Pontoon Fishing. Why not?

[richg99]

Some six or so years ago, I owned at 14 ft pontoon on a small lake in Northern Il. It was OK for what I wanted. My wife loved it and would actually go out fishing ( or boat riding) which she doesn't do in my regular boats.

It had a problem in high winds, but a larger trolling motor and maybe a inexpensive drift chute would make it work alright. I wish I had added an electric anchor winch to the stern. That way, I could drop the anchor and fish the shoreline pretty well in higher winds. I put a 10 hp four cycle on it and it ran fast enough for me.

If I did it all over today, I'd add an inexpensive kayak and I could be happy.

Every boat does something better than other boats. No one boat does all things well. Rich

 

[Oldgeek]

I'd think a pontoon would be great if you only fished one lake and didn't have to trailer it every time. Of course I take my wife and grandkids fishing a lot, so I'm not able to do serious fishing most of the time. :lol:
I've fished off them a few times and the wind was a big problem at times. I know this isn't much help but just my 2 cents.

 

[perchin]

We Had A Bass Boat For A While, And The "Kids" Liked It. We Had Foster Kids Over The Years And Quickly Outgrew It. Traded Up To A 24 Foot Pontoon Boat And Everyone Loves It ! Ever Spent The Night Fishing From And Sleeping On A Bass Boat ? I Have Once. . . Just Once.

Now Let Me Add This. I Also Have A 16 Foot Gheenoe With A Six-Horse 2-Cycle On The Stern And A Foot-Controlled Trolling Motor Up Front That I Bought From Dad Before He Passed. I Recently Traded My Faithful Tin Flat-Bottom Jon Boat For My First Ever Kayak. I Just Found And Will Be Bringing Home My Next Project- My First Tin V Jon Boat With An 18-Horse 2-Cycle. Last Year, I Bought A $200 Fiberglass Quachita "Basket Case" Boat Off Craig's List Just For The Trailer And A Few Parts; But Have Been Eyeing It Lately To Referb Instead, Since I Have A 24 VDC Trolling Motor Laying Around. Yes, It Is Nice To Live Within Six Minutes Of A Boat Ramp On A 5,500 Acre Lake, And Also The Scenic Cumberland River.

My Advise: Let Her Pick The 'Toon, One That She Will Learn To Drive. My Wife June Launches And Trailers OUR 'Toon While I Manage The Trailer At The Ramp. Then, You Go Find Your Next "Project Fishing Boat" And You Both Win.

I Can Promise You This- The Fish Will Not Care Which One You Cast From.

Now Just To Capitalize On That... :LOL2: :LOL2: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:

 

[T-MAN]

poontoons are good for drift fishing and anchor fishing but when you try to cast at banks and try to move through standing tember and shallow water it becomes a hassle to control especially when its windy. we tie up under bridges at nights for striper fishing and its nice but we also have all of our seats but 2 removed. other wise a poontoon is very slow at speed and is just real hard to handle

 

[bearsphan3.14]

The wife and I are looking to get a pontoon. I can't wait. You can mod them and they are big enough to get a bunch of people on. I envision the girls layin around while we fish. Plus, I have a small tin already. I might tow it out to get to the smaller tributaries in the Chesapeake.

 

[dixie_boysles]

For bass fishing, NO, but for an all around boat, they are ok i guess

 

[fender66]

Wow....not much help are we! Doesn't appear like you're gonna win this one. :LOL2:

 

[Quackrstackr]

Are there any pontoons being used in competitive fishing events?

I think not.

Case closed. :lol:

 

[screwballl]

I think it depends on the boat. If it has a movable or removable roof/canopy and removable seats for a larger deck area then yes it can very easily be used for fishing. I know plenty of people that do river or bay/saltwater fishing here on pontoon boats, and they work very well due to their stability. I fished plenty from an uncles pontoon boat in some lakes growing up in South Dakota.
I know if I did any fishing on the bay I would get one myself since the chop can toss around a normal fishing boat if the offshore winds pick up and the boat is a smaller bass boat/tin boat.

The downside is the speed, if you do some bass tournament or fishing that requires faster travel then a tin or bass boat is definitely going to be better.

 

[raven174us]

For me it's easy. They are too much of a hassle to haul and load/offload. Sure they may be great to take the family out on for an outing. But taking a Pontoon fishing is like driving a Cadillac in a Nascar race.

 

[FishyItch]

I almost used the same nascar analogy when I was talking about this to her! weird

Though I concede that the pontoon is practical, but there's no way it would be our only watercraft. I just don't think I could take myself seriously bass fishing in a pontoon. Not the waters I'll be fishing anyway.

 

[Hanr3]

Are you kidding me? Pontoons are the best all around family craft on the water. They can be rigged anyway you want. You can camp, cook, swim, fish, even get them into shallow water pretty easy. Actually, my kids both learned to fish out of my gandmothers pontoon boat. They didn't care it was a pontoon boat, they were happen to catch fish and go swimming in the middle of the lake. Besides, as a father, I felt safer with them on the pontoon then on a regular fishing boat.

 

[Decatur]

Are you kidding me? Pontoons are the best all around family craft on the water. They can be rigged anyway you want. You can camp, cook, swim, fish, even get them into shallow water pretty easy. Actually, my kids both learned to fish out of my gandmothers pontoon boat. They didn't care it was a pontoon boat, they were happen to catch fish and go swimming in the middle of the lake. Besides, as a father, I felt safer with them on the pontoon then on a regular fishing boat.

+1!

 

[Nussy]

The big thing is wind!!! you get blown everywhere. I have a 18' pontoon that I use on my lake with a 55 lb bow mount trolling motor. I fish exclusively for bass on my lake. Works well when it's callm but the issue for me is when it's windy you spend all your time trying to hold the boat. They good thing is the stability. I'm actually just starting to build a mini toon like the pics Jim posted above. 12' long no sides a couple fishing seats and a trolling motor. I figure that will be my fishing rig for this lake. I'm actually cutting 24' pontoons in half(found a deal on Craigslist)...so I'll have a 2nd one for sale. stay tuned for the mods in that section.

Oh, and trailering it does suck. If you want the best all around go with a Fish and Ski.

 

[wasilvers]

You guys with pontoons, do you think a powerpole would help? Maybe, maybe noe? When I think of bass fishing, I think of shallower water, putting myself near the weeds and casting away.

 

[Pops14]

I enjoy fishing on my 20ft toon and the wife loves it but the hassle of loading and launching are a little much to take it out alone plus if you're lucky you might get 2 miles to the gallon on gas. they're not that heavy either I pull mine with a Jeep Cherokee. I might need to change to a 50 horse to help on gas instead of the 100 horse I have now

 

[Hanr3]

You guys with pontoons, do you think a powerpole would help? Maybe, maybe noe? When I think of bass fishing, I think of shallower water, putting myself near the weeds and casting away.

That's the beauty of a pontoon. It draws maybe 1' of water, and floats extreme;y well over weeds. The biggest trouble with weeds is getting them wrapped int eh motor, and that will happen reguardless of rig.

 

[KMixson]

You guys with pontoons, do you think a powerpole would help? Maybe, maybe noe? When I think of bass fishing, I think of shallower water, putting myself near the weeds and casting away.

That's the beauty of a pontoon. It draws maybe 1' of water, and floats extreme;y well over weeds. The biggest trouble with weeds is getting them wrapped int eh motor, and that will happen reguardless of rig.

My canoe will glide across lily pads and weeds with ease. Nothing hangs up at all.

 

[Catarafter]

I have a 13' cataraft.....it works good for getting into small areas that you might not be able to get into with a boat. Cons include it can be cold during the winter, it is easy to drop stuff into the water and lose it, not as much room for gear on a pontoon.

 

[bailey86]

theres a guy near by here that makes pontoons that are 8x12 and 8x10 there not real big they look great. fairly cheap I would love to have one take the family out catch a mess fish and cook them on grill lisen to the nascar race never leave to boat