If you’re fishing in Idaho this year you may see something other than a bald eagle or a raven flying through the sky. That’s because an Idaho Power Company biologist decided that drone aircraft would be a safe alternative to helicopters when counting salmon and steelhead redds.
Really? Ok, so a copter did go down a year or two ago with fish and game biologists in it and nobody lived. I don’t like the end of that story either. And I’m not necessarily opposed to this drone option. But those suckers weigh more than a few pounds and require no FAA certification to go airborne. The controllers of those drones aren’t required to take classes or gain certification to fly them. Does that sound a little f’in dangerous if you’re fishing steelhead on the Salmon or the South Fork in November, or December, or January, February, March or early April? Yea, I thought so.
Ok, here’s some more dirt on what might be giving you a flattop later this spring.
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