Angling Technics Microcat Bait Boat MK II Review

Posted by Keith on September 3, 2009 under Carp and Coarse Fishing, Tackle Reviews | Be the First to Comment

Angling Technics Microcat Bait Boat MK II

(Review courtesy of Nuts about Carp)

After many years without owning or even wanting one….I found myself being left a bit behind the crowds at certain venues I fish, where some times the only reliable spot to gain a run from is tight up to islands etc. I couldn’t stand being at the back of the crowds so, off to the shops I went and was ready to part with my hard earned reddies to the tune of some near £700….that was until I saw the host of other nice tit bits available for the new supposed improved ‘cat’.

Well, after a serious debate with the bank manager (her in doors!) and of course many hours deliberating……what am I talking about, honestly I’d already made my mind up in minutes! I just had to have the fish finder fitted! One quick swipe of the Switch Maestro card and I was worse off to the tone of some £1500!!!! At least I now had a serious bit of angling technology to scare those bloody tufties with though! Ha……I just need a rocket launcher fitted and it’s the perfect bird scarer.

Anyway, I’ve digressed from the point. Now, I used to own an original A.T Bait Boat, the one with the mono hull design. I have to say I used it about 3-4 times and had very little pleasure from it’s awkward and un-pleasing use which ended in my selling it for scrap to a pal……due to a screwed up battery and un-opening  hoppers! Arrrgghhh! It drove me to absolute insanity over a period of weeks. That boat cost me £400+ and I had no extra fish to show for it. Hence the reason I felt uneasy about spending house keeping funds on another boat.

The new Microcat, advertised as promising a host of new features to improve it’s use had me well and truly interested and the thought of having a fish finder really boosted the wanting! It’s not really to find the fish so much as to help find the features though. I mean, what price can you put on knowing the bottom make-up at 200 yards plus….certainly beyond my good casting ability’s. I very seldom fish at this range but, hell maybe I’ll start!

I think this is the only foreseeable problem with the use of a bait boat in the ‘big bait boat debate’, if you cant cast to a spot should you really be fishing there in the first place???? I often see anglers taking baits out to the most stupid places where they shouldn’t even consider as an angling option. This is dangerous to fish health and should certainly be considered first. Albeit, we cant deny the fact that bait boats are here to stay and they do have their pros too. No continued casting to spots trying to get it right, no rigs left with bait on hanging from trees and of course the simple introduction of hook bait and samples of bait such as hemp which would almost certainly be very difficult to disperse at any real range.

Now, the new boat comes ready to use out the bag with no need to prime it in the water like the old boat. This was always a real pain in the back side! With the Mk ii it’s just a case of, on with the handset and push button on the boat……out she goes.

The other new features are the addition of extended port & starboard leds and the those at the front and rear are now raised out from the body enough to stop the old problem of water ingress clouding visibility. The lights can now also be dipped right down or dazzled right up with the left stick on the handset.

Another new feature is the addition of line protectors on the hoppers and the complete casing of the on board battery chambers.

All this adds up to a vast improvement on boats of old and I have to honestly say I’m smitten with it. The fish finder is awesome and I wouldn’t purchase a boat without this kit on it.

I also purchased 2 sets of heavy duty battery’s and the solar charger which I have to say was great on the most recent trip to the lakes where I had a host of bites during the day.

The solar charger made it feasible to just put the boat and handset on a top up between fish.

This meant that the one set of battery’s lasted all week! Great stuff!

All in all, very impressive stuff from Angling Technics. I must say I’m still a little gobsmacked at the price of all the additional bits needed, but overall its a high quality product. If your into traveling light then you may find the Procat a better option as it is far smaller in size and obviously weighs less than the weighty Microcat boat.

The ‘cat’ has a fantastic turning circle too, turns pretty much on its axis at range. This gives you all the accuracy you need to target the fish to the nearest inch even at 100 yards+.

The hoppers will also take a whopping 4kg of bait in them too!

My suggestions to anybody thinking of buying a cat would be to definitely purchase a spare set of the heavy duty batteries, a solar charger and a boat carry bag too.

This will give the boat good protection for transportation and good running times too. With the heavy duty battery lasting around 70mins with continuous use!