Anglapro Outlaw 424 Review

AnglaPro has been producing boats for a short time, but has already made a significant impact. Born during the global financial crisis, a time when the Australian and global boating industry was struggling, it was certainly a buyer’s market – launching a brand meant nothing but great value- for-money boats would be successful. Anglapro was confident it could deliver this, and so far appears to be spot-on.

With the rise of bream, bass and barramundi tournaments, Derek Rodway, founder of Anglapro, knew the Outlaw series needed serious consideration to make it suitable for both competition fishing and all-round estuary/impoundment fishing. The Outlaw 424 is a fantastic boat for anyone who prefers fishing calm-water environments. To handle the tough conditions Australia’s extreme weather patterns can bring to impoundments and estuaries, the 424 is contructed from 3mm aluminimum, with sides featuring full- plate construction to keep hull contortionin rough conditions to a minimum – and each hull is given a three-year warranty.

The essence of the Outlaw 424 is that for a reasonable price, anglers can fit- out their hull with sounders, an electric engine and large, plumbed, competition- grade livewells. With a total weight of approximately 550kg on a Dunbier skid trailer, most cars should have very little trouble towing this rig.

Interestingly, despite many people’s dislike of skid trailers, for an aluminium boat of this size, they’re essential. The uneven pressure that rollers can exert on aluminium boat hulls will lead to severe problems over time with a hull like the Outlaw 424’s, and use of such a trailer will void the hull warranty. With the light weight of such a boat, I don’t understand why anyone would opt for rollers – in my opinion, the less movingparts used in saltwater the better! 

The popularity of bream and bass fishing has meant a lot of thought has been put into boats of this nature. The Outlaw 424 has incorporated many such modern ideas. The test boat was fully optioned with everything an angler needs. However, one of the great attributes of the Anglapro boats is they are fully customisable – if you don’t like the sound of this layout, you can always change it to suit your needs.

There are three pedestal-seat mounts – two in the stern for when you’re at speed trying to get to your favourite spot first, and an extra at the bow on the casting platform so you can quickly switch one seat to space-out the anglers while fishing under electric power. Under-floor rod lockers held our bream gear, while phones, wallets and car keys are comfortably stashed inside the small side console.

Safety gear was kept in the storage compartments just forward of the competition livewell. Due to the volume of this tank, it is well centred so it doesn’t affect the hull’s ride while full. While fishing from the boat I really came to appreciate the wide strong gunwales, which one can easily walk along if a fish near the boat is giving an angler the run-around. Due to the extra width of the gunwales, downriggers and extra rod holders can be also easily fitted.

The fitted Minn Kota electric easily manoeuvred the hull. The beauty of an electric this size is you can find 55lb
electrics which will run off a single 12-volt battery if needed. Those of you wanting to fish for extended periods of time on the electric may want to opt for a dual- battery set-up. A small Eagle 350c colour sounder was a good match for the boat, fitting well with the small console, which I liked as it increased available deck space. The console’s grab rail meant additional electronics could also be mounted.

Overall I found it hard to fault the Outlaw 424, and I was very impressed with its stability at speed despite the side console, of which I have never been a huge fan. However, in a boat of this size it made perfect sense. On the test day it was dead calm, so it is hard to know exactly how well it would go in a serious chop. However, with a Suzuki four-stroke 50hp, 3mm plate construction, a large number of renforcing ribs and relatively aggressive chines, I imagine it would skip across a decent chop as well as any aluminium boat in its class. The Suzuki four-stroke ran flawlessly on the test day.

The test boat ran only a single 25-litre removable tank which, because of the fuel efficiency of the four-stroke, would cater for a full day’s fishing. If you’re prone to long-distance runs, a second tank or the optional 38-litre underfloor tank may be the way to go.

The boat as we tested it was a complete package and wanted for nothing. It’s valued at approximately $24,500. However, these packages start at around $15,900, making them very affordable estuary weapons. I expect to see more Anglapros on our waterways very soon, including the 2010 Modern Fishing boat – but that’s another story