Special Testimonials
A special thank you to all below, and the rest of the AeroKontiki community who have contributed so much to this new way of fishing. Your feedback, knowledge sharing and encouragement has helped shape the product to what it is today. The AeroKontiki team thanks you for your ongoing support and developed friendship.
Les Viskovich - Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand
"The training, the follow up, the communication, the quality of the products have all been excellent and my expectations have always been exceeded every step of the way.
The AK is by far the best form of Kontiki fishing I have ever experienced. The catches are significantly higher because I have more hooks in the fish zone for longer than any other system. This is particularly so when fishing in big rips as I do quite often on Muriwai beach. With the AK in a 3 hour period I can do three sets with the hooks in the zone for 40 minutes per set (totalling 120 mins) whereas with the torpedo I would be lucky to do 2 sets with hooks in the zone for about 20 mins per set (totalling 40 mins) before the line gets washed up on the beach. Also, the AK is a lot more fun. I have probably done 30 or 40 sets so far and even now I get as big a thrill seeing the line being taken out as I did the first time i used it.
Overall as you can see I am very impressed with the whole system and would certainly encourage anyone interested to give it a go" - Les Viskovich
Mark de Lacy (AKA The Minstrel) - Tokerau Beach, Doubtless Bay, New Zealand
"What a wonderful maiden flight experience for the "Hiwi the Kiwi" Aero Kontiki drone. Big crowd of locals came down to Tokerau Beach for the launch. Perfect flight and cool to see the rod bend 15 mins after release. Locals didnt notice so when I returned to the Jeep to get the gaff there was much laughter "Hey Minstrel you going to play golf or something?" some wag called out. Laughs turned to a roar when I gaffed this beaut 15lb Snapper on our very first flight. Thanks Kyle and Shima for the coaching. I've entered this pic in the comp for the free battery. Come on you droners see if you can beat Hiwi. Kiwis can fly!!! Mark de Lacy aka The Minstrel"
Thank you Mark. Spending the day with you and Chris was great fun. We will look forward to doing that again, and will look forward to your photos of your catches.
Happy fishing and great experiences - Kyle
Craig Holland - Victoria, Australia
“We recently purchased a holiday home at Loch Sport, a small getaway location on the isthmus between the Gippsland Lakes and the Ninety Mile Beach on the south eastern coast of Victoria. With a boat set up for fishing the lakes, the next challenge was how to fish the Ninety Mile Beach? Bass Strait can be very windy and rough, and with the first break some 200-300m from the beach, surfcasting was rather frustrating. So we purchased an Aero Kontiki, and after a couple of training flights over land, we have just done our first live runs out to sea. The AK is an amazing machine, with plenty of power and very easy to fly. Our first two drops resulted in two 30kg stingrays – not the targeted species, but good fun regardless. We have learnt a lot in a short time and now have the gear and the confidence to do more drops up to 1000m offshore.
Kyle and his team have provided tremendous service and support – the AK is a great product that will keep us amused for years as we chase gummy sharks and snapper along the coast. The AK has certainly raised some eyebrows along the beach!
And special thanks to Kyle and his artist – I asked for the canopy to be painted in green & gold for Australia, with a Silver Fern for NZ (as I have lived on this side of the Ditch for 40 years) - what a great job they did! Craig Holland"
Thank you Craig. Its been a pleasure. and its great to have the opportunity to supply and support into Australia. We will look forward to your photos of your catches. Happy fishing and great experiences - Kyle
Peter Albert Elliot - Auckland
"Fast line set up, Very fast line deployment, Easy line retrieval with electric reel, Light weight easy to fly drone, Drone returns to take off point, No wet feet especially on those cold winter days. A great easy to use fishing machine.
The customer support and after sales service and training from Envirobotics is worthy of a gold medal top notch". - Peter Albert Elliot
Peter Albert Elliot treated himself to an Aerokontiki as a retirement present. Amazingly on one of his earlier missions he managed to haul in 15 fish out of 17 traces from about 700 meters away. He kept what he needed and the rest was put back for someone to catch another day. The customised theme Peter wanted on his canopy is from the DreamWorks film "How to train you Dragon". Its a masterpiece with amazine detail in the eyes, all done by our Airbrush Artist Ron Van Dam.
Richard Lynch - Wairoa
"The AeroKontiki fishing system is the best thing I have bought. Its so much fun and catches fish so well I would recomend it to anyone. For the 2016 fishing season I caught 97 fish for my family and friends. And as for the Kyle he would be the best person I have dealt with for after sales service and training in a changing world, as we all know after sales service is becoming a thing of the past, but not with this guy.
My AeroKontiki is one of the most used out of all the one he has sold so if there where going to be any problems I would have found them first but my AeroKontiki has had very little go wrong, in fact the only thing that needed fixing was my own doing. This is a great product and a great company and it is only going to get better. Thank you Kyle for inventing such a great fishing machine - Richard Lynch - Wairoa
Thank you Richard. It's been a real pleasure. I put a photo of one of your catches on the banner of this page. Please keep more of those photos coming in.
Phil and Barbara Evans - Papamoa
"When I was looking for a fishing kontiki last year, I came across a Google entry that said 'Aero Kontiki'. I immediatey thought. 'That sounds like a bit of me.' I contacted Kyle and he came to Papamoa and gave me a demo and then handed it to me
to operate the next set. Well, I was hooked! What a fantastic way to fish! I had recently bought a new surf caster to try and get some more distance, and
as it is fairly flat here and I am getting on a bit (just a bit), I just couldn't cast to where I wanted. So I purchased the Aero Kontiki and received great back-up and
support from Kyle. I am so enthusiastic about it and later on jumped at the chance when Kyle asked me if I would like to be a local sales, demo and training agent here in the Bay of Plenty.
The Aero Kontiki is not just about fishing... it is about having fun too!
Gary Reichard - Pukehina
"What a great fishing package the Aero Kontiki is for us. I can’t believe still how much fun it is and how easy it is to use. You have developed an awesome fishing platform which can deliver baits exactly where you want to fish.
Our brief was to be able to deliver baits over foul ground, near rocks and reefs where regular Kontiki’s can’t fish. Our new machine has done just that, safely and in quick time with great results.
Keep up the good work Kyle
Many thanks and best wishes" - Gary and Noeline Reichard
Shaun Pennell - Waiuku
“I have had my Aerokontiki fishing drone for a couple of months now. I was at first a bit hesitant at buying one as I wasn't sure I could handle flying the drone, having only had a go at flying a small remote control helicopter of my nephews one Christmas, without much success! But the Aerokontiki is much, much easier to handle and after one demo/lesson with Kyle from Aerokontiki, I was flying it without any trouble and it's just second nature now, the only thing I'm thinking about when sending it out now is how many fish I'll be pulling in.
If I have had any questions or query's Kyle is always there ready and willing to help. You honestly couldn't ask for a more helpful, friendly guy to deal with.
I would highly recommend Envirobotics and the Aerokotiki to anyone who enjoys fishing” - Shaun Pennell
Philip and Barbara Griffith - Pukihina Beach, Bay of Plenty
"Hi Kyle. Thank you and your team for making such an ingenious drone fishing machine. First time out we caught a Kingfish 1 metre long. Lot bigger than the helicopter!! And 3 snapper all above legal."
Philip and Barbara have a beautiful home right at the beach at Pukihina, and they can launch the AeroKontiki right from the backyard. I was really thrilled to hear they caught a kingfish on their first AeroKontiki line drop, and 3 decent sized snappers, all on the same line dropped out about 800 meters. Well done Philip and Barbara. Thank you for the testimonial and for sharing your photos - Kyle
Max Vertongen - Palmerston North, Waitarere Beach
"A huge Thank you to Kyle and his team for the development and design of the ultimate drone fishing Kontiki. The AK is very easy to use, compact, affordable, and takes "off the beach" fishing to another level. Service, and communication, from Kyle has been nothing short of outstanding"
Max has an amazine passion for fishing, and over the years has collected some of the best fishing gear available. He is very supportive of new products and innovations, and has provided valuable feedback which has helped innovative New Zealand companies to "get it right" and provide customers with what they want. Thank you Max. Your support and encouragement has been really appreciated - Kyle
Sheryl Monk - Christchurch
"This is Amazing.!!! Kyle is very helpful and very knowledgeable and I will be heading home feeling very confident that I can fly this. and I'm a 60 + nanna"
Sheryl drove up from Christchurch in her Campervan and spent a few hours with me learning how to setup and fly her AeroKontiki fishing drone. On her maiden flight she dropped the baited line (10 baits) about 650meters out to sea. An hour later we pulled in a decent sized snapper which she cooked for lunch. Thanks and well done Sheryl. It was really good meeting you - Kyle
Willie Ahomiro - Christchurch
"I take my hat off to Kyle and his team - this thing flies itself. It lets you deliver a fresher better bait further out than ever before - without wetting your feet, I might add. Thus, in my opinion, the Aerokontiki fishing drone is about to revolutionise the fishing scene like never before. In my mind Aerokontiki has erred on the cautious side and far underestimated their own product.
First set Aerokontiki 27/2/2015: 50lbs braid, ten hook long line baited with crab, kahawai and squid, Spencer Beach 8pm - Caught 20lb Rig (my biggest fish by far), a greyboy and a dogfish after a 35min soak. Happy Camper!
Kevin Griffiths - Ahipara, 90 mile Beach, Northland, New Zealand
"Kyle I love my new Areo Kontiki thank you for bringing it up to 90 Mile beach and showing me how easy it is to use"
Kevin Griffiths has been a quadriplegic since 1978. He was 13 when he had a diving accident in which he broke his neck, losing the use of his legs, and some use of his arms. He is an incredible person with a strong passion for painting, fishing and outdoor activities, and has found some of the most creative ways to overcome these difficulties. Kevin Griffiths is a person who is larger than life, courageous, and an example to all. Thanks Kevin – Kyle Parshotam
Mike Henry - Wellington
“Having very little experience in flying drones I had some initial concerns about using the Aerokontiki. These concerns were very quickly allayed after spending a short period of training. The Aerokontiki fishing drone is very easy to use and has enabled me drop a fishing line much further than I can cast, increasing my chances of catching fish. I really like the autopilot feature which fly’s the drone back to where it took off from. Quite simply, this feature means the most expensive part of the system is not left out at sea to get snagged, lost or stolen. The backup and support from Envirobotics has been outstanding. It’s great to be being able to deal directly with the developer. I highly recommend the Aerokontiki !” - Mike Henry
Les ter and Diana Higgins - Nelson, New Zealand
I was browsing youtube and saw Geoff Thomas fishing show he made with Kyle and was impressed with what I saw. I have a twenty foot cabin fizz boat and at eighty years of age I am finding it much more effort to find opportunities to fish due to windy weather and crowded boat ramps etc. I phoned Kyle and he said as he was working in Christchurch he would bring his from Auckland and demonstrate it to me in CHCH. I live in Nelson , My wife and I met Kyle there and went to Sumner Beach. Late afternoon baited up eight hooks and 800 metres out the AK performed flawlessly, a 25 min set and we retrieved the line due to failing light, and had one large rig for our effort, I placed my order for an AK, It was as requested with a perfect paint job on the cover done by Ron Van Dam see photos, and Kyle brought it to CHCH for delivery, with time and weather against us a quick visit back to Sumner Beach and only 500 metres this time and 20 min set due to cold, wet,wind and darkness and behold another 20+lb rig fish. Any further advice I have needed has been only a phone call away and my question solved, Thank you Kyle for your first class product and service.
Lester and Diana Higgins Brightwater Nelson
Merril and Ross Tristram - South Head, Auckland, New Zealand
We have owned our Aerokontiki Fishing Drone for 18 months and found the training, back up service and advice from Kyle and his team really excellent. They are only as far away as a phone call or a quick trip for us, as they are based in Auckland.
We use our Areokontiki all the time on the West Coast, Muriwai Beach. Best haul is 14 good fish off 15 traces flown out 950 meters. We quite often have people stop to talk and admire the Aerokontiki. They are always very impressed.
The only thing we have changed is our electric reel as the new Shimano Beastmaster 9000 seems to be way superior to our other reel. We have a 6 meter boat, that we have hardly used since getting an Aerokontiki. Merril is suggesting we down size the boat.
Ross and Merril of South Head, Auckland, New Zealand
