Two separate Kickstarter campaigns are currently funding projects built around the sport of fishing. The Fish Call is a device that fishermen throw into the water and it attracts fish. The GoFish Cam is an underwater adventure camera that attaches to your fishing line and gives you a hook's eye view of the fishing action.
Jack Danos is a young inventor who was inspired to learn more about engineering, electronics and programming during his homeschool experience. With his father Jeff he developed the TactiBite sound and vibration system. They used a hydrophone to record the sounds and vibrations of a school of feeding fish, so when the Fish Call is thrown into the water the fish tend to school around it and are more likely to be caught.
The units shown in the campaign video are 3D printed bodies holding the vibration modules. Using a 9 Volt battery the unit will run for six to eight hours. The unit is autonomous and can be anchored or left loose to float near the boat.
Ryan and Brandon Austin are brothers from Texas who developed the idea to watch the fish they were trying to catch during a fishing trip. The GoFish Cam attaches to the hook, and the company says that if the line snaps the camera unit will slowly float to the top of the water.
GoFish Cam was developed for fisherman who troll, bottom fish or cast and retrieve. The prototypes have been tested to a depth of 150 meters. The 170 degree wide angle lens captures video for up to four hours using the lithium ion battery. The battery charges through a standard USB port. Data is stored on a Micro SD card, up to 32 GB of HDMI video. Footage can be edited and shared using the GoFish Cam app.
These are two very interesting campaigns built around people innovating in the realm of their hobbies. The Fish Call has already blasted by its $10,000 goal after a few days of being live and the GoFish Cam is over ninety percent of their goal but won't end until September 1, 2015.