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RC Bait Boats

Drop bait where
the fish are.

Larger catches, more often.

Serious RC bait boats that drop your bait up to 500m, suitable for surf, bay or freshwater fishing. GPS return.

Most popular
Aus WarrantyLocally handled
30-Day ReturnsNo-stress policy
500m GPS RangeAuto-return home
The flagship

Joysway Fishing Surfer

Australia's surf bait boat. It runs your bait past the breakers, holds its line in chop, and drives itself home at the end of the session.

Joysway Fishing Surfer RC bait boatKlarna
Joysway · Surf-rated

Fishing Surfer V3

$1,599
  • Up to 500m range to reach the gutters the rod cannot.
  • GPS auto-return saves 4 spots and finds its way home.
  • Self-righting hull handles surf to 1m and stays watertight.
  • Optional sonar fish finder so you see structure before you drop.
View product

Also available: Fishing Surfer V2 · $1,399

Shop by water

Built for your conditions

Read the water

Find the Structure, Find the Fish

From the sand a beach looks like one long stretch of water. Get up on a dune at low tide with polarised sunnies and the structure shows. Dark water is deep, light water is shallow and white water is waves breaking over a bank. Water pushing out close to shore, sometimes murky or cloudy, is a rip. Sandbanks, gutters and cuts decide where the fish feed. The distances below are typical for an Australian surf beach, but banks move after big swells, so check each time you fish. A cast reaches the first gutter. A bait boat runs out through the cut to the bigger fish beyond it.

050m100m150m200m
  • A typical cast, about 60m
  • Bait boat, up to 500m out
  • Deep hole
  • Where fish feed
Drone view looking straight down on an Australian surf beach with dunes, whitewater over the inner sandbank, a darker gutter, an outer line of breakers and a dark gap in it
Coffin Bay, South Australia, seen from a drone. The numbers match the diagram.
View from a dune over a surf beach at Portsea, Victoria, with lines of whitewater over the sandbanks, a calmer green gutter and deep blue water beyond
From the dunes at Portsea, Victoria. A little height makes the banks and gutter easy to pick.
View from the water's edge of a surf beach, with a calm turquoise gutter in the middle and a line of waves breaking over the outer sandbank near the horizon
This beach doesn't have a defined first sandbank, just a small wave breaking close to shore. The calm turquoise band is the gutter, and the white line beyond it is the second sandbank.
  1. 1

    First sandbank

    Water's edge to about 30m

    Shallow sand close to shore where the small waves break. Fish cruise its edges but rarely sit on top.

  2. 2

    Gutter

    About 30 to 70m out

    The deeper channel between the two sandbanks. Darker, calmer water where baitfish shelter, and whiting, bream, flathead, tailor and salmon move in to feed. It is within casting range.

  3. 3

    Second sandbank

    About 70 to 100m out

    The outer bank where the bigger waves break white. It marks the edge between the gutter and deep water.

  4. 4

    Cut

    About 70 to 100m out

    A gap in the second sandbank where the waves stop breaking. Deeper water runs through it, and fish use it to move between the gutter and the open sea.

  5. 5

    Back of the break

    About 100m and beyond

    Deep water past the second sandbank. Mulloway, snapper, kingfish and sharks patrol here. This is where your record catch is waiting.

The advantage

Benefits of a RC Fishing Boat

  • Extended Casting Range

    Drop baits up to 500 metres out, onto gutters and reefs no cast can reach.

  • Precise Bait Placement

    RC fishing boats use GPS and fish finders to locate hidden structure where fish gather, then the bait dropper releases your bait right on top of it.

  • Safer Fishing

    Radio controlled fishing boats keep you on solid ground. The boat runs your bait past the rocks, through the current, and out into shark water at night while you stay on the beach.

  • Quiet Approach

    RC bait boats make little noise and set your bait down without a splash, so wary fish stay on the feed.

  • Larger Fish, More Often

    Remote control fishing boats put a fresh bait on the best structure, run after run, so you hook bigger fish and more of them.

Angler fishing from the rocky shore
Straight from the sand

What anglers say

✓ Verified
★★★★★

"Got it out past the second bank at Stockton and dropped a bait right on a mulloway I could never have reached by hand. Worth every cent."

Mark D. · Surf fisherman, NSW
✓ Verified
★★★★★

"Sent a big shark bait 400m off the beach at Mandurah on my first session. Had a bronze whaler on within the hour. Could never have done that with a rod."

Pete R. · Mandurah, WA
✓ Verified
★★★★★

"Had a cheap one pack it in after a season. The Joysway is a completely different animal. Been using it for snapper and flathead out in the bay. These blokes know fishing."

Sam T. · Hervey Bay, QLD
Before you buy

Common questions

How far will it actually go?

The radio range is 500 metres. In practice most anglers drop baits between 200-400m out, well beyond casting distance and easy to monitor.

What is a bait drop boat?

A bait drop boat, also called a bait dropper or bait dropping RC boat, is a remote control boat that carries your line and bait out and releases it on command, up to 500m offshore. Read how a bait dropper boat works.

Will it handle Australian surf?

Yes. The Fishing Surfer is rated for surf to 1m and the self-righting hull recovers automatically if a wave flips it. In 1m+ it's best to wait for calmer conditions, utilise rips or wait for breaks in between wave sets.

Do I need a licence?

No. Unlike fishing drones, RC bait boats don't fall under CASA rules. Use it anywhere you're legally allowed to fish.

Can I use a bait boat at the beach?

Yes. Bait boats are allowed on surf beaches in every Australian state. Fisheries treat a bait boat like any other way of getting your line out, so the usual rod and line rules apply. Launch away from swimmers and stay out of marine park sanctuary zones. See the rules in each state.

What about warranty and parts?

All boats carry a minimum 6-month manufacturer warranty handled locally in Australia. Joysway products carry 12 months. We stock common spares. See our returns page for full details.

Angler fishing from the shore
About Baitboats

Australia's RC fishing boat specialists

At Baitboats, we specialise exclusively in premium remote control fishing boats built to meet the demands of fishing enthusiasts. Designed for precision bait placement and extended range, our boats help you effectively target sharks as well as game fish such as tuna and kingfish in Australia's surf, bays, and coastal waters. Whether fishing for big game or exploring diverse marine environments, our durable RC fishing boats deliver the reliability and performance you need to catch larger fish more often.

Choose the right hull
Bait boats for every kind of water
Surf fishing from the beach

Bait Boats For Surf Fishing

Surf fishing remote control bait boats are built for breaking waves. They are bigger and tougher than lake boats, run faster, last longer on a charge, and carry larger baits. If a wave rolls one over, the self-righting hull turns these radio controlled bait boats back upright and they keep going. Send big baits into deep water for sharks and game fish, then take the same boat to the bay, river or lake.

Shop surf bait boats →
Fishing from a pier over saltwater

Salt Water Bait Boats

Salt water remote control bait boats are made for salt water use, so you can fish bays and saltwater rivers, plus any land-based freshwater spot. They are not built for surf and do not self-right, so keep them in calmer water and steer clear of big chop. In the right conditions, these RC fishing boats give you easy, reliable bait drops session after session.

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Angler fishing from a rocky riverbank

Fresh Water Bait Boats

Fresh water radio controlled bait boats suit lakes, rivers, and ponds. A light, nimble remote control fishing boat puts your bait on the spot you pick, so more fish find it. Beginners pick them up in a session or two, and seasoned anglers use them to reach snags and drop-offs they can't cast to.

Shop freshwater bait boats →

Stop watching the fish you can't reach

Put your bait 500 metres out, on water the rest of the beach can only look at. Secure checkout, fast insured shipping, real support.

Shop the Joysway range