Hi, could do with some help please. Had a shoulder operation which means my week in France now needs to include a bait boat.

I am thinking about a Waverunner Mk4 (most reviews say its a solid boat), an angling technics microcat HD (seen lots oif bad things about owners attitued with servicing etc) - both at £899 or poss the cheaper Waverunner Atom - £699.

In all honesty, this is only going to get used once a year so I am not looking to spend more.

I am also not going to be fishing to the horizon with them chances are I wont be more than 150 yards absolute max and more likely much less. (Mk4 has 1000 range) but my guess is the better range ability the better it will perform closer in too ???

Id appreciate the views of anyone who can give comparisons and advice

In reply to Post #1
Lake reaper £325 job done spend the rest on a fishfinder

In reply to Post #1
It all depends on whether or not you want to put loads of bait in the boat if your are I wouldn't go for the atom yes it will hold a bit of bait but comes out of the back of the boat in a clump,my choice would be the wave runner shuttle single hopper spread out and at around £550 new as never had a problem with the one I had. If your not looking to put a lot of bait I would personally go for the procat small bits of bait bite at a time £550 new with a bag
As regards to angling technics servicing yes he is expensive but he does a thorough job dont know about his attitude if you have a problem with waverunner I dony know who would service it maybe have to find an independent

In reply to Post #3
Thats interesting, I hadnt noticed the hopper shape on the Atom until you said. I can see why it would come out in a clump more than the others

In reply to Post #4
The shuttle would be my choice like I say hold s a couple kilo the mk4 I believe holds double that where as the procat I believe holds just under a kilo with the extension before buying i would find out some info from previous catches to see whether or not you need to be putting loads out in the boat and save yourself a nice few ££

agreed Lake reaper

RELIABLE great boats very CAPABLE ! SO easy to maintain yourself in the very unlikely event you had any problems
dont touch a procat terrible in anything other than flat calm

I had a procat a few years back and as said nightmare when the wind picks up and because your fighting the moving water more you use more battery power. Great for small waters but that's about it in my opinion.

In reply to Post #7
Have an atom that I use in France
Find it easy to use and holds plenty of bait without being to heavy
Only complaint would be my feet standing on the the tubing when I go to put the boat in the water and it dropping everything out under the pressure on the line. My fault every time but still do it

In reply to Post #8
As said lake reaper for the money can't go wrong.

In reply to Post #9
Thanks for all the people who took time to reply. Been really helpful

In reply to Post #10
Looking at poss of the reaper with the Lucky FF918-C Colour Screen Fish Finder (if the fish finder is worth it). If its as reliable as people say it is a lot cheaper and I am literally going to use it for a week each year (ish) when on holiday fishing for longer periods to protect my shoulder injury. I am Ok for a day or two fishing.

Can I please pick your brains a bit more.......

does a fish finder tell you depths of the swim. In other words can you use it to find depressions, weedbeds etc. Just need to understand the fish finder capabilities?

How does the reaper handle ? Is it easy to use and control ? I guess I am just worried about it being to cheap to be true and running into nightmares with it going off where it wants to

In terms of its capacity,1KG of bait seems more than enough for one rod. Or do you not load it right up ? Can it cope with a full hopper ?

Is the battery life really as good as they claim at 3 ish hours ?

Their webpage seems very customer focussed and talks about back up and ongoing support if you have problems. Is that reflected in peoples experience ?

Thanks once again for any help

In reply to Post #11
Yes Fishfinder perfect for depths and features the one you suggest is basic but more than good enough

Lake reaper easy to use, lightweight and takes a reasonable amount of bait.

If you are only using once a year it's a good bet. There are better boats of course but they are massive money and wasted if not used often enough


👍

In reply to Post #11
If you search for horizon fish finders that will give you a rough idea of the images you will get on a lucky fish finder.
Battery life I would advise buying a spare set ,3 hrs run time is a bit optimistic petty sure mine doesn't run that long but I've never tried a continuous run time test to be fair.You can double battery life by attaching a safe line, I've fastened a swivel to the front of mine (on top) and a old solar line clip to the side and simply attach my Spod rod to it and then wind it back when I'm doing longer sessions or long distance spots to save presious battery life

In reply to Post #12
I've got a Reaper that I literally only use once a year when I go to France.
It does everything I need it to do.
Glad I didn't spend any more on one, for 51 weeks of the year I think THIS one is a waste of money.

In reply to Post #11
I am just worried about it being to cheap to be true fear not !!!

but your not worried about having your pants pulled down and buying an inferior boat for £200 or more overpriced ? with added Carp tax then

I think im right in saying a Radio control Model shop are the people that are responsible for the Excellent Lake reaper boats Howes Models have been in business since 1939 !

I cant think of anyone better to buy from they have some arriving 23 June
LINKY POO

In reply to Post #15
Those Lake Reaper Boats look VERY similar to the Anatec PAC Boats.
And the Anatec seem to have a good reputation.
2.4ghz i think though, but not sure if that matters if using the correct fishfinder with it, or none at all if you're not bothered.

In reply to Post #16
Thanks for all the help guys