inflatable pontoon boats

[atavuss]

anyone have any experience with inflatable pontoon boats? I am wondering if the pontoon boat will be more stable than a canoe or kayak for fishing. I would be using it mainly on high Sierra Mountain lakes. here is a generic picture of the type of boat I am talking about:

[Westy]

I've fly fished with pontoons and float tubes before and I would take one over a canoe for sure.

They offer easy transport. I have even backpacked in with a float tube to remote high mountain lakes. With the pontoon you are situated up higher above the water, and they are also very nimble and some can be outfitted with trolling motors and fish finders.

I still like my Bucks Bag float tube. No poles, easy and quick to setup and its very light.

[SinCity4r]

I saw one of those at Orvis a few weeks ago. No experience but it looked really slick and was quite comfortable..

[Brian McVickers]

The pontoon boat will certainly be more stable and more nimble. The canoe or kayak will provide faster speeds but I don't think you would need speed for fishing the lakes you mentioned. For fishing I would choose the pontoon over the others.

Disclaimer: I have never used one of those pontoons like you have pictured but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night!

Have fun!

[Nullifier]

For lakes a canoe all the way. It's what the craft was designed for. It will be fast, efficient, stable (when choosing the right design), easy to use ( no inflating and assembly), and in the wind will be easier to paddle and control.

The cataraft was really design for swift flowing rivers and excell in that envirinment.

A float tube is an entirly different animal all together. they definetly have there advantages for certain situations do to compact size.

If your looking for a great light durable stable canoe to fish from this is my #1 choice http://bellcanoe.com/products/canoes/angler.html It is shown with the optional seat I recomend the standard wood seat with nylon web. Then add a seat back by GCI outdoors called the sit backer. It will save you $, wieght, and not sacrifice comfort. I have been flyfishing out of this canoe for a long time now. I actually own 27 canoes/kayaks personally aside from my rental/retail shop. It really is the perfect compact fishing canoe for lakes and quiet water rivers. Easy to paddle solo or tandem.

[Brian McVickers]

A canoe, definitely a conoe, isn't that what I said, a conoe!

Remind me to find another hotel rather than Holiday Inn!!


Nullifier, 27!! Where do you keep them all, that's awesome

[Nullifier]

LOL well I'm a bit of a collector. One day I would actually like to open a museum for real. I have several here at my buisness, several in my garage. I keep 2 in the adrondaks, 2 in minnesota, 1 in georgia, a 1910 wood canvas Old Town is getting restored in South carolina right now, and a few at my folks house.

Most of my boats I have acquired over the last 12 years. I primarily am interested in composite canoes developed in the 70's and 80's that had some "new" design features that are now standard in the high tech canoes you get now. For example the Bell Magic solo. I have one and it's 3 predecessors design by David Yost, none of which are Bell canoes. They are sawyer, and Curtis canoes since Bell wasn't around then, David designed for them. You look at the evolutiuon of Davids designs on all 4 canoes and it's amazing how similar but progresivly different they are.

I am also a big freestyle canoe fan and had had the honor working with a great paddler named Mike Galt. I have acquired almost every design he made. He is no longer with us but in the modern canoeing times this guy developed some great boats and techniques that are standards in skilled paddling now.

My favorite canoe that I actually use is my canadiane 17 by Bell. It was design by Ralph freez the owner of Chicago land canoe base in the 70's He wanted a peformance retro style canoe that was made in composite for mass production. He designed 16 ,17,& 18 size models. They were made by Old town Canoe till the mid 90's when Oldtown got out of high end canoes. The molds were sent back to Ralph and he made a few over the years at his shop till he signed a deal with Bell to make the 17 and 18.

My 17 was built as Ted Bells personal Canoe for his family. He got a call from Ralph who had a customer going to the Boundary waters and wanted a Canadian. So ted said well send mine I'll build another. Ralph ended up selling the customer a different canoe. So the canoe ended up at carl's paddling in Wisconsn instead. They had a customer who wanted one and ended up getting something else. Later that year I went to the first Bell Experience in Wisconson And Carl from Carl's paddling had a Canadian on his roof. I asked him about it and got the story of the canoe. He was returing it to Ted Bell since it all along was suposed to be his personal canoe. Of course Ted and I have the same taste in outfiting so it was built to my standards LOL. So I told ted I had A guy n florida that was dying to get one (me), and that day I headed down the river for a 5 day trip on the namakogen river in my new Bell canadian 17. The cool thing about this canoe is it is Carbon fiber & wood trim but was the first one color matched to the original Old Town green color. I called Old Town and had them ship me the remaining Canadian Decals they had since Bell had not got theirs printed yet. So I have the only Bell branded logo on the Bow and the Old Town Canadienne logo on the back with color matched Gel laid up in Black Gold lamination with wood trim a kneeling thwart and web seats. If your not a paddler that is probably greek but it basically means it loaded out and one of a kind. I have paddled it on the Namekogen in Wisconson, The colorado & green rivers in utah, the bufffalo in arkansas, the adirondacks, all over florida, south carolina's lake jocassee, keowee and Edisto river, Great Salt lake, and I might take it to Idaho but have not decided how many canoes I'm bringing LOL

Most of my boats have crazy stories behind them, so for me it's fun to talk about as you can tell by the long post. I'm a bit of a canoe nut

[LUISJG]

have you consider a rigid one like the hobie float cat 75, dont have to worry on assembly as it takes about 2 minuts and never worry about flat pontoons.
and only weighs 25 pounds. i realy dont use the oar system as it sucks though. i use a kayak paddle.

http://www.thefloattubestore.com/pontoon.htm

[paulj]

It was design by Ralph freez the owner of Chicago land canoe base in the 70's He wanted a peformance retro style canoe that was made in composite for mass production. He designed 16 ,17,& 18 size models.

That name brings back old memories. I used to live several miles south of Ralph's shop, and browsed there a number of times. I bought various guide books and accessories from him, but no boats. He had several fiberglass replicas to the big fur trading cargo canoes in back. As I recall, Ralph was an expert on canoe matters, and wasn't afraid to express his opinion.

paulj