think if I added another cam I could put both on tripods, again its just something to think about and everyone's situation is different when it comes to shooting videos.