Bass Raider or Sun Dolphin Sportsman – Anyone own one?

I have a buddy at work who loves his Sun Dolphin Sportsman. I remember being obsessed with these when I was, oh I don’t know 12?

I’m curious if any of you guys have one and what your experience has been? I don’t have a pickup, so putting 100lbs on the top of a tall SUV could be a challenge or I guess I could get a rear rack to attach it to.

The prospect of fishing for an hour over my lunch break is pretty tempting. I could just bring my alumacraft but the load/unload would take some precious time quick and the more I think about it a polyethelene floater like this with a Minn Kota could be plenty for metro lakes. I find it hard to get time to fish but I get to eat everyday…

I had a Bass Raider for many years. I caught a ton of metro fish from that little boat. Mine had a set of wheels built into it. Was way easy to pull up at the landing and load into the back of the truck. Loading on a roof or a rear rack by yourself may be a issue. They are not all that heavy, but heavy and bulky enough for one person to try and load by yourself. I believe a cheap small trailer would be the best option if you don’t have a truck.

Doug Larsen wrote:

I find it hard to get time to fish but I get to eat everyday…

LOL, I hear ya, man!

Have you ever considered a fishing kayak to reduce your loading weight? Native Slayer Propel 10 Pedal Drive Fishing Kayak weighs 76 lbs with the propel system (57 lbs without). There might be some relatively light options for a motor-driven kayak too.

$2300 for a kayak seems insane. I am looking into the Sea Eagle 285 line. Far more portable

Yes, inflatables are hard to beat for portability.

I found a Sun Dolphin Sportsman for $200! I’ll report back. So far I did a nice job of scratching the back of my Wind Deflector

Doug Larsen wrote:

I found a Sun Dolphin Sportsman for $200! I’ll report back. So far I did a nice job of scratching the back of my Wind Deflector

Report back….and if it doesn’t work out maybe I’ll buy it