Yeah, what DaveD said.

The only issue I have with pontoon boats is that as soon as you decide you want the bigger of the two choices and something you can fish out of and anchor up in, a cheap drift boat is probably a better choice.

Where the bigger pontoon boats shine is really small water (although a glass boat is damn slick), dangerous water that might take a drift boat down, and the ability to disassemble/deflate for long road trips or flying it in somewhere.

Obviously, the benefits of the smaller boats are portablily (packing it in somewhere) and cost. Portability (lighter/smaller) usual means you sacrifice strength. That being said, I think these boats still offer a lot and can handle MOST of what MOST people would put them through.