Inflatable Pontoon Boats

Fish mojo · 12-24-2001, 04:02 PM

I would like to hear some of your experiences with inflatable pontoon boats for rivers and fishing. Are the cheaper ones that bad. Can you plug fish them? How do you handle shuttling? What river are good for them in Oregon? Tell me some stories. Thanks.

401k · 12-25-2001, 09:33 AM

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401k · 12-25-2001, 09:37 AM

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401k · 12-25-2001, 09:43 AM

I had to sell my willies boat two seasons ago and purchased a waterskeeter to fill in the gap for the year. Then last year I needed a new outboard for my trophy, so I'm still using the cat raft. It handles about the same as a drift boat because it has so much drag-it sits much deeper in the water and the oars are shorter. Now they sell them with anchor systems, but I had to make mine. We started with 3lb and now have 15lb and they USUALLY hold. We fish exactly the same as a drift boat- pulling plugs, side drifting,ect.. The main thing that you can't do is backbounce or back troll without the rod in the holder, not as effective. I've landed alot of fish on these but if you want to see a polish fire drill, you should see two of us trying to land a 35lb+ chinook-pitiful. One guy spinning around being dragged by the fish and the other chasing with the net. All in all They get you out there for cheap, but I still want another driftboat.

king fish · 12-25-2001, 09:45 AM

i got a water skeater and love it. they have a web site to order acc.i bought a ancor system and rod holder.not bad prices and quick service too.you can carry it down to the river fish your faviorte hole thencarry it back with out a shuttle

ampersat · 12-25-2001, 02:04 PM

i spent a lot of time looking at them. the skeeters and the like are heavy and the craftsmanship on the frames is somewhat marginal, depending mostly on price. the more you spend the better you get. do a search on the archives for more info. i posted this topic about four or five months ago and got a lot of good info. i found even more good info after going through the archives. spend a lot of time pondering the choice, look at the archives and listen to what these folks have to say, and go look at them yourself (leave your wallet at home and just window shop them).

after much consideration, i'm holding out for a drift boat. it's roughly the same thing and with all the fuss of having to shuttle back up to your car, a drift boat will leave you a lot drier and more comfortable at the end of the day.

FlyChucker · 12-25-2001, 08:29 PM

Just like any other tool, there is no such thing as "one size fits all."

One downside of the pontoon boats is that if your buddies don't have one also, you're fishing by yourself. We've stacked as many as three in the back of a pickup using rope rachets to tie them down.

Your shuttle options would be same as a DB. Bring two rigs, have a non-fishing friend shuttle, or pay for a shuttle.

IMHO, plugging with a pontoon boat can be covered in two phases.
Phase 1.
Getting boat in position.
Grabbing rod from holder.
Casting plug.
Setting rod in holder.
Grabbing oars.
Hope like H*** plug doesn't get hung up.

We fish in very small rivers so if you screw up any of the above, you've floated out of the sweet spot of the hole.

Phase 2.
Fish On! Your cast didn't backlash and your plug didn't hang up on the bottom. You've caught a steelie. What do you do? Do you have an anchor system that will hold the boat in current? Do you have room to carry a net? Or do you put the rod back in the holder with a fish on and row to shore to land it? Either way it's a damn circus.

They're great for transportation between runs for fly or drift fishing. I have a driftboat and a 10ft Outcast. Even if I'm by myself and want to plug fish, I'll use the driftboat.

I love the Outcast but they have their limits.

Mike

Charlie · 12-25-2001, 08:47 PM

Pontoon boats...I have had several and presently
I have the Hobbie Cat, it is made of hard plastic
pontoons and sits lower in the water, but you do not sit in the water. One can row or use fins, which I do most account I fly fish lakes. They are
capable of using on certain rivers and are ideal for lower water on the smaller coastal rivers or
in the bay. As mentioned it is hard to land a large fish such as salmon or a large steelhead.

The Hobbie cat is not cheap, and my second choice
would be the Outcast.If you are not going to fish
lakes I would go the larger pontoon type boat, but
over all the drift boat is the way to go for Steelhead/salmon.

Good luck, shop around as suggested