Defreshone

I have the evermaxx 29 from walmart and it's a beast. I used it all this past weekend and it was still running just as strong. 3-4 hours Friday, 4-5 hours Saturday and the same on sunday. I do suggest hooking it after using it to charge.

You bring up a valid point about having too many options for rods and never concentrating on one bait/technique. I tend to bring 2 rods at a time. I fish small areas of water usually where the truck is no more than 10 acres or so away and I can make my way around to pick up my others if needed.

I liked my raider since I got it this past sunday. I have taken it out the last 4 days in a row. The first 3 days were filled with getting use to it, setting it up, maneuvering it in the wind, and taking family out for a ride. Last night, things were totally different. All of the "getting use to" was over. My fishing partner was finally able to go with me out on the water in the boat for the first time. The boat performed like a dream. I'm 5'9, 240 pounds. My friend is 5'11 and 260 pounds. We have a 29dc battery, 50 lb minn kota TM, 15 lb anchor weight, and 2 medium size tackle bags with a total of 4 poles in the boat. i was nervous about all of the weight at first. We unloaded everything and pushed off into the pond/lake. Amazing. Having all of the gear and human weight this trip was just like being in it by myself. If you are a big guy then the bass raider is for you. Fishing wise: This pond/lake (15-20 acres) we went to is not well known. By the looks of it, there are no fish of great size. It looks like some of the other ponds/lakes in the area that are fairly new and the bass might reach 3 lbs at their biggest. All of the ponds in the area are manicured and kept up well. This means high fishing pressure because you can pull your vehicle up, walk 10-20 ft and cast out. There are only 2 spots to fish from land on this pond and they are in the super shallow (as we came to find out later) areas. I have fished this pond from land twice and caught nothing. not a bite. Well, we decided to take the raider out on it hoping for some better luck last night. The first thing we noticed was the depth. I dont have a depth finder on board (yet) but the anchor line was indicating that this pond that looks like the rest of the shallow ponds in the area was actually between 15-25 ft deep! I have never fished anything deeper than 10-15 being that i have always been on land. It is good to be able to find out the actual depth of the water to make better lure/placement selection. Long story short, my friend caught 1 that was over 5 lbs and some smaller ones on a frog. I didnt catch any but I had two take the frog and bend me all up and around before spitting the frog out. These fish literally made me muscle up and they were still beating me. One made me jam my rod in my chest to get leverage. They were huge fish. Point to my story is that fishing from a raider has greatly enhanced my fishing skills. Fishing from a boat is a lot different than from land but the opportunities are def. there. Neither of us had caught one fish in that place before. In reality, there are some monsters that are now within range in the raider!

No problems with my seats, Musky. However, my boat is in like new condition and the seats are still a lil stiff on the swivel with no weight in them. They turn real nice with weight but not outta control.

I picked up my 10e off craigslist yesterday along with a 50 lb minn kota (which I got for $70). The boat came with a smaller marine battery (this was not included on the craigs listing so I was surprised) and I had purchased a 29/125 amp battery already prior to picking up the boat. For the big guys, this thing is sweet! Im 5'9, 240 and this thing was stable and smooth with 2 batteries in the boat, large trolling motor and gear. I was able to get accustomed to it very quickly. I have a friend who is 5'10 and 260. I'll report how the boat holds up with both of us and gear loaded. I suspect that there will be no issues with ALL of the weight in the boat. I had first attached the used battery and it worked ok but I wanted to see what the larger battery would do. So, I switched them out. That 50lb minn kota had me cruisin! Out of the 5 speeds, 3-4 are super nice and 5 is just haulin rear (for a trolling motor that is)! Reverse worked nicely as well with its 3 speeds. I have always been a land raider while fishing. It's really nice to get out on to the water and get the most out of my gear. I started off in a nice, clear pond that wasn't too deep for safety reasons. After building my confidence yesterday, I'm ready for all of the areas that i have been wanting to go. If you are wanting one then get one! Great buy all around.

Yeah, I agree. There is a bass club in Jacksonville, Fl that seems to hold 3-5 of their tournaments on smaller lakes. The tournament coord. said his son fished one of their tourneys out of a 10 ft jon boat and took 2nd place. The club is a family driven club it seems. It might work out! Thanks for the input though. I will attend their next tournament in June to see what its all about. I may enter or not enter. Haha.

Anyone use their raider in a tournament? Curious about how functional one would be minus the obvious about range on the water.