11-14-2005, 02:15 AM
[cool][#0000ff]Just so there are no misunderstandings, it is not an "either or" proposition between float tubes and pontoons. Neither will ever totally replace the other. Each has benefits and features that make it a better choice, under specific fishing conditions.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I will always keep either a Fat Cat or similar in my arsenal. Too many places where a pontoon would be too big and heavy or simply not needed. On the other hand, a pontoon (with or without electric motor) will give me extra range and mobility to fish water I cannot fish effectively with tube alone.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have thought about Kayaks too, but for the type of "hands-free" fishing I enjoy, kayaks require too much "hands-on" paddling just to maintain position. I have explored this with several pontooners. They love the mobility and over-the-water speed of a kayak, but grudgingly agree that they suck when it is time to work slowly down a shoreline or to maintain just the right distance while casting to feeding fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Pontoons allow the best of both worlds for me. I can go farther and faster to get where I want to go, but then I can ship the oars and fish using just the fins. Then, when it's time to go home...or the breeze kicks up...I have extra propulsion (oars or motor) to get me back to the car without winding up in the intensive care unit of the local anglers' hospital.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As I have discovered, there are many designs in pontoons. Some of them are more "fin friendly" than others. I still have some research to do. Poor me.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I will always keep either a Fat Cat or similar in my arsenal. Too many places where a pontoon would be too big and heavy or simply not needed. On the other hand, a pontoon (with or without electric motor) will give me extra range and mobility to fish water I cannot fish effectively with tube alone.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have thought about Kayaks too, but for the type of "hands-free" fishing I enjoy, kayaks require too much "hands-on" paddling just to maintain position. I have explored this with several pontooners. They love the mobility and over-the-water speed of a kayak, but grudgingly agree that they suck when it is time to work slowly down a shoreline or to maintain just the right distance while casting to feeding fish.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Pontoons allow the best of both worlds for me. I can go farther and faster to get where I want to go, but then I can ship the oars and fish using just the fins. Then, when it's time to go home...or the breeze kicks up...I have extra propulsion (oars or motor) to get me back to the car without winding up in the intensive care unit of the local anglers' hospital.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]As I have discovered, there are many designs in pontoons. Some of them are more "fin friendly" than others. I still have some research to do. Poor me.[/#0000ff]
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