Lo how the mighty have fallen! Advice about fishing toons.

[rps]

The meds my doctor put me on have adversely affected my balance. It was already worse than when I was young, and went farther south on me.

I love my Lund Rebel XS Sport 1650, but several times during this summer I have disliked the feeling I might fall in.

Since I do not intend to quit fishing, the wife and I have discussed alternatives. Oddly, she does not favor 21 foot Basscat or Phoenix boats. I think it is something about the 70k+ cost.

One option to increase stability and allow me to fish until I dodder into the final drink is a pontoon boat.

I am interested in hearing from current or former serious fishermen who have fished from pontoons.

Pros, cons? Avoid, seek? Brands, features?

Surely some of you can inform me.

Thanks in advance.

rps

 

[fishinwrench]

If you're considering a fishing toon then you've already decided that you won't be covering a lot of water at high speeds, therefore I'll bring up the option of a 18' center console wide Jon with slightly lowered decks.  

Bass fishing from a pontoon is like fishing off a bridge. They are great for catfishing, trolling, or soaking minnows for crappie, but just absolutely suck for anything else.

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

1 hour ago, fishinwrench said:

If you're considering a fishing toon then you've already decided that you won't be covering a lot of water at high speeds, therefore I'll bring up the option of a 18' center console wide Jon with slightly lowered decks.  

Bass fishing from a pontoon is like fishing off a bridge. They are great for catfishing, trolling, or soaking minnows for crappie, but just absolutely suck for anything else.

Hey you forgot about sitting in the middle of Taney drinking beer with 5 rods loaded with powerbait

[slothman]

The wind will blow you like a sailboat in a pontoon. The biggest difficulty I have with a pontoon is the issue of storage. It isn’t a problem for everyone, but it is for me. 

 

They used to make pontoons with fishing seats seats on the front, but I never see them anymore. I’ve been told that the manufacturers worry the about liability of someone riding up there while under way and falling off. 

[176champion]

I would look for a good used Basscat or Phoenix bass boat there out there...but that's just me...

[rps]

10 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

If you're considering a fishing toon then you've already decided that you won't be covering a lot of water at high speeds, therefore I'll bring up the option of a 18' center console wide Jon with slightly lowered decks.  

Bass fishing from a pontoon is like fishing off a bridge. They are great for catfishing, trolling, or soaking minnows for crappie, but just absolutely suck for anything else.

I had one of those, an Xpress. Got tired of the pounding. Good thought though.

[rps]

8 hours ago, slothman said:

The wind will blow you like a sailboat in a pontoon. The biggest difficulty I have with a pontoon is the issue of storage. It isn’t a problem for everyone, but it is for me. 

 

They used to make pontoons with fishing seats seats on the front, but I never see them anymore. I’ve been told that the manufacturers worry the about liability of someone riding up there while under way and falling off. 

Fair comment, but I would be driving. It would be the other guy that fell off.

[Dutch]

Have you considered a deck boat?  My wife had one for a few years.  It fished fairly well except in the wind.  

 

If you can improve your balance you might consider a Bosu ball.  Because of some medical conditions I have had balance issues and keep one handy.  When I feel a little off I drag it out and spend several periods per day working on my balance until it get better.

[fishinwrench]

2 hours ago, rps said:

I had one of those, an Xpress. Got tired of the pounding. Good thought though.

Well if you slow down to Pontoon speed you can avoid the pounding. 😉

[top_dollar]

            Table is a great lake to fish out of a pontoon.  They are great for vertical fishing  over deep cover.....which is what table rock does best.  My whole life I have fished from my uncles 18ft 1980 something bass buggy.  He has a little graph on the front, and a stout trolling motor up front which will move it just fine in all but the worst winds.  We hang crawlers, use drop shots, and jig spoons over deep drop offs, points, and submerged trees.  I actually prefer the pontoon to my little aluminum bass boat for that type of fishing.  Obviously youll have a rough time running way up a creek and playing shallow bass games, but for jiggin a spoon over a school of bass its hard to beat.   Also crankbait trolling is a great option for the toon.