Ok, I'm sure that this has been discussed on here before, along with drift boats, line, hooks, knots and everything else. But now I am actually intrested because I might have the money to get one. What do you look for in a pontoon boat? Which are some of the better companies? I would like to use it for floating medium to large rivers for steelhead. Do most guys go with a buddy or do you use the shuttle system? Thanks for the input and advice.

DaveD

the best boat for the money is the jw outfitters 9 footer. got mine for about 600 bucks. negative is the foot peg system but has nice anchor system, bought optional cargo deck and misc options as well but comes nicely outfitted as is. dont run big whitewater and use not to fish from but for transportation. Dont have a partner so i hitchike back to car

I have a Bucks bag South Fork, and the two guys i fish with have buck's bag, Broncos. The Bronco is a bit heavier duty, but the South Fork is lighter, and i like it a lot. I stay away from white water, just use it on the Yak, Stilly, etc. You can put fins on your boots and do some decent fishing while drifting in slower water...or you can just use it for transportation from bar to bar. You can pick up a south fork for around 550, i think the broncos are about 700.

Well, a subject I know well. Ok, I saw you want something that will handle medium to big rivers. Now, how much do you wish to spend max and do you want a one man or multi man boat? Do you want to run any whitewater?

There are many topics on this if you search back. You can talk with Osprey about cats too (those of us who run bigger/hardcore boats call them cats). The pontoon boats listed above are good if you want a simple vessel to take you from fishing spot to fishing spot. They aren't something you actually want to fish out of. I've tried years ago out of my old Outcast, but could never effectively (and safely) fish from it. I usually had to pull off somewhere and fish.

Now, here's what I have, a 9ft steelheader for my one man floats, and a 16ft Aire for my multiperson floats (my driftboat you could say). Both are whitewater rated and can handle a lot of weight. If you want a boat that's multipurpose and will hold you for years on end, go up to at least a 12fter. It's a good one man boat, and you can handle 2 people if you want. My 16fter can safely handle 4 people fishing. It's better to buy a boat that's a little big then to buy one that's automatically too small. My 9 fter is great, but at times it's a bit small roomwise with all the gear and such. If you have any questions, email me and I'll see what I can do for you.



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you haven't lived til you've rowed a cataraft. Friends don't let friends run Outcasts.

If you want a Cataraft,go at least to a 10 fter I fish a 12 because I can load it with all my crap and still run any stretch of water I want .It's all about capacity and saftey e-mail steelie 69 or myself we'll hook you up
btw: use the search mode provided here and look up this topic we've responded to it many times this should answer most of you're questions..good luck...Os
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Row Quietly and fish a Cataraft }<<(('>----<'))>>{
Release all Wild Fish

[This message has been edited by Osprey (edited 11-07-2000).]

As far as the smaller boats go, I would stay away from the above mentioned JW Outfitter boats. I have seen the outer layer on those boats tear more than once, while I have seen no problems with either Buck's Bags or Outcast boats.