All anglers love bragging about what they’ve caught. It’s built into our genes. Catching a great fish and then telling your mates about it is awesome.

With the growth in social media, bragging just went global. You can show off your images and videos of your fishing prowess near-instantly to an audience limited only by your circle of friends and whether they want to watch.

The tools you need to capture the moment are getting smaller, more versatile and more user friendly each year. You don’t need a film-crew following your every move to get awesome vision – you just need some (relatively) cheap cameras and a bit of creativity to make clips that fellow anglers and friends will want to watch.

This feature outlines some tips to help you make better fishing clips to share with your mates and takes a look at some of the latest gear available to help you get the job done.

You’re probably familiar with the ‘GoPro Hero’ genre of action cameras that are fully waterproof, and which you can set-and-forget while you’re fishing. Usually recording on an SD card, it’s possible to record hours of footage at a time.

There are pros and cons to using these cameras. The downside is usually that audio suffers inside the waterproof housings that these little machines use to stay dry and operational. The upside is that if they cop a wave or some spray, it’s not an issue and that most things are in focus all of the time. If you want to put the camera underwater to look at your catch face-to-face, that’s also easily done. Just don’t drop it into the ball of feeding longtail tuna – you mightn’t get it back!

If you want a set-and-forget camera, you’ll need a good mount to hold it in place. No use turning to the camera and smiling with your catch to find that the camera has dropped off somewhere between the ramp and your first fishing spot.

Some anglers are pretty creative with their mountings. Attaching mounts to ends of poles, outboards, landing nets and fishing rods all give interesting results that can add variety to your final clip.

The new Sony Action Cam comes with a cool bulldog-clip mount that can perch in most danger-free clippable areas in seconds – great for the land-based angler who wants a diversity of angles in their fishing videos.

Unless you’re shooting some video on an iPad, you’ll have to use some sort of basic, computer-based editing software to polish up your creation. This basically involves pulling out the boring bits and then tacking the awesome bits together in a logical sequence.

Most of us have a home computer and there’s often decent software supplied with the camera to do this. Apple’s iMovie, which comes free with all their computers, also does a good job.

Most cameras also come with some of their own, in-house editing software that’s eminently suitable.

Most anglers I know have some sort of social media profile or presence. If you want to get your word out there, create a channel on YouTube for free and share it through your Facebook or Instagram profiles. There’s no cost associated with any of these platforms.

Remember, the more interesting and succinct your videos are (read: short and sweet), the more likely it is that people will watch them and share amongst their networks of friends.

Think about the last video you watched on social media – did you watch it all the way through? Was it too long? Did you share it? If not, keep this in mind when making your own masterpieces.

• Avoid foul language. Awesomeness is better conveyed by other means.

• Shoot wide angle. It’s better to see it all than half of it. It also makes your video less shaky.

• Experiment with camera angles. Breaking up the clip with different shots makes it visually more appealing.

• Talk! Let us all know what you’re doing. Grunting while you’re pumping and winding may not hold interest for more than a few seconds.

• Keep your clips short. Anything more than 90 seconds will lose people. Trust us – it will.

• Tell a story. Make sure you put the clip into context. Where are you? What are you fishing for and why? What techniques are you using? Your mates WILL want to know.

• Respect your quarry. If you’re going to release your fish, do it quickly and give it the best chance of survival. If you’re going to keep it to eat, treat it properly and kill it quickly.

• Be legal. Make sure you obey all Fisheries and Boating regulations. I guarantee at least one of your viewers will relish the chance to sink the boot in and will have the evidence to prove it.

• If your clip definitely needs a soundtrack, avoid stealing copyrighted music. Some hosting sites will reject clips with copied music in it anyway (yep – they can tell). A lot of editing software comes with a selection of free-to-use music that you can use instead.

Distributed in the fishing industry by the same company that blazed the trail for GoPro (Lusty Industries), the Sony Action Cam is cool piece of kit. The basic kit comes with a HD Sony Action Cam, a Waterproof case (to 5m), a Live-View remote that you wear around your wrist and some mounts to get you going. It’s even got in-built GPS. This means your camera can not only capture the fishing footage, but map it for you via a GPS track at the end of the day using the free Sony software provided. Pretty cool.

The Action Cam’s 170º filming angle comes with Sony’s Steady Shot technology, which takes out a lot of the bumps and jolts that the camera is exposed to while filming.

And while it mightn’t be relevant while you’ve only got one camera, the Live-View remote can take feeds from and control up to five Sony Action Cams at once. So if you’re the ultimate fishing action hero, you can capture your captures from five different angles. These different shots are all time coded, which makes editing them easy. It’s definitely drool material for when you’re back on the PC at home.

A final note about the Sony Action Cams is that there’s a great bulldog-clip mounting system that’s useful for anglers. Combining a rubber-coated clip with a universally swivelling lockable head, it gives both boat and land-based anglers dozens of options for cool angles that are achievable in seconds.

RRP $499

www.lustyindustries.com

One of the original choices for a fishing cam, the GoPro has come a long way since the clunky original version. Now 20% smaller and lighter than its predecessor, the Hero 3+ delivers improved image quality and features geared for versatility and convenience.

The new Super View mode is super-wide angle while Auto Low Light intelligently adjusts frame rates to improve low light performance.

With a 30% better battery life, faster Wi-Fi and a sharper lens, the Hero 3+ is the most advanced GoPro yet.

RRP: $529

www.gopro.com.au

Taking their most coveted attributes from the ContourROAM and the original Contour+, Contour’s top camera is packed with features, easier to use, and brings an entirely new perspective to your adventures. Featuring even better video quality, an Instant On-Record switch, and a 60m waterproof case for those underwater adventures, the Contour+2 will bring your fishing stories to life like never before.

A GPS receiver allows you to capture and share a different perspective with an overlay of speed, distance, elevation and GPS data as well as crisp 1080HD video and up to 120FPS.

When used with the mobile app, the inbuilt Bluetooth chip turns your smartphone into a remote control allowing you to preview your shots, change camera settings, and check memory and battery status on the fly. You can also use the infrared laser to confirm that you are shooting at the correct angle.

It has a huge variety of mounts to choose from, an included waterproof case and a 270° rotating lens that allows for mounting in any position, so the camera will work virtually anywhere.

RRP: $449

www.meecosales.com.au

The ContourROAM2 is touted as being the easiest-to-use camera on the market. With a quick slide of the ‘On & Record’ switch you're filming your favourite adventures in crystal clear 1080p HD video. The Instant On-Record switch means there is no standby mode, so the battery is only in use when shooting, giving you more bang per charge and a total recording time of up to 3.5 hours.

The ContourROAM2 is lightweight and waterproof to up to 1m without the addition of an external housing, making it the best all weather action camera available. Whether you’re fishing, snorkelling or tearing up single track, the ContourROAM2 is ready for any adventure.

It's compatible with every Contour mount giving you unlimited angles, and with the trademark 270° rotating lens, you'll always get the perfect, level shot no matter where the camera is mounted.

RRP:$269

www.meecosales.com.au

The iON Air Pro 3 is the flagship of the iON range of cameras. It’s able to shoot 1080p at 60 frames per second, or 720p at a whopping 120 frames per second, which gives you the ability to shoot ultra-sharp slow motion footage.

The iON is waterproof straight out of the box, removing the need for a waterproof housing and preventing lens fogging. The one touch slide, along with its vibration feedback feature, offers easy operation, and with a 160° field of view you can guarantee you'll never miss the action. All iON cameras use standard ¼" Tripod mounts, and a variety of mounts are available.

RRP: $449

aus.ioncamera.com

If you're looking for a cheaper alternative to the Air Pro 3, the Air Pro 2 is the perfect solution. It still shoots in slow motion (but at a lower frame rate), and is waterproof to a depth of 10m, so it’s still a great choice if you're looking for an action cam. Sharing the Air Pro 3's one touch slide, lack of housing and tripod mount, and with an even wider 180° ultra wide angle field of view, the Air Pro 2 is perfect for the budget-conscious buyer.

RRP:$349

aus.ioncamera.com

The iON Adventure shares several features with the Air Pro range, but has some key differences which make it better suited to anglers. While it shares the non-housed design (which means no fogging) and tripod mount with the Air Pro, the Adventure comes equipped with a single button instead of the slide design of the other iON cameras. It's still easy to operate, with vibration and visual feedback, but the flat lens on the Adventure helps underwater footage look sharp and focused. It has a built in GPS, which includes location, speed, and altitude.

Finally, the Adventure features a loop-filming mode that constantly records, making sure you capture those big moments and never miss a fish jump again.

RRP: $399

aus.ioncamera.com

The specifications of Shimano’s light and compact CM-1000 Sport Camera are impressive: full HD resolution, 10m underwater with no housing, 135° or super wide 180° viewing angle options, and an F2.0 lens perfect for low light conditions. The battery takes less than four hours to charge, and it runs for two hours.

What’s more, it’s possible to link this camera to other devices via WI-FI, ANT+ and ANT private connectivity.

The Shimano Sport Cam comes with a lens cover, adhesive mount, vented head mount, USB cable and an instruction manual. Optional accessories include a case waterproof to 80m, tripod, arm extender, flat polarised lens cover and silicone sleeve.

It’s not only a video camera though; the CM-1000 will also take still images at 6MP 4:3 (2848 x 2136). With the Shimano Sport Camera you’ll never miss a fishing photographic opportunity ever again.

RRP: $449

www.shimanofish.com.au