looking for a river craft and had a question

[docfarmer]

Sit on Tops vs sit in kayaks, what are your thoughts? and with either of these and/or pontoons, do you guys that use them spend more time fishing from them or getting to a spot and getting out and wading? Lastly, how does each handle rougher water, pros and cons?

[Jackster]

I'll bite first, I LOVE my 'toon!
What made me decide on a 'toon 6-7 years ago was:
No need to ever put the rod down to maintain position.
The wind and current is countered with fins.
Storage up the wazoo.
Deflates into 2 small bags.
Goes together from bags to water in about 15 minutes
You simply stand up to fish a run... in shallow water of course!
It is very comfortable on this old mans back.
VERY stable over a yak or canoe.
Ease of exit and entry.

The downside? Slower than a yak until you get in position. Then the 'toon wins on pure control.

[Trout8myfly]

I've been pontooning for about a year, mostly floating the 'Hooch between the dam and Settles Bridge. My regular fishing buddy on these floats uses a sit-inside kayak. The kayak is speedy and maneuverable. The pontoon is stable, but slow. He likes to spinfish and I like to fly fish (so far he's doing better...harrumph.)

By pontoon I mean the kind of craft on which you sit as opposed to a pontoon tube - similar to this one:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jhtml?id=0022418317032a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnString=No=20&hasJS=true&Nty=1&Go.y=12&Ntx=matchall&Go.x=16&Ntt=pontoon&N=4887&QueryText=pontoon&noImage=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jhtml.22&Ntk=Products&returnPage=search-results1.jhtml

I like the storage the 'toon provides, and the stable platform, but you are somewhat at the mercy of the river. There have been times when I've gotten caught up in the fishing and drifted backwards into a logjam. No big deal, but annoying.

And at least for me, I cannot row upstream. In a kayak, you can. That's come in handy once or twice when I've gotten hung up and my buddy came to my rescue. (If you use an anchor, bring a knife in case you can't haul it in. Painful lesson.)

That stretch of the 'Hooch has one class 2 rapid (maybe) and my 'toon does fine, but the fabric on most pontoons aren't rated for anything rougher than that. They are meant for ponds, small lakes and gentle rivers.

My kayaking friend tends to get wetter and a bit colder because he's at or below the water line, and some water does splash in. In a 'toon you're sitting above the water. I wear my waders in case I decide to get out and wade fish for a bit.

It takes us about 6 hours to leisurely float that stretch of the river. If my kayaking friend paddled the whole way he could cut the time in half, at least.

I have also found out that I can use lung power to reinflate my pontoon once on the river. A downside of pontoons is that they partially deflate once they hit that cold river water and the air condenses. You want to top them up after about 15 - 20 minutes in the water; I generally toss my 'toon in the water and wait a while before reinflating. A battery-driven pump works well (duh...) and you can find them at BPS. Another hard lesson - keep it charged!

The other option is to use solid pontoons - no inflation required and small punctures don’t matter as much, but they are harder to transport. That said, they are generally even more stable and enable you to stand on a platform although I haven't had the pleasure.

[fishhawkrob]

Check this out. It has a floor. You can stand up in it. Roomy. Takes up as much room as a pontoon and inflates in almost the same time. Plus it has a trolling motor mount! You can easily run rapids and is VERY stable. Can go in salt water too! I've had one for 3 years now and absolutely love it!http://www.outcastboats.com/outcastboats/pacspecialty.shtml

[docfarmer]

Well, guys, after talking with my significant other, we have decided that kayaks were the best option, so that we could both enjoy the water while camping and fishing. So, any suggestions.

[dqueen]

I have a tarpon 120. I would recommend a tarpon 100 for your wife. You might do okay with a t100 too if you are around 180 lbs. and under 6 teet tall. There is a riverhawk posted on the GRF website. You could get it for the price of two tarpons.

[BrandonT]

I would recommend something with front and rear dry storage. I didn't think this much storage would be necessary, but it really comes in handy. I know it'll come in handy as long as I get the chance to do those longer trips on the Florida/Georgia coast.

A rudder is also great to have. Even if on the moving water, it comes in handy when you want to zip through those slow sections. When I'm done with it, I just reach back and draw the rudder back up.

They're are many brands out there, so it would simply come down to prices and minor options.