FISH A PONTOON
Combine pleasure and Pisces.
Fishing from pontoons, tow-tube
safety and more.
Pontoons offer plenty of space and lots of comfort. In triple-tube configurations especially, they can handle plenty of power too, for swift voyages, hauling a crowd, and popular watersports such as tubing, skiing and wakeboarding.
But don’t neglect the possibility that a pontoon can serve as your best fishing boat ever. Here’s how to make the magic happen.
BASS ACKWARD
More anglers can be stationed along the rails of a pontoon than aboard a conventional fishing boat of similar length. In back-trolling, the boat moves in reverse for maximum boat control at slow speeds, tracking fish-holding structure while anglers fish with bottom-bouncer rigs.
It’s like party-boat fishing, in motion.
BOW FIRST
Conventional forward trolling is often more successful with in-line side-planer boards. Try offshore boards with “tattletale” flags to indicate walleye bites. Hating the mess of live bait, Michigan pro and radio host Mike Avery suggests hardbody baits or spoons.
IN THE BAG
Key to pontoon-trolling, in forward or reverse, is the trolling bag or sea anchor. Today’s long, triple-tube pontoons track well but have shallow draft and lots of wind-catching surface. Bags slow down boats for a more natural presentation of lures and baits to fish.
POWER UP
Bow-mounted electric trolling motors are actually mainly used for positioning the boat for casting, but hefty ones with plenty of battery can generally handle a half day’s trolling at a slower speed. For drift-fishing, sea anchors and electric trolling motors can be used like thrusters to adjust a pontoon’s position with surgical precision.
RX FOR RODS
When we survey fishing-boat owners and shoppers, they place rod holders and rod stowage high on their wish lists. They’re just as important on a pontoon, where rods often ride in the open. If your boat didn’t come rigged with holders and racks, consider adding some.
BABY THAT BAIT
Fishing-focused pontoons often have baitwells and livewells as standard equipment. If yours doesn’t, consider plumbing a storage bin, builtin cooler, or Engel’s aerated livewell cooler to your deck gear, and keep the bait fresh.