Pelican Bass Raider 10E

What's everyone's opinion of these little boats? I'm new to the DFW area and no longer have my boat. I'm looking for something cheap and small to just get me back on the water. I've been debating between kayaks and jon boats, and then came across these. Has anyone used on of these? Thanks

I have been fishing out out of 2 man boats for over 40 years. Easy to transport and reach virgin waters.

Great little boats. Unsinkable, but will follow the wind easy if not powered, anchored, or rudders used. You plan ok going gas or electric?

I fished out of one 20 years ago and enjoyed it... My buddy and I kept one at a 40 acre farm pond and fished out of it almost every week for two years. They are great with a 30lb tolling motor mounted to the front. The seats and leg room make for a comfortable day on the water (even with two people).

I graduated to a 14' Jon boat, then to a 16' Cajun, then to a 21' Skeeter. I recently sold my skeeter and bought a Hobie PA14. Honestly, I like the Hobie the best. There are times when I miss running to the other end of the lake, but mostly I am perfectly content to peddle around a smaller area.

I would not hesitate to get a Pelican, but I like the storage, accessories, stability and speed of the Hobie. Whatever the case, I have no desire to mess with a big boat again... I don't miss the cost, maintenance, licensing and storage of a big boat. And I really enjoy the option of fishing small waters again.

Good luck with your decision... Anything that gets you on the water will be enjoyed!

Thanks for the input guys. If I go this route I’ll power it with a 24V trolling motor. I like the ability to throw it in the back of my truck and launch anywhere.

I have two and considering selling one. Hit me up if interested.

Pm sent

You won’t need 2 batteries. You can run a 12v 50lb hand thrust all day. I’ve used deer feeder batteries for graphs in the past and have never run a battery down in a day of fishing.

The 50 has so much torque the wing nuts want to walk up the transom if you juice it while turned sideways. In the past I put rubber stoppers in between to get it to grip better.

K.D. good to know. I assumed the 24V was a little overkill, but that may not be a good thing. Does the 50lb motor fight the wind ok?

Me and a rather big friend have fished from my 8 foot baby bass hunter for years. It's also easy, and more comfortable, when I take it alone. A rudder would be a good add on. My friend recently acquired a 10 foot pelican with a small gas motor and it does us well now.

Oh yeah...30 is what most use. A 50 will flat scoot across a pond.

I've used. A 30 & 50lb thrust. Both do very well with fighting the winds and current. A 28cc weed eater. That thing would take the bass raider on plane and fly, but was air cooled and would want to overheat due to outside temp and load on the motor. Currently I run a 98 4hp merc i rebuilt and converted to 5hp. This one still needs transom height tuning, but does really good as well.
Biggest thing is hp to weight with these.

I used to have one of these. Buddy and I would put 30lb thrust on both front and back. Talk about covering water. We caught more fish out of that boat than we do our bass boats.

Just a FYI. The Mesquite TX Academy has a Pelican Predator on clearance for $599. It's the small boat I fish out of and is extremely stable. It will fit in the back of a pickup but it is a bear to pull it down to the waters edge by yourself. I finally got trailer for mines. I have a 5hp outboard but 90% of the time I just bring my trolling motor.

45lb traxxis on my 8ft sun dolphin, got a gillion miles on it. You can really sneak up on 'em.

I have a 10 foot BPS Pond Prowler for sale 750.00 obo includes minn kot 40 with a deep cycle battery pictures are in the classifieds section of the TFF. Pelicans are great boats as well.

These are very stable little boats. I'm 300lbs and stand up to stretch in mine with no problem.

Finally got my transom height corrected. This 8ft bass raider gets up on plane and flies compared to the other engines I've had on it. I'd say it feels like doing 15-20mph. Idk I'll gps the speed next outing. No videos sorry.
Side note anyone know were the bass hunter thread is?

I had one and absolutely loved it. And as was stated before, I had a 50lb trolling motor on it and it got along VERY good. Only reason I got rid of it was because I didn't want to buy a trailer so I had to always find someone, just got a kayak instead.

We’ve got 3 10’ pelicans. We run the smaller 12v Duracell batteries and 30# thrust TM. I would not like the 50# as it would flat throw you out of the boat or break the seat bolts if you made a quick turn. I don’t really like trolling in the 1st forward position in shallow water. Constantly adjusting, more so if someone is in back seat.

I have considered a similar boat, interesting thoughts, thanks for sharing.

Are these one-man moveable at all? Like I cant park near the pond I want to fish on, so I'd have to drag it to the waters edge from my truck, a good 50-60 yards.



-This comment especailly surprised me, It seems like the boat would be more comfortable, stable, and have more space for gear and such. Yet you say you prefer a nice kayak? What am I missing? Seriously please enlighten me. I'd like to hear how a kayak is superior to a small boat.

Thanks

Pond boats are Not as easily movable as you have written above, especially with tedious loading / unloading of a battery, motor and equipment..Also, No boat ramp waiting needed most of the time with a kayak or especially a float tube plus equipment as you can easily use a cart or back straps to carry to / remove from many launchpoints. The latter can also operate in deep water Plus places a PB can't -Shallower water and river water with Rapids where they can be portaged around more easily. Because of back problems, no kayaks for me anymore. I use my easy chair support float tube very frequently compared to my previous 4 times a year excursions with motor boats.

I've had several boats over the years and fished from a 14 foot canoe for awhile. I upgraded to a 14 foot jon boat and have been very happy with it. It was difficult to get everything to the water with the canoe and I decided I needed a trailer. Once I decided in needed a trailer there was no reason not to go with something a little bigger and more stable. I have a 55 thrust trolling motor with 2 large deep cell batteries. I can go about 7 miles round-trip with the setup. I have fished from a pelican and bass buggy and both will work. I just did not have enough room for all my junk.