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Bait deployment

Deploying the baitboat

The rod that is being “cast out” needs to be placed in a way that allows line to easily pay out while a) the baitboat is placed in the water and launched, b) the angler is stood with the remote control in hand directing the boat to its destination.

Launching the boat

Not every swim has the ideal set up where yards of clear bank are present and the water level is four inches below the perfectly flat edge of the swim. Many swims are overgrown, or feet above the water surface, or have shallows directly in front.

The angler may need to take wellies, even waders to get the boat into the water and launched. While the angler gets the boat launched the rod needs to be placed so that sufficient line is available to launch, but not so much that line is at risk of catching on snags, foliage or rod rests.

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Deploying the bait.

The boat may only be taking the bait 10 yards, or could be going 250 yards. During this phase the reel needs to be able to pay out line quickly and without impeding the progress of the boat: the bale arm needs to be open, and not set with the baitrunner on.

One good method is to pick up the rod once the boat is safely clear of the margins so that the angler can hold the rod and remote control in the left hand while using the right hand to access the controls. This allows the angler to control the height of the rod and deal with any instances of the line catching on the spool.

However, this may not be effective when fishing at distance when the angler could need to get into an elevated position in order to observe the progress of the boat. (i.e. up a tree or on a hillock or slope nearby). In this situation it may be useful to have a long bankstick to prop up the rod so that the tip is about six feet high.

Fishing with a baitboat

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