Help me with a boat decision

[TreeMyDog]

I'm tired of doing all my fishing out of my 14' Duracraft. It's a very well built boat, but I'm wanting something more stable and comfortable. I'm not getting rid of it. It has it's place on smaller waters.

I'm wanting to get a boat suitable for fishing big COE lakes like Ouachita or Greers Ferry.

Trying to make up my mind whether to get a bass boat or a fishing rigged pontoon boat.

I like the idea of the dual use capability of a pontoon.

You folks that fish from pontoons, I would like to hear the pro's and cons you have experienced.

[racerkvn]

If you like the dual purpose the Pontoon has to offer, then thats the direction I would lean towards.

[poppop]

I love my 18 foot Bass Buggy Pontoon....its set up for fishing..the only con I have is the wind blows it around moreso than a smaller boat. I would definately go back to a pontoon boat if I was still looking.

[Arg]

I just got a new 17'7 War Eagle and love it. I will try and post some pics for you.

[LipJerker]

I am glad you brought this up I was thinking of getting a pontoon myself. I fish out of a 1448 fisher and like it. Some days though is gets a little rough for it. My wife also likes the idea of a pontoon.

[robbor]

What 14' do you have??? 1448? or 1436? the 36" are very unstable. I went from a 1436 to another crappie boat that was about 1552 and it was a huge diff. A 1648 or wider would be an improvement.

[talltimber]

A buddy has a deck boat that fits his style pretty good. I fished w/him out of it one spring on the edge of some brush and it worked well for that, as long as we didn't try to get up into it. It does catch some wind though.

[GRIZZ]

http://www.legendcraft.com/images/2270v.jpg

Manitou Pontoon Boats

Manitou Pontoon Boats

From the looks of the video the Xplode sportfish is a new model that isn't on their website yet. That's what I'd be looking at.

[boatstall]

We bought our first pontoon last year. LOVE it. I'll never be without one. We looked around for a long time, finally found exactly what I wanted. Used, no furniture except for steering console with a double flip-back helm seat. She's a 28 ft. Sanpan, with 24 ft. of deck. (2ft. of pontoon sticks out from deck, both bow and stern) Main reason for this boat was the 6 ft of open front deck, forward of the bow fence with center gate. Tons of room and is rated for 16 passengers. Huge bimini, which is great in Louisiana. Custom trailer that is a welded frame box affair that the deck rests on, and the pontoons hang off on either side, self centering the hull, and allows the boat to sit considerably lower when on the trailer. Pulls great at 75 on the interstate, with no sway.

We bream fish in the cypress, catfish on the river, and it is the best day or night fishing platform for sac-a-lait (crappie) we own. We carry 4 anchors on board, with the two primary fishing anchors being on Anchor-Mate winches located on the front inside corners of the railing, that can be reached from inside the fence ,or from the bow front deck. Plan on adding 2 more at the stern, which will allow either anchor or drift socks to be deployed, adjusted and then retreived. Did I mention we LOVE this set-up. Foot controlled tm on the bow that I simply bolt on and off of the bow deck, depending on what we are using her for. The tm stayes on-board and is easily attached when on the water if needed with wing nuts.

I'm still rigging, but she's already proven to be a great fishing platform. The grandkids, and the big kids enjoy the 4 step ladder that detaches in about 5 seconds, but allows easy re-entry from the water onto the front deck. I'll be glad when the water gets cooler, to where the attention span can shift off of the summer water sports, and concentrate on the fishing. If you want a great family rig that will allow plenty of kids, tubing, swimming, etc, you can't beat a toon. (the ladder remains on-board year round, as easy re-entry in the winter from an accidental over-boarding could be lifesaving)

As to the spider rigging with rod holders on the railings, plan on spending a few bucks on rod holders. I've got 8 driftmasters mounted on the 3 ft railing around the sides and stern, and have just completed building the set-ups for the front corners of the bow deck. 3/4" galvanized floor flanges, with 3 sizes of upright stanchions, depending on whether we are sitting, or standing, and 18" horizontal bars coming out of the 3/4" tee, with 4 rod holders for each corner, giving no considerations for weight. That's one of the biggest plusses for a toon, you can carry plenty of gear without worrying about the boats capacity.

Try one, you can always sell, but I'm betting you won't.

boatstall

[Scott S]

They are really comfortable and roomy. Only con I know of is manueverability, when I want to get way back in the stick ups I'll use my ProCraft but otherwise it's the pontoon.
We have never been without at least one boat since 1982 but have never spent so much time on the water as since 2003 when we bought the pontoon.
Scott