Toon, float or kayak?

[Martin McFly]

I'm certain somebody has asked this question but I just couldn't find any posts on it.
I am thinking about getting one pontoon, tube or kayak but I'm not sure which one would be more suitable for bass and striper fishing in a mid size pond. I don't have a lot of experience fishing from a boat so I take I don't have sea legs if that matters. I did own a u shape tube that I tried once in pool, it seemed easy to handle.
The other thing to take into consideration is that my fishing budget is not what it use to be so I can't spend a lot.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[jimsnarocks]

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/forumdisplay.php?f=9
Check this out. I think he has one left. Jim

[kengore]

You might need to be a little more specific about the intended uses for a definitive answer, but here are some of my observations...

float tubes
- easy to transport, fit into the trunk of a car
- your butt is always in the water, not so nice on cold days
- not efficiant over distance, few yards OK, a hundred yards is a heck of a lot of kicking
- can be impossile to return to launch point in high winds, beach the boat and walk home
- since your legs dangle down you need min. 3-4 feet of water to float
- entering shallow banks is difficult, need to walk in clumsy flippers to deeper water
- legs hanging down can be dangerous in moving water, feet catch and flip ya right over
- light enough that hiking in to remote locations is possible
- not allowed on many rivers do to safety issues
- can't pee out of one, you will need to go to shore and remove your waders

pontoons
- fits in the back of my SUV when dissasembled, or on top when put together
- takes 20 minutes to assemble or take down, prefer to leave it set up for multi-day
- butt sits high and dry in comfy seat with back support, legs can rest out of water too
- low draft, floats in 6" of water, enter or leave shallow water easily
- need flippers or extra set of arms to fish and row at same time
- flipper and oars work best in 'reverse' direction, forward travel is much less efficiant
- big enough for lots of gear, small cooler, live well, spare clothes, 6 pack, whatever
- big wide footprint, really hard to flip one
- some are stable enough for stand up casting, nice feature
- oars provide efficiant propulsion, can also mount small mount small trolling motor
- higher wind profile, tough to keep it where you want it when wind is gusting
- beefy enough for class III rivers, bounces off rocks w/o damage

kayak
- need roof rack for transport, include this in cost analysis, those thule racks aren't cheap
- zero assembly time, gotta love that
- it's a wet ride, you will be sitting in water much of the time
- 90 degree sitting position is uncomfortable for some folks w/ back problems
- paddle and fly rod each need two hands, cannot to fish and steer at same time
- storage space is limited on some models, where do I put the cooler?
- stable but it is still possible to flip them, expensive ones can be fitted w/ outriggers for stand up casting
- very efficiant propulsion, good for long distances or upstream/upwind travel, silent and stealthy
- travel forward, backward and turn on a dime no problem, as long as both hands are free
- might want a paddle leash or spare break down paddle, they don't go far w/o one.
- need full size storage space for off season, 12-16 feet takes up a lot of room
- modern roto molded plastic hulls are almost indistructable, pass boat the along to your grand kids

[Martin McFly]

Wow Kengore, that was an amazing explanation. This will make my purchase (one day) a whole lot easier. I thank you for sharing such valuable info. I think so far I'm leaning towards the float, easier to use. I will be fishing a lagoon with bass and some striped bass. What shape do you think is better?

[Uncle Jesse]

I have a pontoon, round tube (my 3rd) and a Fish Cat LCS4. The latter is my favorite of the bunch. I get out the pontoon when I have a larger lake to cover as even with my pitiful rowing skills I can fish a good sized lake and travel from bream bed to bream bed with relative ease. If I used it more I would probably use my trolling motor on it some. I frequently wear shorts and sun block on the upper leg. I wear swim fins and use them to to move around while fishing.

Kengore in right taking a whiz in a float tube is involved, a float tube is a barge where the LCS 4 is more of a boat when it comes to moving around. In warm weather you could wear shorts with either really but with the round tube you will be soak with the LCS you will have a wet backside. If I could only have one toy of this type it would be the LCS or a similar pontube.

Down here thunderstorm can come up quick, the fastest you can go in any type float tube is really slow. I have been known to do aerobic float tubing with hand paddles and swim fins going in unison, but I really don't like to practice.

[bugman]

Heres the toon i have... aint had a bit of trouble with it... very tough & rugged... takes me about 10min to put it togather, inflate the floats & have it all readied up to go... i use a coleman battery opperated air pump steadin of the hand pump what comes with it...

http://www.creekcompany.com/indivdis...toID=254&Cat=3

[SteveGibson]

You might need to be a little more specific about the intended uses for a definitive answer, but here are some of my observations...

kayak
- need roof rack for transport, include this in cost analysis, those thule racks aren't cheap
- zero assembly time, gotta love that
- it's a wet ride, you will be sitting in water much of the time
- 90 degree sitting position is uncomfortable for some folks w/ back problems
- paddle and fly rod each need two hands, cannot to fish and steer at same time
- storage space is limited on some models, where do I put the cooler?
- stable but it is still possible to flip them, expensive ones can be fitted w/ outriggers for stand up casting
- very efficiant propulsion, good for long distances or upstream/upwind travel, silent and stealthy
- travel forward, backward and turn on a dime no problem, as long as both hands are free
- might want a paddle leash or spare break down paddle, they don't go far w/o one.
- need full size storage space for off season, 12-16 feet takes up a lot of room
- modern roto molded plastic hulls are almost indistructable, pass boat the along to your grand kids

Have to disagree on several of the above points:

You don't always need a roof rack. Many kayaks can be placed in the bed of a pickup truck. Also, existing "luggage racks" that come on most SUVs are sufficient for most sit on-top kayaks.

My kayaks aren't wet at all. I have the Native Ultimate 14.5. Very dry ride.

My kayak comes with the best set in the business -- hence, no sore butt or back. Plus, you can sit side-saddle. I even stand up in mine.

doubt you could flip my kayak.

Storage is plentiful in my kayak. I can carry a 36-quart cooler in the bow.

As far as storage goes, I have a system in which they're stored on their sides on the wall of my garage. No problem.

[Martin McFly]

Ok, so I take it's between a v shape tube or a toon. I have no space for a kayak and my back is not exactly 100%. I'm still in the process of saving money to get one of the mentioned so I got time to research and look around. I saw a u tube on CL for $ 50 but I will wait so I can get something a bit better.
Thanks TONS ladies and gents.

[jeffnles1]

Why hasn't anyone mentioned a canoe yet?

[Gigmaster]

I have all three.

If you can only have one, get yourself a good used canoe.

All the features stated here are somewhat true, but there are exceptions.

Float tubes are great for small, sheltered waters. You don't want to be using one where there are a lot of motor boats, or places where there might be dangerous things in the water, such as in salt water, or in Florida. Your legs sticking out the bottom could become somethings lunch. Currents and tides are also a problem with tubes/pontoons. And, you can't carry much gear.

Kayaks are the ultimate boat. Sit Inside Yaks are virtually unsinkable and indestructable. They can go anywhere, and float in 2" of water. They are the fastest non-powered (non-sailed) watercraft there is. And I don't get very wet in mine. No more than in any other boat. If you may have to travel through any fast water, this is a good boat to have. The only drawback is that they have limited space for a lot of gear, and it's hard to keep what gear you have accessable while your on the water. And Car-Topping isn't necesary always. If you have a truck, or van, you can do like I do, fold down or remove the rear van seats, and just throw it in the back. If it sticks out much, just tie a red piece of cloth on it, and take off. And, I have strapped both my kayak, and my canoe to the top of my Geo Tracker, using just some Wal-Mart straps and a few foam blocks. It works fine. You don't have to have an expensive Thule, unless you just want one. I've also used just plain rope to tie my boat to the car top before. I have't lost one, yet.

Canoes are great fishing boats. They are quiet, reasonably fast, and can hold a lot of gear, and have it accessable while you are on the water. With floatation bags in the front and rear, they are as unsinkable as a kayak, and much easier to get back into in the event of a spill, (but you can, of course, Eskimo roll a Yak, something impossible in a canoe). They can be carried just like a kayak. And you can find used ones for very good prices with a little patience. I would avoid the aluminum ones if possible because I had one, and it was cold, and noisy, and they tend to develop leaks in the seams with age (although it's an easy fix). But if that's all you can afford, it will get the job done. The better ones are made from polymers, and can handle some pretty serious whitewater, although not as manueverable as a yak. My canoe is a Mad River Adventure 15, and I have taken it through Class 5 rapids (accidentally), and made it intact a few times.

With both canoes and kayaks, you can cover many miles easily, something not possible in a float tube. Like I said, if I could only have one boat, it would be a 10'-15' canoe.

I wouldn't even consider a Jon Boat, or those cheezy little 'Bass' Boats that look like a truck-bed with seats. They paddle horribly, are slow, unmanueverable, and noisy. A jon boat has one redeeming quality (other than being able to put a motor on it)...they float in 3" of water.

Happy fishing.