Ranger that would mean leaving the camera on.......no dice. This may come as a surprise but there are days when no fish worthy of taking a pic comes to the boga. Last summer only 1 walleye at 28" came aboard. It would of been a nice pic. Several 33" to 36" pike were caught but I don't take pics of Pike less than 40". The nice laker right at dark last summer would of also been a sweet shot. That's only 2 fish in 13 days who were worth taking a pic of. So no, leaving the camera "on" is not a strategy I would consider. 

I have a Lumix waterproof and supposedly shockproof from about 6'. Very nice camera indeed and I purchased it on the advice of someone here on this very forum.

I have a strong suspicion this is going to work out very sweetly. I have already held the carbon fiber rod at arms length (imitating the distance to my middle thwart) and taken a few shots. Should be able to get any 48" pike in perfectly

Then I can turn the camera off. If I want access to the camera for those storm clouds off my port side simple enough to grab the camera, its right there. And all for a very modest weight penalty. If I want a shoreline shot instead I can park the boat and I have a very enviable 14" arm solidly supporting my camera in any position I desire.

I think your best bet is a point & shoot that works with a remote control. You could leave that on a tripod up front, with the rear lcd display off, and wouldn't burn through the battery too fast. It'd be way better than a Go Pro.

Olympus makes a waterproof p&s that I believe also works with their remote control. You could use that in any weather.

Db......I liked the recall of your conversation.

The whole concept is not to park the canoe and set up a tripod but rather sit in your boat, set the timer, push the arm away and take the picture. Fast and efficient........

But since you don't fish much it is probably not something that is of interest for you. I find putting fish of size in the boat the challenge and I like challenges......nice to remember the big girls that made a trip or a day special.

They have a composite clamp which is lighter......Ram makes 2 style of clamps BTW. One metal, one composite, obviously the composite is lighter.

RAM ball? This thing?
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I take a tripod made for a 4x5 and the whole thing doesn't weigh 5 lbs.. To each their own but

When we use to go with six, I remember one wonderful afternoon sitting on the veranda of a site on Buckingham while eating baked laker. The conversation went something like this.

I wonder what the po' folks are doing right now.
It doesn't get any better than this does it.
Plus we're still getting paid.
I'm not.
I wonder what this would this cost in a restaurant?
Probably less than what it cost us...
Ahhh, but the ambiance is priceless.

I wish I had a picture of that better than the one in my head but that would have required effort on my part not to mention spoiling the moment.

I am fairly stoked about this set up. Just got it today and by golly I believe it is going to work and solve my problem of taking fish pics solo.

I have a 14" carbon fiber arm from them and a couple of composite double socket clamps along with the camera mount. Add a RAM ball on my middle thwart, attach the arm and camera, swing the arm towards me and set the timer. Swing the arm away, tighten the clamp and grab the fish all in 10 seconds (or set to video and capture the desired frame at a later date).

This should work perfectly. Now I just have to catch a worthy fish 

The perfect canoe ready fish locater I design for Lowrance will take "selfies" (including fish) 

I have been trying to figure out a way to take fish pics without a bunch of awkward hassle or spending a ton of dough.

I had considered a GoPro camera with wifi remote but that seems expensive and a hassle due to having to have so many batteries.

So that leaves my regular camera and a delay. The problem was mounting far enough away to take the shot without having an awkward scramble. I am considering this product. Carbon fiber arm mounted on a Ram mount and a fellow could swing the arm in and out, at least in theory.

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You engineer/clever types might have a better idea. What say you?