A debate that has divided the Carp Angling Community for the last 5 years it is, Owning a Bait Boat and is Owning a Bait Boat Cheating.
Lets be honest if you do not know what. Bait Boat is by now the question to you is where have you been hiding (in the nicest possible way)? A Bait Boat is a remote controlled boat that will have 1 to 2 even some have 3 to 4 hoppers that will carry your rig and bait and drop it any where you like on the lake operated by you, The Carp Angler. You wouldn't need to cast your rods like you would normally do which can cause a little stir in the Angling Community especially those who are not fans of using a Bait Boat.
SO LETS LOOK AT THE POSITIVES:
1: Stealth - A boat can move through the water silently and drop your rig with little disturbance
2: On the Mark - Accuracy has proven to bring the best results when Fishing and having a bait boat allows you to drop your rig with accuracy.
3: Sonar - Some Bait Boats come with Sonar and almost every Bait Boat can be fitted with Sonar allowing you to map your swim, look at contours, see the depth and gain a general typography of what is underneath.
4: GPS - Some Bait Boats will also give your GPS and can Automatically deliver your rig to your chosen spot.
YES THERE ARE NEGATIVES:
1: The Cost - Yes, Bait Boats can be costly and even some run into the thousands of pounds.
2: Before there were Bait Boats - Before Bait Boats the traditional way was to cast your rods out, user a marker to mark your spots as well as feel the ground with your lead. In respect it can be argued that they take the element away from Angling but lets be honest now, Fishing is becoming more and more pressured and being able to get to a spot you can not cast to surely has it advantages.
3: Using a Bait Boat - If you do not use your boat correctly you will face issues, sometimes I sit at the lake and watch how people use their Bait Boats and wonder to my self, they could actually cast their. Then you have the Bait Boat user who will go into your swim, lets not forget the one who drives it into the Lilly pads and they it gets stuck. What I am trying to point out here is that owning a Bait Boat comes great responsibility and a certain amount of common sense especially respecting other anglers on the lake.
4: Maintaining your Bait Boat - As like most things with working parts they need to be looked after and are delicate in areas, I have seen so many bait boats that just get abused and not looked after.
So are Bait Boats a great tool to have in your Arsenal of fishing gear? Yes for sure, if used sensibly and respectfully a Bait Boat can most definitely be a tool that is used to increase your chances of landing your next lump.
Yes, they are expensive but sometimes I walk around lakes and I see someone with Rods worth £1000 for the 3, or reels that cost £1500 for the three with top of the range alarms, bivvies and god knows what else, you some how cant help but think is it to look good on the bank regardless if I am catching fish or not. Don't get me wrong I have been caught up in the whole I need to have everything top of the range as it will increase my catch rate malarkey. Then it dawned on me I traded in my gear got some stuff that are less expensive and purchased my first bait boat. I know there will be some people out there that will persist that using a Bait Boat is cheating and of course everyone is allowed their own opinion after all. One thing I will say we all love the sport and for the majority this is a lifetime hobby for all of us. Fishing is an individual thing, when we go out to fish we fish for species we want at the venues we choose using the gear we have purchased. By using a Bait Boat you are not breaking any laws, where is the harm on using them to help you bank that next PB. Using a Bait Boat can eliminate the preparation on setting up and get your rods in the water quicker giving you more chance to catch a fish. Is owning a calculator cheating? No its not it just allows you to get your answer quicker.
So my verdict is, Bait Boats are here to stay and lately I am even seeing an even bigger rate of people purchasing boats for their arsenal of tackle. I absolutely love my boat it comes with me everywhere but is only used to map the lake and get me to those hard to reach spots where the fish are just showing. There have been some well known Anglers who have caught their best fish using a Bait Boat. Also Venues across the UK the best fish have have been caught by using a Bait Boat. So when you look at these well known Anglers using Bait Boats surely if they can see the benefits ......
