There’s something freeing about being on the water instead of in it. Whether it’s the ability to move around more easily, explore the areas that get less attention, or just getting a different perspective on everything, I’m not quite sure. But the trick to getting the most out of a day on the water is picking the right watercraft for the experience.
That’s the goal of these watercraft reviews here at Flylords. We want to give you all the details on picking the best tool for the job. Whether you’re looking for an alternative to a drift boat, a packraft for hauling into the backcountry, or a budget option for chasing bass on the local pond, these watercraft reviews will help you make that decision.
The Craft In Question: Bote ProRider Aero Paddleboard
Bote
ProRider Aero Paddleboard
Weight
44.8lbs
Capacity
405lbs
MSRP
$1,899
Pros
- Stable
- Great to fish from
- Tons of gear storage
- Customization
Cons
- Expensive
- Setup/tear down takes time
BOTE is one of the more well-known names when it comes to paddleboards, especially those made for fishing. The ProRider Aero is one of their higher-end offerings. This board is pedal-drive compatible and just about as customizable as you could ask for. BOTE has this thing loaded with a bunch of racks and tie-down points, offering you the ability to mount everything from rod holders and coolers to an inflatable seat and a micro PowerPole.
If you don’t want a micro PowerPole, the Sand Spear is a great way to anchor the board in place so you can drop casts into that trough, or over that good-looking weed bed. I particularly loved the sheath for the paddle, because it significantly decreased my chances at dropping it in the lake.
I’m likely doing the ProRider Aero a disservice because I’m sure I’ve forgotten one of the many accessories or add-ons available. Between the cooler and rod racks – and the front and rear storage areas – you can easily pack all your gear for a day on the water.
At 38 inches wide and 12’6″ long, the ProRider Aero felt pretty stable during my testing. I’m no expert paddleboard enthusiast, so I’m sure my comfort and skills with this watercraft are far from what BOTE had in mind. But for an almost-first-timer, I feel like I quickly got the hang of balancing and casting.
I also have to give BOTE props for how well-built this board feels. It features a dual-chamber design, with the area you stand in recessed from the rest of the board. The whole thing feels well-made and should be plenty durable. Plus, it comes with a wheeled luggage bag to stuff everything (most accessories included) into for easy transportation between the car and the water.
The setup and teardown is the only spot where the process wasn’t great. That’s not really a fault or a problem, though; more a result of all the features. Between the paddle sheath, accessory racks, and other accouterments, it takes some packing to get everything to fit well in the bag. The weight of the board and all its accessories also make it best-suited for water where you can park near the shore. I did take it into a lake a few hundred yards off-trail during testing, and while it wasn’t awful, it wasn’t the easiest experience, either.
As you’d expect, this board moves exceptionally well on the water. Any bit of wind will push you around, but I was surprised at how easy it was to stay in position in a light breeze and soft chop.
On The Water Results
The bulk of my testing was on a couple high-country lakes in the Uinta Mountains, in Utah. I’ve always wanted to get out and explore these spots, as I suspected the lakes might hold larger-than-average brook trout. The ProRider Aero was a great choice because most of these lakes are right by the road, and a paddleboard seemed like the best way to explore them.
That proved to be the case. Once I got my water legs, standing up, paddling, and casting was a breeze. I landed quite a few more fish from the paddleboard than I ever do just by walking and casting from the shoreline. Plus, I got a bird’s-eye look at some of the troughs, weed beds, and other structure the fish hang out in that I never could see from shore.
In hindsight, I think setting the ProRider Aero up as a pedal-drive board would have been more conducive to the kind of fishing I was doing, because I would’ve been able to keep myself in position with my feet, leaving both hands free for fishing. Even when I needed to paddle to keep myself in position, though, switching between the rod and paddle wasn’t tough. Since the board is so long and wide, I felt comfortable laying my rod down just about anywhere while switching between it and the paddle.
I liked the paddleboard more than I expected to. I have fairly bad balance, and being a bit overweight, I fully expected to go for a swim. The board was stable and rock-solid once inflated to the maximum suggested PSI, though. Aside from one moment when I slipped while moving from a crouch to a standing position, I didn’t really feel in danger of falling over.
Everything else worked as advertised. The accessory mounts were easy to attach, and even though it took a bit of time to set the board up, I was out and fishing quicker than I expected to. Honestly, the ProRider Aero felt like a much more complete fishing craft than almost anything else I’ve fished in this year. It has quite a bit of the intentional functionality of a drift boat, where the features are clearly well-thought-out and designed, purpose-built for anglers. This isn’t a paddleboard with some fancy accessories; it’s made from the ground up to complement the unique needs of anglers.
Where It Shines
The ProRider Aero is obviously tailor-made for lakes and ponds, as well as shallow flats, where BOTE says this should excel, too. I wouldn’t hesitate to take this on just about any body of water, with the caveat that I wouldn’t go out on an exceptionally windy day.
If you want a relatively easy-to-assemble, fully-featured watercraft that’s equally at home on the local bass pond, or up in the high country, I don’t know that you could pick something better than the ProRider Aero. It won’t do great in the wind, of course, but no boat without a motor or anchor will really shine in those conditions.
Where It Doesn’t
If you’re fishing with a buddy, being side-by-side on these boards might be a tough ask, because you do need a fair amount of room for casting and paddling. Obviously, this isn’t the paddleboard for rivers or moving water. It might be a bit overmatched on huge reservoirs, where swells can reach larger sizes.
This board is also a bit too heavy to haul long distances, into lakes that are more than a few hundred yards from a parking area.
The Final Say
The BOTE ProRider Aero is one of the best watercraft I’ve used this year. It’s light, relatively portable, and stuffed full of features. It’s great for use on water that you can easily reach from the road or parking area, and it gives you a stable, rock-solid casting platform that you can use to explore your favorite lake or pond.
There really aren’t a ton of negatives here, other than the few tradeoffs you make by going with a fully-featured board like the ProRider. With all the accessories and options, you’re getting something that doesn’t pack down small, and has some weight to it. It’s not the best craft for fishing with a friend, even if they’re on their own board. But in return, you get tons of storage, space for a cooler, and more functionality than you’d expect.