Divebots

Divebots Underwater exploration and object recovery with QYSEA 路 FIFISH ROV (underwater drone).

Featuring sunken boats, incredible shots of fish and wildlife, historic objects and vintage glass bottles recovered from Crystal Lake, Illinois & the surrounding area.

Beautiful moonrise over Crystal Lake tonight! Go outside and check it out! Anyone else get good photos of it?
05/03/2026

Beautiful moonrise over Crystal Lake tonight! Go outside and check it out! Anyone else get good photos of it?

04/29/2026

Sometimes the underwater realm can look otherworldly! Never gets old watching pike and musky do the slow cruise as the other fish steer clear!
In other news the QYSEA 路 FIFISH drone is having some issues and will unfortunately need to be sent out for repair in the next few days as it has been out of commission for some time. Super bummed as I want to get fresh video and many people have been reaching out for help recovering lost objects- I will do my best to help you all out as soon as I have a working drone again! Could make for some fun videos, too!Luckily Blue Skies Drones is on the case and will hopefully get the FiFish E-GO up and running again soon!

The raft is very clearly marked, "NO DIVING!" 馃ぃ
04/21/2026

The raft is very clearly marked, "NO DIVING!" 馃ぃ

Good progress on the dock this weekend. It wasn't warm, 馃ザ but I see that 80 degrees coming on Thursday 馃槑. I'll be ready....
04/20/2026

Good progress on the dock this weekend. It wasn't warm, 馃ザ but I see that 80 degrees coming on Thursday 馃槑. I'll be ready....let's go summer!

It somehow got lost not once, but twice, on the way here, but the part to hopefully repair my drone has finally arrived....
04/17/2026

It somehow got lost not once, but twice, on the way here, but the part to hopefully repair my drone has finally arrived. As they say- Better 8 days late than never 馃ぃ. Thanks US Postal Service 馃摤 for your determination 馃槄. The team at Blue Skies Drones is always great and with any luck the drone will be back in the water shortly!

04/17/2026

HAPPY FISH FRIDAY! 4 species in 40 seconds! Check out these guys come up close to the drone in rapid succession! Please follow and share if your enjoy the video!
Sometimes when I need to reposition the boat for object recovery I will rest the drone on the lake bottom. It kicks up a bit of sediment and the fish come around looking for a snack in the floating debris. In this case that resulted in a parade of species- largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill and walleye! QYSEA 路 FIFISH

04/16/2026

A look back at this SUNKEN BOAT in the West End of Crystal Lake!

Local fishermen recently told me this boat was sunk on purpose as a fish habitat! That checks out as you can see rock slabs in the boat and a cinderblock tied to an oarlock and resting in the sand nearby!

There were, indeed, all sorts of small fish in and around this boat! I even came across a large pike flawlessly camouflaged in the weeds nearby!

Credit to John Hornagold and his son for originally pointing me in the direction of this wreck after they came across it on sonar while fishing! QYSEA 路 FIFISH Meta Quest

04/11/2026

Here is the dive video and some info on the ANTIQUE FISHING LURE I grabbed from Crystal Lake with my underwater drone! 馃槂

It is a Pflueger Neverfail Underwater Minnow! Pflueger Fishing was founded in 1880 and started off manufacturing fish hooks- later growing into one of the largest lure makers in the world!馃帲 Pflueger is still in business nearly 150 years on and manufactures a line of high quality reels and fishing gear.

The Neverfail Minnow was patented in 1911 and came in 3-hook and 5-hook versions. This is a 3-hook version and although the paint is damaged, if you look closely you can see hexagon-shaped scales. These minnows were available in dozens of color patterns! The paint scheme of this particular lure is designed to resemble a chub fish!

Highly collectible, these lures can be worth hundreds of dollars 馃挵 when in mint condition, especially when found with an orignal wooden box! Sadly, neither of those factors apply to this minnow, but it is still a great find and an awesome piece of vintage fishing tackle!

I wasn't able to find any video of these lures in the water, which is too bad, because it has some great swim action due to the double prop design. I will post a video of it in the water so be sure to 鉃★笍FOLLOW Divebots 猬咃笍 so you don't miss it! QYSEA 路 FIFISH

Happy FISH Friday! MEGA THANK YOU to Gio Milano and the CL Anglers Club for sharing some photos of structure going in t...
04/10/2026

Happy FISH Friday! MEGA THANK YOU to Gio Milano and the CL Anglers Club for sharing some photos of structure going in the lake in 2012!
These structures have been in the lake for 14 years, so it is interesting to see how they age and the fish they attract. Hopefully my videos will be helpful for analysis and maximizing the benefit of future efforts to help grow and sustain fish populations. Before you ask, I am sworn to secrecy on the locations 馃ぃ
Thanks to the photos the Club provided I was able to review my dive footage and find several of the structures that had been placed to help support the fish population. I"ll drop a video link in the comments showing a lot of the structure in Crystal Lake and how the fish behave around it.
Follow Divebots for more awesome underwater photos and video! QYSEA 路 FIFISH

04/09/2026

I didn"t know catfish did this! This channel catfish was likely laying still to conserve energy in the cold water at this time of year. It almost looked dead the way it was drifting with the current!

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