Question:
these pontoon boats have piqued my interest. I see them
occasionally (though not often in the East), as well as advertised in
fishing mags.
I'd appreciate hearing from some users of these craft about how they
compare to a "real" boat like a canoe or drift boat.
I realize they are much more portable...but are they reasonably fast in
the water? Can you actually row upstream against a moderate current if
you want to? Are the little oars effective?
My other question is: do you typically ride with your feet up and out of
the water? Or are they more like belly boats where your feet dangle
below?
Answer:
-I've had a Kingfisher pontoon boat for 3+ yrs now and here's what I've
found...
Mine weighs 15#, is very portable (it fits in the back of my Toyota)
Since it sits on top of the water, the least little breeze will move it,
a
small anchor is a must if you don't want to spend all your time getting
re-positioned.
The Kingfisher has a rowing kit installed, as well as a foot bar. So I
ride with my feet up on the footbar. You are supposed to be able to
propel
the boat with flippers too, but the best I could do is go around in
little
circles, never did get the hang of that.
I tried rowing upstream in a slow to moderate current, forget it. I
managed
about 100 yds before giving up.
It is much faster than a belly boat, will get you from point A to point
B
in good time, but there are tradeoffs as you can see. There are times I
still use the belly boat, because I can hold my position better on a
breezy
day.
-I have used one for several years (Bucks Bag Bronco), on western and
eastern rivers, and I love it. They are very stable fishing platforms, and
because you are virtually sitting on the water it would be very difficult to
tip them in normal water (they are NOT, however, suitable for "whitewater").
The small oars work just fine for controling the boat while drifting with the
river current, getting up on the bank, etc. Rowing upstream is a no go.
Although I fish from the boat, more frequently I stop and wade fish.
Particularly on the bigger western rivers, I find it difficult to control the
boat and fish at the same time. It's access to water that the boat really
provides for me.
- I have 2 pontoon boats made by Skookum Products One of them, the Steelheader can only be used with oars and you are
completely out of the water. It also has a casting platform on the front of
it you can stand up on while anchored. I have used this in class III
whitewater with no problems but you're not going to row it upstream very
far! The other is their Stalker which they designed for duck hunters but I
use it for lake fishing. It is a much lighter craft and can be either kicked
or rowed. It is also not designed to be used in whitewater as the frame is
very lightweight. As for how fast you can row one of these things... Well
pretty fast. I can set up a pretty good wake rowing the Stalker. And as it
is adjusted so that it is very comfortable to row I can cover a lot of water
fairly quickly. Of the two boats I don't know which I like better. The
Steelheader is great for River Fishing and the Stalker is a great boat to
use in stillwater. Lately I have been doing a lot of fishing on lakes so the
Stalker has been used more than the Steelheader as I feel I have better
control over the boat when trolling using fins than I do when rowing. Since
both boats have anchors the stationary fishing is about equal unless I feel
like standing up (which I can, and do, on the Steelheader). Both of these
boats are fairly large with 9 foot pontoons. But since I'm overly large
myself this doesn't bother me. I have no problems putting the Stalker (it
weighs in at about 35 lbs.). up on top of my Jeep and can put the
Steelheader up without too much trouble if I put my mind to it (it weighs in
at about 75 lbs.). I have had both of them on the top of the car several
times without any trouble with my wife helping to put the Steelheader on the
top of the Stalker. Both boats use either 7' or 7 1/2' oars but I prefer the
7 1/2' oars as they give me more power. In whitewater with the Steelheader
I mainly use the boat to get from point A to point B and then get out and
wade. I have found it's too hard to control the boat and control the line
at the same time. All in all I would much rather fish from the pontoon
boats over my float tube as they are much more comfortable and much easier
to move about the lake. Of course they can also act like sailboats when the
wind kicks up! I have found this is more the case with the Steelheader than
with the Stalker as I can use the fins in the water to keep from being
effected as much and I also sit much lower in the Stalker.
-Just bought a 25 ft pontoon and am loving it. We don't do any fishing but I'm
told it's the perfect fishing boat because you can cruise in 2 ft of water.
Got it stuck on a sand bar the other day, no problem. Have a 3.0 Mercruiser
I/O and goes plenty fast enough to haul skiers or tubers. Love it so far.
