Over the coming months, the Aeroo Pro fishing drone will be travelling with us across the upper North Island as part of an extended, real-world evaluation in genuine New Zealand conditions.
This is not a staged demonstration or a single outing. The Aeroo Pro will be with us as we move between stories and assignments, used from the same beaches, bays, and boats where Kiwi anglers actually spend their time. The aim is straightforward: find out what the drone does well, where its limits sit, and how it holds up when it becomes a regular piece of kit rather than a novelty.
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The setup we are running is the Aeroo Pro Combo Kit with Smart Controller, which includes live video, stabilised control, and an integrated bait release system. Aeroo claim the Aeroo Pro can carry a meaningful fishing payload and reach water well beyond casting distance. Those claims will be tested repeatedly across changing conditions, not just on the good days.
We have mapped out a broad plan between now and March, but local knowledge tends to outperform any schedule. If you know a beach, bay, or stretch of coastline that would make a useful proving ground for the Aeroo Pro, we would like to hear about it. We cannot guarantee reaching every suggested location, but strong ideas will help shape where the testing goes through summer. Know where to go drone fishing? Contact us on ahoy@boatingnz.co.nz.
Three distinct environments will make up the bulk of the assessment: a cruising yacht, trailer boats, and the shore.
Flying from a yacht introduces challenges that flat-water testing simply does not reveal. Decks move, anchor lines swing, and wind behaves unpredictably around spars and rigging. From this platform, we will be looking at how cleanly the Aeroo Pro launches and recovers, how the airflow around the rig affects stability in flight, and how well the Smart Controller supports accurate bait placement while the boat shifts at anchor. Stowage and onboard organisation will also come into the picture, because gear that is difficult to access or awkward to store tends not to get used.
Trailer boats are familiar territory for many readers, and this is where a large share of recreational fishing actually happens. On boats typically under nine metres, space is tighter, conditions can turn quickly, and a fishing day often involves several different stops. The questions here are practical ones: how fast can the Aeroo Pro be launched and recovered, how does it behave in short chop, and how manageable are the controls when the boat is drifting or moving between spots. This environment will be one of the stronger indicators of how well the drone suits everyday Kiwi fishing.
Shore-based testing will take in beaches, harbour edges, rocky headlands, and sheltered bays across the summer.
[gallery td_gallery_title_input="Launching from the sand" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="162641,162638,162640"]
From land, the focus will be on how the Aeroo Pro handles onshore wind and glare, how useful the camera feed is when trying to read structure, and how practical the range proves across a variety of conditions. Responsible operation is part of the brief too, including how easy it is to fly safely and considerately around other people sharing the same spaces.
As the testing progresses, we will report on what we find, the strengths, the surprises, and where the Aeroo Pro falls short. By the end of summer, there should be a thorough, honest picture of how this drone performs when it is used regularly, in the conditions and locations where New Zealand boaties actually fish.
