Inflatable Pontoon?

[tsande00]

Just picked one of these up and haven't had a chance to use it. Planning to float a river or two with it this spring and maybe try fishing smaller lakes. Anybody else have experience with something like this?

[reinhard1]

i've been thinking about one of those myself. the small trout and walley lakes i know up north would be the place for an inflatable. i could see were wind would be an issue, but not so much on rivers and small protected lakes. a small anchor maby. other than that it would be awesome, especialy up north in the arrowhead where you can get extra close to nature. good luck.

[Friar_Tuck]

if you put a TM on it, get a 55#. you'll appreciate the extra thrust when needed, especially bucking wind.

if you get a TM keep the oars in the water with the blades against the toons so they cut the water. tracking will be greatly improved.

8# mushroom anchor will serve you well.

if that 'toon has vinyl bladders, not so much on the water per se but don't leave it inflated in the sun.

their great units for bassin or whatever, you can get into places that others can't. their really stable & pending your coordination you can stand up on the seat...if you do plan on standing up on the seat & put a TM on it, get a TM with a 42" shaft. Ride the prop just under the water and then you can stand & easily control the TM at the same time.

[tsande00]

I heard from a DNR officer last year that anytime you put a motor on a vessel you need to have registration. Based on that, a question I have is where in the heck would registration numbers go on something like this?

[pureinsanity]

the pontoons

[Friar_Tuck]

you do have to have the reg numbers on it having a TM but what i would do is get some plexiglass and stick the numbers and DNR tag on that then hang them on either side.

reason being is that when your constantly inflating & deflating the toon the numbers and dnr tag will wrinkle & peel up etc

[tsande00]

you do have to have the reg numbers on it having a TM but what i would do is get some plexiglass and stick the numbers and DNR tag on that then hang them on either side.

reason being is that when your constantly inflating & deflating the toon the numbers and dnr tag will wrinkle & peel up etc

The numbers peeling off with constant inflation/deflation was my concern. Plexiglas is a good idea or heck maybe even cheap out and grap a chunk of plywood to toss over the side...obviously plywood wouldn't' be as nice but it's something I have laying around. Plywood with with a couple holes drilled out, some twine, and a sharpie marker, lol.

[pureinsanity]

I would string some rope and some kind of plastic. Hang it from Pontoon tip to chair frame

[Duffman]

You could just Sharpie the numbers on the tubes if you went the trolling motor route.

[Friar_Tuck]

even if you sharpie the numbers you still want the DNR tag on something else that you can tie and hang cuz it will peel up & come off.

[mainbutter]

Be careful with hooks around inflatables, a puncture can sure make for an unhappy day!

[Friar_Tuck]

Be careful with hooks around inflatables, a puncture can sure make for an unhappy day!

not so much with the higher end inflatables made with pvc covered denier fabric.

[MN Shutterbug]

Fifty five pounds of thrust on an inflatable boat? Better hang onto your hat.

I'm planning on ordering this mini bass boat in a few weeks. I'm going to put on a 40# Motorguide Bulldog for the bow, with a foot pedal. I don't plan on taking it out on a windy day. I can't swim.

[tsande00]

I picked it up a few days ago and am pretty impressed with the quality. I dont think a hook would do too much damage unless really snagged into the toon bad.

[cyeezy]

i can see the oars getting in the way of fishing, especially if you're targeting bass. also, i know some lakes don't allow inflatable devices, would this fit into that category?

[MN Shutterbug]

Enjoy. Hopefully, spring will return soon. I hate to order my boat yet because it would drive me crazy having to look at it and not be able to take it on it's maiden voyage for quite awhile.

I've never heard of inflatables not being allowed on particular lakes. That's weird.

[Friar_Tuck]

I picked it up a few days ago and am pretty impressed with the quality. I dont think a hook would do too much damage unless really snagged into the toon bad.

that denier stuff is tough, you'd have to slash it with a bowie knife to really do damage. even if a hook makes a hole, its not like a balloon or something. it would be more like that car tire with a very sloooooooooow leak. I'm sure it comes with quick stick type patches. but if not just keep a little duct tape with ya and slap a piece on if ever needed & keep fishin

enjoy it man, these are great units. I'd rather have a toon than a yak, cuz like i said i can stand up & bass it. you could also rig a little extra platform using them frame bars in front of the seat to put one leg on that & one foot on the seat. something that i'm making for mine so i can shift my stance/weight and make it a little easier on my legs verses just standing straight legged on the seat.

[Friar_Tuck]

Enjoy. Hopefully, spring will return soon. I hate to order my boat yet because it would drive me crazy having to look at it and not be able to take it on it's maiden voyage for quite awhile.

no sense in torturing yourself lol its bad enough just waiting till opener let alone sittin in your new vessel and virtual fishing for imaginary bass lookin like ya lost your mind

[tsande00]

The only reason I picked mine up now is I "won" it on a local online auction for about 1/3 of the retail price.

Looking forward to taking her down the Mississippi river a few times this year. It was too hard for me to fish out of my junky kayak. Should be easy to cast raps or sucker minnows as I float down the river for 10 miles...who knows, maybe I'll even hook into something, if not...oh well.

[MN Shutterbug]

If not, enjoy the scenery and take a few pics. There is more to fishing than just catching fish.

[Doufish2]

I have a 10' Colorada and love it. I use it on some small south metro lakes that do not have accesses. I did a little modification to mine and put the trolling motor up front. Could not stand reaching behind me. I extended the foot rest out to the make, machine a tube to go in the ends and welded a new trolling motor bracket on it. Works great. Also have my small batter mounted just below the trolling motor. I did have an older depth finder on it but am in the process of making a bracket for a Lowrance MX-15 to be mounted up front also. They are a blast to fish from.

[tsande00]

The one thing that would make these things better is if you could fish two people out of em.

I'm really curious to learn how these handle in the water...especially with a moderate breeze. Finally can say I'm looking forward to open water.

[Friar_Tuck]

your always going to be susceptible to wind with these since their so light. your definately going to need an anchor...

[tsande00]

your always going to be susceptible to wind with these since their so light. your definately going to need an anchor...

What if the wind picks up and you're on the opposite side of the lake. Can a guy muscle through a reasonable amount of wind straight on or are you pretty much out of luck?

My guess is trying to paddle straight on into a 15-20mph wind might be brutal, but I've never tried it either.

[MN Shutterbug]

That is why I wouldn't want anything that I can't put a trolling motor on.