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Post by OnTheRocks on Apr 3, 2017 18:16:55 GMT -5
Ok, so I know I haven't been on here in a while, been busy building a new house (done). A new man cave (CHECK)!!!!! I took time off to fish in last months tournament, and now that my to do list is getting smaller Ive been seriously considering a boat change. Right now, I have a Nitro Z7 sport, which I like and enjoy very much. The problem is now that my 2 boys have gotten older, and taken to fishing quite a bit!!! Im running low on room for kids, bait tank, wife (sometimes) and myself to move around comfortably. I have found a smoking deal on a pontoon, which was not my first choice. But, was wondering how many others fish out of a pontoon. I know that it would be MUCH more comfortable with room. One of my concerns is throwing a cast net off of that high of a deck, as well as getting into the shallower water for the messy gizz's at times. I've enjoyed my nitro for a couple years, but the lack of thinking on my part has led me to this. So now im in a spot where its either a pontoon, or a decent sized center console. The center console was my first choice, but now have been debating this pontoon. Any thoughts are appreciated with this awesome dilemma that im in right now. Thanks, Rocks
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Post by tiltntrim on Apr 3, 2017 20:10:12 GMT -5
For 34 years I've fished out of a bass boat (and I still have one), but when we moved here I promised the wife a pontoon as she does not like to ride fast. 3 years ago we got a 20' SunTracker Fishing Barge and I've been working at making it my striper rig. So far so good! I'm new to striper fishing but I'll list the pros and cons as I see them. Of course the arrangement of seats, console, etc. can make a difference.
Pros:
* Plenty of room for rod holders * Plenty of room for a bait tank. I have a 30 gal Bait Jacuzzi. Could go larger if needed. * Plenty of room for folks to sit if the fish aren't hitting. * I throw an 8' net from the bow over the rail with no problem and am catching bait. I'm sure a 10' could be thrown, but I'm not up to that size yet. * I can float that boat in 10" of water. * It's great for just riding around with the wife and kin folk when they're in town. * My kids are grown, but it would be great for kids.
Cons:
* The wind can make it tough to stay straight * You can't go anywhere real fast, but mine runs at 20mph with a 90hp. * No room for rod storage. * Listing this as a "con" but not sure yet...... My electronics right now are in the console. I want to get a unit mounted on the bow with sidescan, but am not sure how feasible that is with the limited areas for mounting a transducer. I plan on talking to Conrad Marine about it in a couple of weeks.
If it were just me, just fishing, I'd have a center console. But for a happy wife, and the ability to "entertain" guests as needed, our pontoon is working fine and I'm catching fish out of it!
Hope this helps. If you want to discuss on the phone shoot me a PM.
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Post by OnTheRocks on Apr 3, 2017 21:27:19 GMT -5
Thank you for the pro's and con's of the pontoon tilt! I really didn't take into consideration the wind, for sure makes sense. The idea of having the whole family, tank full of bait, rods, gear, and other odds and ends, PLUS still having more than enough room is a very appealing option. The other fact is that even by myself, hey I still have plenty of room. I've been looking at the fishin barge from sun tracker along with another used boat that I've found a good deal on. As far as electronics goes I would plan on getting a ram mount on the console, trolling motor wise....I have the minn Kota ipilot right now in my current rig, and must say I'm spoiled by that thing, don't think I could live without it. I would think if you track into the wind the boat would hold somewhat true. I know "into the wind" isn't always an option with our style of fihing though while pulling a spread. Thank you for the information though, I may pm you in the next few days to discuss a little further. Any help is much obliged.
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johnr
New Member
Posts: 1,293
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Post by johnr on Apr 4, 2017 5:02:35 GMT -5
I spent all of my youth fishing from a 20' pontoon. I'll echo everything that tiltntrim said, he's spot on.
For me, a pontoon is kinda limited to open water "sport" fishing. In my experience they just aren't nimble enough to go around fishing for bass and crappies and the like, without much headache.
They do make great striper fishing platforms. Trying to find battery storage for 3-4 batteries isn't easy though. Bait catching isn't a problem either. The boat will go shallow enough to find gizzards and you'll be able to throw the net no promblem. Just make sure your rails are smooth and unobstructed in the area you'll be throwing from. Also, a roll of carpet that is cut to fit your bait catching area goes a long way to keeping things clean.
I suspect that a pontoon is in my near future too. If so, it'll be strictly a striper and white perch setup, while I keep my other boat for all the other fishing I like to do.
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Post by jb4sml on Apr 4, 2017 6:20:38 GMT -5
One additional plus is an enclosure. I had one made last spring and it extended my fishing season. I have a 22 foot tri-toon that I picked up several years ago that now has a 200 hp outboard on it top speed is 30 mph. If you can pick up a tri-toon they are more stable and take the wakes and waves better. As far as what to do with your batteries I purchased a large cooler and rigged it as a battery box for my 36 volt trolling motor. It also makes a nice bench seat in the front of the boat.
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Post by coheasion on Apr 4, 2017 7:42:36 GMT -5
I found myself in the same spot as you here recently. i searched long and hard for what I thought would be the best combination family and fishing boat and finally came up with a center console layout tri-toon boat. you can read a bit about it and see some pictures here:
Now after having fished it for 3 months I can offer my pros and cons as well. Pro's: All that space! Comfortable seating The rig I have has tons of storage space With a 175 HP, full bait tank...spray curtains and full 50 gallon bait tank my top speed has been 39 MPH which is plenty Vinyl floors means it cleans up very quickly TIP: make sure the pontoon you are looking up has spacers between the furniture and the deck so water can run off easily Cons: Handling - I came from a 24' center console bayboat and thought that thing was a pain in the butt in the handling department, but the tri-toon is much harder to handle around the docks etc. It isnt so bad anymore but it did take a LOT of getting used to Range - tri-toon has a much smaller fuel tank than my old bayboat did so I find myself needing to fuel up quite a bit more often which can be a pain for especially where I am located on the lake Wind - the toon is like a sail especially with the T-Top and curtains I have on it....that doesnt affect me pulling baits that much as I went with a 36v TM...but when trying to pull into a lift etc it can be a challenge if the wind is up As far as throwin a net - going to be hard for me to comment on that as I got my toon with a deck extension up front specifically for catching bait so I don't know what it would be like pulling a net up over rails etc. Good luck to you and if you have any questions I can try to answer as best I can.
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Post by OnTheRocks on Apr 4, 2017 10:33:54 GMT -5
I like the idea of a center console pontoon, that's a nice looking fishing machine you have there, while still having the layout for family joy riding. The wind issue seems to be the biggest things with pontoons, which makes sense given that they sit fairly high out of the water and with the fence all the way around. I've seen the new sun tracker fishin barge's, and while they have an excellent layout for fishing in my opinion, there isn't much room for relaxing joy riding except for the center of the boat. Plenty of room, but not much seating except for fishing chairs. I'd be interested to see if they offer a bench style seat for up front on one side like on the party barge. The party barge is nice but absolutely no room for fishing. I'll be searching around, and hope not to pull the trigger to soon on one that I'm going to "settle" for and the next week find the perfect boat haha. It seems like that is always the case. I really appreciate all of the info so far fellas!
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johnr
New Member
Posts: 1,293
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Post by johnr on Apr 4, 2017 11:08:14 GMT -5
These days most manufactures have 3 general layouts. Cruise layout which is all couches. A cruise/fish which is cruising furniture on one end and fishing goods on the other. And then the 4 corner fish which is all fishing and maybe one couch beside the helm, which is the layout we had.
Also, I didn't see it mentioned yet, but get 25" or larger diameter tubes if you have the choice.
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oomph
New Member
Posts: 22
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Post by oomph on Jan 3, 2020 15:10:45 GMT -5
What diameter tubes are the older Party Barges?
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