New Pontoon for Christmas

[grunttwice]

So my wife got me an Outfitter XT pontoon for Christmas, it's got a wheel and an anchor already. So far I've fished rivers almost exclusively, but I think I'm going to have to try some still water fishing with the pontoon.

So, what is the minimum I need to go hit a reservoir with my fly rod and be successful? I'm thinking:

1. Rod holder
2. Sinking Line

Are there any good guides or books to read to help me with strategies? I'm tempted to drag the toon up to Deer Creek Sunday just to see what I can do. It may not be a good idea in this cold though. :-)
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[flygoddess]

Just be sure and check your air pressure in the cold. Type III or an Intermediate sinking line. Mohair leeches. You can use a floating line with a 20' leader and an indicator (deep nymphing)
I take three to for rods out on my pontoons all strung with different sink and one floating line.
Deer Creek is fun this time of year, but dress warm.
Denny Rickards is some great stillwater reading.
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[grunttwice]

Well it's for sure now, I have to go. I'm thinking I will bring a spinning rod as well since I don't have any sinking lines for my fly rod yet. Thanks for the author suggestion as well. I'm definitely going to order a couple of his books and try to digest them over the winter.
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[OldTroller]

Take your dry fly line and if they arn't hitting dries cast and retrieve some soft hackles. Read up on fishing chironomids too. Those are two ways to fish a floating line from a pontoon. Oh and you can cast a beadhead woolly bugger and have a lot of success on a floating line if they are hitting near the surface.

Oh and do a search on here there is a ton of good info already on here about stillwater.
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[flygoddess]

You will be concentrating a great deal on the boat. If you are comfortable with spinning go for it, but IF snow is flying, try an Elk Hair caddis on your floating. Don't know why but it works. Olive and Grey.
Also, I always really get into fish if I go deeper. Not so much the fly but floor of the lake. I do better in 30' and deeper. Not saying they don't cruise the shore, but I am guaranteed in deep water.
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[grunttwice]

I was actually reading about chironomids right as you posted this. They recommend 9ft 3x tapered leader, 10ft 3x fluorocarbon, and then 4 - 6 feet 4x fluorocarbon. Is this the typical set up? Is it hard to cast?

[url "http://www.scientificanglers.com/insider/2012/12/rigging-stillwaters-canadian-secret"]http://www.scientificanglers.com/insider/2012/12/rigging-stillwaters-canadian-secret[/url]

I've been searching the forum here as well. I'm always amazed by the expertise of the BFT members.
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[OldTroller]

Not even close. You can fish a chironomid from a floating line or a sinking line. Since you have a floating line I will tell you my set up...

I use a 9' 5X leader and tie on my first fly with a loop knot. To the line just above the loop knot I pinch on a #4 lead weight and tie on a length of line one to three feet with a Davy knot. To the end of that I tie on another fly and pinch on another #4 weight right above the knot.

I put on a thingamabobber as far above the flies as I think the fish are swimming. It's not easy to cast but you'll get the hang of it if you have ever cast a nymph rig on a river.
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[grunttwice]

Thanks for the advice! I'm really looking forward to trying this now. I've fished 3 nymph rigs from a drift boat on the Green, I imagine that casting a rig like this would be similar.

Thanks again
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[flygoddess]

Not to repeat Ol Troller, but he did learn from the best[]
I use regular mono or fluorocarbon 6 to 8 lb. I use 20 to 30 feet of it. Any shorter I use a furled leader with longer tippet for casting purposes.
On the longer leader, I tie 12" tags about 3' apart to stagger the mids. I tie a mid on the end then up to two more on tags. I use a slip indicator that I sell but you can buy them anywhere. Again, I like the 30' deep lake portion. The slip indicators allow the indicator to slip with fish on and slide down the leader so you don't have to struggle with bringing the fish in close. They set easy too.
I usually use at least one bead head mid, but I have used split shot, however, I attach it to the note of the last tag. This allows the mids below to act natural floating up and down.
You are going to want sonar in the future, but you deep nymph by clamping forceps to the bottom fly, drop it down and mark the depth, you will want to set an indicator one foot in so the fly is suspended off the bottom.
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[flygoddess]

Hey if you got any Christmas money, Orvis is having a killer sale on their Hydros Lines. I ordered some at this price.
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[grunttwice]

Thanks for the heads up! I'm going to go order one of those lines. I never made it out because my wife distracted me by buying a puppy. []

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[albinotrout]

Now would be a good time to head out. I am getting my gear out and ready to go as well. I need a fishin fix![cool]
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