I bet we see a lot of GoPro cameras this summer

Jeff Barg and 42-inch pike photographed with GoPro camera

Wisconsin's Jeff Barg came fishing to Bow Narrows Camp by himself in late August last year and with no one to act as photographer, decided to pick up a GoPro action camera that would mount to the bow of the boat. He was just learning how to operate this amazing tiny camera when he hooked into a muscular, 42-inch northern pike.
There's a smudge on the lens which I'll bet came from Jeff hurrying to turn on the camera so he could quickly release this beautiful fish.
His was about the third GoPro I noticed our guests using last year. Scott Cieplik's images and videos of his brother Tommy (see Holy Cow and Awesome Video) opened our eyes to this special camera.

GoPro mounted to bow of boat

There are several mounting systems available for the waterproof GoPro. You might think the head mount would be the handiest but I notice that videos shot this way are distracting because a person moves his head and therefore the video back and forth frequently.
Another very handy acccessory that I don't think Jeff had is a remote control. Jeff could have just picked up a clicker from his end of the boat and started a video of him fighting this giant fish by himself.
The GoPro photos and videos are in HD and the clarity is striking. They take a very wide angle view that will take in all of the boat, for instance.
This is the camera that takes those videos of people shooting rapids in kayaks, skydiving or dirt bike riding.
Incredibly, it sells for as little as $200, depending on model. Many of the accessories, like the remote, cost extra.
The GoPro is often referred to as an "action camera." That's a great term because it is the capturing of action that it excels at. There are things it does not do too. It doesn't zoom-in to enlarge distant subjects, for instance. So, you really need two cameras: the GoPro for capturing all the action and a standard camera with zoom or telephoto for those wildlife or other distant shots.

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