Pontoon Users

[joe_manix]

Hello everybody,
I just got a fishcat ir 9 my first ever boat and was looking for advices of what are some of the dos and don'ts when it comes to pontoons floating, maintenance and storage. I would like to start off in familiar ponds and small lakes to get confortable and see how it goes. thanks

[nb180]

i usually leave mine fully assembled just deflate the tubes a bit makes transport easier and gives the tubes more room for warm weather so they don't over inflate in the sun. pretty low maintenance a quick wash and hang up in the garage. the wheel mod is all ways a good add on makes packing a breeze. a good set of kick Finns is a good investment

[32-40win]

Let's see, the wind will always switch, and be blowing the wrong way, when you want to go back, so go the other way, with the wind, in the early AM.
Never leave the oars behind.
A small drift sock is your buddy, when drifting with the wind.
A trolling motor is really your buddy, when the wind switches twice on you.
A pontoon will ride out waves that push a lot of boats off the lake. As long as there is no lightning involved, and it's a passing storm, just stay out there, you may just get into some really good fishing. If you don't mind being in a see-saw mode for 1/2hr to an hour. And you can use the wind to tack across the lake. Sorta like the way you rode a bike up a steep hill.
Always take a rain jacket.
Never put the rod down, unless it is in a rod holder. Whenever you hear another pontooner or tuber screaming, you know they didn't use a holder.
Or just stuck themself with a fly.

[Don Andersen]

Joe,

A decent anchor is a must. For the small mud bottom lakes in Central Alberta, I use a 5 lb. disc of lead. For larger sand bottom lakes in the east or SE, I use a 10lb. Flat lead anchor. And for river fishing, I use a mushroom anchor that will tip over and dig in. Your anchor rope can be
purchased at CDN Tire. I use a 5/16" soft nylon rope. Do not buy the yellow plastic rope, it is stiff and breaks.
Some type of storage on board is required for shoes, jackets, lunch etc.
I've never used a motor. Rowing is good for you. Some people actually pay memberships to row on machines. Rowing will catch you more fish as you are not tempted to pull anchor and try somewhere every few minutes.
Watch your inflation pressures. Filling the boat in the early AM and leaving it in the sun while driving or changing elevations may cause the pontoon seams to fail. Knock some air outta them as needed.
Last year was a pontoon record for me of 101 days afloat in a 'toon.


Regards,

Don

[wildcat111]

when i got my, i did a float down the bow river during high water, i don't recommend this. buy a nice fitting life jacket. try to find another person with one to go out with, i didn't know anyone when i first got mine and after a while it got boring and hung for a long time.now it get used all the time.enjoy

[tallieho]

always have a tether line to/boat when drifting in flowing water.long handle net,c&r mesh

[Pierre]

I've stored my pt boat ('toons were deflated and stored in a bag along with the rest) over many winters in an unheated garage with no issues. During fishing season, I used to leave the frame assembled and stuff in back of SUV, then pump up 'toons upon arrival. Saves a bit of time, maybe 10 minutes assembling and another 10 disassembling.

For Pumps, something inexpensive < $25 like this will do the job but will require some time (5 minutes/'toon) and effort.


Or you could go with an electric something like this for < $40. It will inflate mostly all the way in <1 minute but it will require a few pumps with the hand pump to top off the 'toons.





But the best pump is something like this. It will inflate the 'toons (< 1 minute) to approx 2.5 lbs psi and won't require a few hand pumps to top off, but it's not cheap, +$100


Get a depth finder, and as Don said, get some kind of a storage bin, rubbermaid container with lid fits nicely on the back deck. Keeps lunch and clothes dry.

I don't always use the rear anchor system. Depending on the wind I will tie the anchor rope to different parts of the frame to give me the desired orientation to the structure I'm casting to (see Don, I don't always troll )

[joe_manix]

Thanks a lot for the replies, i got a lot to catch up with, whats the purpose of a tether line? Would Basspro or fishing hole carry them? And Would a trolling motor on a pontoon required a boaters license to operate? Also would 20 ft be adequate length of rope for an anchor or more?
Thanks

[Northern Yaker]

Any motor electric or gas would require a boaters lisense.

[tallieho]

Originally Posted by joe_manix

Thanks a lot for the replies, i got a lot to catch up with, whats the purpose of a tether line? Would Basspro or fishing hole carry them? And Would a trolling motor on a pontoon required a boaters license to operate? Also would 20 ft be adequate length of rope for an anchor or more?
Thanks

The tether line is just a simple piece of rope,tied to you & the boat.In the heat of the moment ,some forget the fact that they are in flowing water.These pontoon boats don't heel when called back..

[Don Andersen]

Joe,

Your anchor rope for lakes should be long enough to go from the anchor lock trough the back pulley and then to the bottom. I use a 50'er nearly all the time.
The river anchor rope is less than 25' long. I never anchor off the shoreline more than several feet. Boats which are anchored in rapidly flowing water often sink so quickly your life may be in danger. I know of three boats that made it to the bottom. Two of them were rafts that when the anchor rope was cut, rose to float again. The gear however was never seen again.

Regards,

Don

[bobalong]

I put an anchor lock on my back deck, a swivel for the seat, a sonar, and have two rod holders on the boat. I like using a measure net (large) has nice mesh, and measure tape built right into the net for a quick reference.

[joe_manix]

There's tons of great informations in here, thank you all!!! I'm learning and making a list of items I gotta have. And now, can I get away using my 9ft flyrods? or I would need a different lenght and one more thing, I did some reading online about some life vest being uncomfortable when fishing or just floating, so what are you using and which do you recommend? thanks

[joe_manix]

Originally Posted by bobalong

I put an anchor lock on my back deck, a swivel for the seat, a sonar, and have two rod holders on the boat. I like using a measure net (large) has nice mesh, and measure tape built right into the net for a quick reference.

thats a great setup! looks fun! thanks for sharing

[Bhflyfisher]

Originally Posted by Pierre

I've stored my pt boat ('toons were deflated and stored in a bag along with the rest) over many winters in an unheated garage with no issues. During fishing season, I used to leave the frame assembled and stuff in back of SUV, then pump up 'toons upon arrival. Saves a bit of time, maybe 10 minutes assembling and another 10 disassembling.

For Pumps, something inexpensive < $25 like this will do the job but will require some time (5 minutes/'toon) and effort.


Or you could go with an electric something like this for < $40. It will inflate mostly all the way in <1 minute but it will require a few pumps with the hand pump to top off the 'toons.





But the best pump is something like this. It will inflate the 'toons (< 1 minute) to approx 2.5 lbs psi and won't require a few hand pumps to top off, but it's not cheap, +$100


Get a depth finder, and as Don said, get some kind of a storage bin, rubbermaid container with lid fits nicely on the back deck. Keeps lunch and clothes dry.

I don't always use the rear anchor system. Depending on the wind I will tie the anchor rope to different parts of the frame to give me the desired orientation to the structure I'm casting to (see Don, I don't always troll )

Pierre, do you know where to buy the last one locally? been looking for one for a while.. wanted to try the zebec store but they close through the winter. Any idea where to get them?

J

[Calgaryguy1977]

As mentioned earlier, do yourself a favour and get good fins for your feet! They help it from spinning around when your feet are in the water and there's a wind. They can also help if your arms get tired!

[burningfreak]

A quick safety note on the tether. It's a good idea but make sure it can be quickly and easily released from yourself while under tension. It's a bad idea to have any kind of a rope tied to yourself in moving water without a quick release because if it gets caught on anything in the river while in a strong current your likely to get pulled under.

[Pierre]

This is the one I have, $ 70 @ Cabelas. Though I have seen them at The Fishin Hole (though not for a while) WSS should also have them, but didn't come up in the search. Anyplace that sells Outcast boats should have it.



http://www.cabelas.ca/product/64272/...g-12v-air-pump

[joe_manix]

Great advice on the tether line I'll will think of a quick release setup. With the electric pump its strange but its seems like the pontoons can only be inflated the valves fully open? but works fine with with the valve closed using my hand pump
And I'm thinking of building a wheel the boat to move it around, actually I'm very excited to design one. here's one I saw online, what do you think?

[Coldone]

I managed to score two pontoons ast week.. both never used and both trades or services rendered looking forward to trying them out pretty quick!

[EP2]

Originally Posted by joe_manix

There's tons of great informations in here, thank you all!!! I'm learning and making a list of items I gotta have. And now, can I get away using my 9ft flyrods? or I would need a different lenght and one more thing, I did some reading online about some life vest being uncomfortable when fishing or just floating, so what are you using and which do you recommend? thanks

Do you need a 9.5'+rod, no.
I like fishing long rods anyways on lakes. 9.5-10' 6/7wts are the best.

[joe_manix]

Originally Posted by Coldone

I managed to score two pontoons ast week.. both never used and both trades or services rendered looking forward to trying them out pretty quick!

Congrats, what brand?

[chriscosta]

I picked up two nice ones at costco for 200 a piece

[chriscosta]

6o pounds only I can very easily carry them over my head and for anyone who hasnt used one for fly fishing ...be ready...it makes fly fishing that much more addicting ... if thats even possible lol... just think of all the nice spots that are a short walk to the lake that normally youd fish from shore

[vital shok]

Those costco ones did you pick them up recently?If so I wonder if they have them at Costco in Calgary.just bought one yesterday for 600 and will take that back if so looks like a great boat

[32-40win]

Just remember that cheap is cheap. For 200.00, I would check out what they have for bladders in the pontoons,and, are they repairable? Can you get new bladders for them? Saw that issue with a more expensive brand, that is no longer available. I find it really difficult to wrap my head around, coming the way it is illustrated, which shows a fairly well equipped boat, at that price level. They cheaped out somewhere, and the pontoon bladders are likely to be just one spot. Check how the seat mount is set up, you need adjustment for weight balancing, or you can wind up leaning one way or the other when loaded up. Do some comparisons with the cheaper version of the Outcast Fishcat, which is usually in the 4-500.00 range. They have replaceable and repairable bladders which are easily and quickly acquired if needed.