# Pontoon Opinions



## jwalker (Jan 3, 2012)

I know it's still ice fishing season, but I'm already looking forward to the warmer spring, summer and fall seasons. I do a lot of shore fishing by myself during these seasons and am starting to consider purchasing a pontoon of some sorts. But truthfully, I don't know the first thing about them or how user friendly they are. I got a few questions and hopefully you guys can help provide some options. 

Can you fit them in a truck bed or do you need a trailer? 
Are they easy to launch by yourself? 
Are they a realistic option opposed to a boat? (I can't afford a boat)
Do you spend more time setting up the pontoon than you actually spend fishing?
Are they dangerous in any way?
Are there certain brands that are better in quality? (There is a ton of different brands!)
Is a trolling motor helpful or is that added unnecessary weight and time to set up?

For those who might ask what kind of fishing I would be using it for, I would primarily fish reservoirs and lakes for just about any kind of fish. 

Thanks!


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

Go to this website:

http://www.northforkoutdoors.com/

I would highly recommend these boats over a pontoon. No trailer needed and very sturdy stuff. Good luck!


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

I have two pontoons and love them. Here is my opinion on your questions:

_Can you fit them in a truck bed or do you need a trailer? _
I can tie mine on top of my Toyota Corolla, it fits nice in a truck bed, and I've used my small utility trailer. All work just fine. You certainly don't need a trailer.

_Are they easy to launch by yourself? _
Absolutely. Piece of cake.

_Are they a realistic option opposed to a boat? (I can't afford a boat)_
Yes and no. On small lakes, you are fine to fish whereever. On the bigger ponds like Strawberry, Flaming Gorge, Willard, Utah Lake - you won't want to get too far out in the lake. Winds can come up and produce waves really fast that are dangerous to any small boat. But for the most part, it is a very good option to a boat. Just know that there are limits.

_Do you spend more time setting up the pontoon than you actually spend fishing?_
No. I can be on the water within about 15 minutes of getting to the lake.

_Are they dangerous in any way?_
In most scenarios, they are very safe. Again, know your limits. As mentioned, if you are on the big ponds, hang within a few hundred yards of shore so if you do get good sized wind/waves, you can get to shore reasonably quick. But use it as designed and they are very safe. Always have your pfd on, or within reach - like in any boat.

_Are there certain brands that are better in quality? (There is a ton of different brands!)_
I have a fish cat streamer XL, and a Tieton (like you buy at Sam's Club or Costco.) Lots of good brands out there. More than brand, look at construction. My FishCat has all PVC pontoons - something I'd highly recommend. My Tieton has PVC on the bottom of the toons, and cordura/nylon on the top. It is decent, but I prefer the all PVC toons. The Sportsman's Label toons are all PVC and a great value in my opinion. I would buy one of their boats in a hearbeat. Stay away from the all nylon pontoons - they are usually marketed as lighter weight, but that also means less durable. You can find some great deals on KSL - lots of guys get one and never use it and sell it to get it out of the garage.

_Is a trolling motor helpful or is that added unnecessary weight and time to set up?_
That depends on where you are fishing, how much you like rowing/flipping, and how much you want to spend. I have done it both ways. And they don't take that much time to set up - an extra 2-3 minutes is all - and you'll more than make up for that time when you are the water and trolling to your fishing spot vs. rowing/paddling. My recommendation is to get a toon, try it with the oars and flippers, and then add a trolling motor once you have tried it a bit. Once you add a motor however, you must register it as a boat.

Hope this helps. And, welcome to the forum.


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

I have a pontoon with a motor.
It is great on Strawberry.
On smaller waters I don't use the motor.
I also have a boat. The boat gets used a lot more than the pontoon but when I didn't have the boat, the pontoon was used a lot.
I also have a float tube, It gets the same amount of use as the pontoon does. Each one has it's advantages.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

I've always enjoyed the Fishcat products. The watercraft that orvis1 suggests look awesome though. Maybe kochanut will chime in about his..

If you can drive right close to the places you like to fish then the pontoon type is the way to go. I do quite a few hike ins every year so the tube comes in handy and that's what I normally prefer.


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## fishawk (Aug 23, 2009)

+1 GF and great advice! I have the Sportsmans brand pontoon and love it. A great bang for your buck in my opinion. The double pontoons on each side and lower profile are a great advantage.


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## kochanut (Jan 10, 2010)

let me ask you this. would you like a gas motor on your pontoon? yes a gas motor. if you go with what orvis says you can indeed do that. we have an Avenger, and Renegade. the Avenger takes up to a 10 horse, and i also mount an electric on the front deck so i have a red, rubber, 12 foot bass boat.










the renegade takes an electric motor and zooms around fast as all hell










and they fit nicely in the back of a truck










i also have the extra front deck, lean bar, stripping apron, upgraded oars, and bigger back deck. for the money it is everything in a pontoon and so much more... if you have any questions feel free t ask


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I have a couple of boats, a canoe and a toon. I prefer to walk and fish.

I won a toon like kochanut has. It's pretty nice:









I may put a motor on it when I get old.


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## jwalker (Jan 3, 2012)

Thanks for the welcome to the forum and also an extra thanks for all of your well-thought out comments to my questions!

I think I've narrowed it down to either sportsmans or fishcat as far as a brand goes. They both seem reasonably well built. I'm pretty set on getting a trolling motor now. I think I'm going to go with an electric one to start off. Minn Kota appears to be the most common brand for those. 

What is everyone's take on electric trolling motors? Pro's, con's? etc


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Aren't the Fishcats and Sportsmans' boats made by the same factory, but just labeled differently? I think that is the case. Either way - both have the all-PVC construction which is a plus. 

On the trolling motor - it really doesn't take much to move a pontoon. I've actually got an old Sears motor a buddy salvaged out of a dumpster. I bought a new prop on eBay for it, and it is more than enough. Pontoons are so light and draft so high that the smallest of trolling motors is more than enough for a pontoon. My advise would be to get as cheap of a motor as you can find. You don't need lazer guided GPS, maximum 150 pounds of thrust for a pontoon. Basic and cheap. Not a bad thing to get off of KSL, from someone that is upgrading their big boat. Just an idea.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Toons ride very high on the water and the slightest breeze pushes you around. I'd like to have a small electric trolling motor to stay on the fish.

Welcome to the Forum jwalker and keep us posted.


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

jwalker said:


> Minn Kota appears to be the most common brand for those.
> 
> What is everyone's take on electric trolling motors? Pro's, con's? etc


There's nothing wrong with a Minn Kota, I own a couple. Buy a good battery, one that will hold a charge forever and make sure the charge is up before you set out. I've _almost_ had to walk twice because of a dead battery.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

.45 is a wise man. Listen to him.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

I'll add this - 
Here is a boat you can get through Walmart. 
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Colorado-Pontoon-Boat/2584964
I have this same boat, only an older version. It has the PVC bottoms, with the nylon tops. This is a very good boat, lots of storage - more really than I need, but very stable. I'm a big guy, and this is very stable and supports me very well. And the price is really good for what you get. The seat on this one is more comfortable than on my fishcat. And it has longer oars (7 ft on this vs. 6 ft. on my fish cat) which I like better, though I like the oarlocks on the Fishcat better. I added oar-rights to these and that helped a lot - especially for the kids - so the oars don't spin in the locks. The value of what you get on this boat is exceptional though. I would buy another one for sure.

I actually got mine used from a guy - he had used it 3-4 times and I paid $275 - found it on ksl.com . But even new - the $350 is a great price for what you get.


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## jwalker (Jan 3, 2012)

Yep, I'm resurrecting my first ever post. So a quick question:

I've been itching to buy a pontoon bad. I've been researching them since January. I've read hundreds of reviews, specs, compared brands, and read the suggestions of Tube Dude. After all this, I'm still greatly conflicted. Currently, I'm looking at the Colorado XT by Classic Accessories. (Thank you Garyfish for the suggestion) I love the storage space and the comfortable chair. I got to take a good look at it at Cabelas yesterday. However, many of the complaints I've read often bring up problems with the oar locks and the material bursting at the seams. Another complaint I've read that is concerning is the frame breaking. 

Many of these reviews are on store websites where the quality of the product can be influenced by their experience at the store they bought it from. I noticed negative encounters with the store usually resulted in heavily negative reviews of the product which provided a bit of bias. 

Sorry, I tend to ramble on with needless backstory. So to cut to the chase, has anyone had experience with the Colorado XT? Did you experience these aformentioned problems? Pros? Cons? It seems that the oar locks is the most fixable problem. Any additional suggestions? I'm fixing to buy one within the next couple of weeks now, with the trolling motor.

It seems for the money it has potential to be a great craft. I'm not ready to spend 700 dollars for my first pontoon, so my second runner up would be the Fishcat Streamer

Thanks!


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

The 2 reasons that pontoons and float tubes come apart at the seams are first, too much pressure.
When inflated to just 5# the pressure will more than double as the toon gets hot.
I was taking a break on the shore one day and watched as my toon started to move. I couldn't see any reason for it to move so I went over to looks at it. The seam on one of the bladders had ripped loose from the heat from the sun.

The second thing is rotting thread seams.
This happens from too much time in the sun and heat.
Every toon and tube can be affected by heat and sun rot. 
Store them in a cool place that is away from direct sunlight.
Let a little air pressure out when stored or when traveling.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

The expansion issue is one reason I prefer the all PVC pontoons. With the combined PVC/Nylon, the materials expand and flex differently in the heat/cold. In my mind, the all PVC stays more uniform, since it is the same material throughout. Grandpa D is right though. Don't haul or store them at full pressure. When I get to the lake, I'll let it sit in the sun while I get things rigged up. Then when it hits the water, It'll shrink a bit, and I'll top off the tubes. On the water, the water temperature usually will keep it from too much expansion. But when you get off the water, let off a little pressure and you'll be fine.

Weird people would complain about the frame braking. I've not seen that. Unless it has just faulty welds, I'm not sure how that would happen.

With the oars - a set of oar-rights will solve the issue. With the horse-shoe style oar lock, spinning will always be an issue unless you add something like an oar-right. You can buy them, or make them really easy. Either way, it is a really easy fix.


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