09-09-2009, 10:07 PM
[quote smallmouth89]Guys,
I have a 10 foot Outcast pontoon and I really like it. It gives the same advantages as the float tube but is a little more work. Once I swallowed my pride and used a 1 stroke oar assist to make quick turns I fell in love with it. I had originally rejected the whole pontoon concept because I couldn't turn it with the fins like I can my tube. I really like the pontoon for drifting rivers with a buddy but with the kayak I can solo by paddling upstream and fishing my way back to the car.
The kayak as Pat alluded to gets into your soul. It responds so beautifully to the paddle, is a great solo vessel and if I were limited to one vessel it would be a kayak. Not quite as easy to fish from (except for trolling where it is probably the most efficient human powered vessel) but man does it go.
Kayaks are cool, but there a lot of things they cant do. How do you handle the up part of steep grades, or packing compactly to remote areas? Hovering without constant switching between paddles and poles constantly? Backache discomfort from sitting flat for hours in a thin layer of wet muck tracked in when you mount & dismount. To be honest I've only tried them a couple of times, so there may be ways around these things.
. I pass all the electric motor powered aluminum boats on the local reservoir.
Speaking of electrics I finally put to rest the notion of ever becoming motorized on my "toon". The other day I asked a friend of mine who had brought his electric motor to fish from one of the trout club's aluminum jonboats, to pull alongside me so i could compare my pontoon's rowing speed to him going full throttle. The result was revealing. I actually left him behind. So much for the 30 to 40 pound thrust motors that are suitable for pontoon boats. I can do well without the extra hassle and with the physical benefits of rowing. To be fair, you need to compare rowing a jonboat with the electric jonboat. Or attach a motor to a kayak to fairly compare speed with a rowed one, like this one:
http://www.torqeedo.com/us/hn/products/u...ption.html
Any exercise is better than none, but I'm not sure paddling, kicking or turning your neck works all the essential muscle groups. [
][] Pon[/quote]
[signature]
I have a 10 foot Outcast pontoon and I really like it. It gives the same advantages as the float tube but is a little more work. Once I swallowed my pride and used a 1 stroke oar assist to make quick turns I fell in love with it. I had originally rejected the whole pontoon concept because I couldn't turn it with the fins like I can my tube. I really like the pontoon for drifting rivers with a buddy but with the kayak I can solo by paddling upstream and fishing my way back to the car.
The kayak as Pat alluded to gets into your soul. It responds so beautifully to the paddle, is a great solo vessel and if I were limited to one vessel it would be a kayak. Not quite as easy to fish from (except for trolling where it is probably the most efficient human powered vessel) but man does it go.
Kayaks are cool, but there a lot of things they cant do. How do you handle the up part of steep grades, or packing compactly to remote areas? Hovering without constant switching between paddles and poles constantly? Backache discomfort from sitting flat for hours in a thin layer of wet muck tracked in when you mount & dismount. To be honest I've only tried them a couple of times, so there may be ways around these things.
. I pass all the electric motor powered aluminum boats on the local reservoir.
Speaking of electrics I finally put to rest the notion of ever becoming motorized on my "toon". The other day I asked a friend of mine who had brought his electric motor to fish from one of the trout club's aluminum jonboats, to pull alongside me so i could compare my pontoon's rowing speed to him going full throttle. The result was revealing. I actually left him behind. So much for the 30 to 40 pound thrust motors that are suitable for pontoon boats. I can do well without the extra hassle and with the physical benefits of rowing. To be fair, you need to compare rowing a jonboat with the electric jonboat. Or attach a motor to a kayak to fairly compare speed with a rowed one, like this one:
http://www.torqeedo.com/us/hn/products/u...ption.html
Any exercise is better than none, but I'm not sure paddling, kicking or turning your neck works all the essential muscle groups. [
][] Pon[/quote][signature]