Pontoon for Catfishing!

[River_Lizard]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

Tom,
Here's a shot of the front of my toon with the rod holders I made. I no longer have that gang-box located up front...it's wide open up there now. I usually have only 1 bench seat and my captain's chair on the toon....the less furniture the more room to move around.

 

[cat toon]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

Tom,
Here's a shot of the front of my toon with the rod holders I made. I no longer have that gang-box located up front...it's wide open up there now. I usually have only 1 bench seat and my captain's chair on the toon....the less furniture the more room to move around.

Lizard,I see you also have two 5 gal buckets on your toon what do you keep in them? mine,I put my anchor ropes in mine,good way to keep the from tangling.

 

[River_Lizard]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

Gill nets for getting bait but I do keep my anchor rope in a 5 gallon bucket towards the rear of my toon. I usually anchor in the back of my toon on the river so I can fish the front that doesn't have an engine to deal with and it's easier to pull the catfish in up front or from the side gates.

 

[River_Lizard]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

I use 12/0 Circle hooks with 225 lb leaders and 80 braided line. Attached is the hook size and the bait we normally use around here which is Gizzard Shad.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

I mostly tie up some place and still fish on a lake and being a bit lazy I have things set up like this. I should see if I can get a sponsor ship as a folding camping chair tester. :laugh:

 

[River_Lizard]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

This is the chair I use for serious catfishing it reclines back so I can take a serious nap while I'm out on the river:

 

[tumblebug1949]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

I can easily see I need to get some more stuff for my toon. HaHa

Nothing wrong with having a great chair/recliner to test while waiting for the rod to bend.

I have been reading a lot about drift fishing since I have been thinking about going with a pontoon. I have seen where some use a drift sock or the poor mans version, a bucket with holes cut in it. I figure that would, in a lake, slow down the drift and help keep the toon turned the correct way. I have always had bass boats or larger cruisers in the past so fishing from the back of the boat just seems more normal. I had to change my thinking when it came to floating backwards. Now, a river with current may be different but I will be sticking to lakes at first. I have sure seen some nice video about catfishing the Ohio River though.

I have purchased several things since I bought the toon and have most of the expensive stuff already, fish finder, trolling motor and the like. I will be needing a casting net and some other essentials as I go though.



This is the first photo I have attached so I don't know if I did it right or not. As you can see with the white stuff in the background, it is not quite fishing weather here in Indiana. Anyway, this is my first toon, a 21ft Fishin' Barge by Sun Tracker. It is sorta like a painters canvas. Mine to add to and move around, till I like the picture.

I can use all the advice and tips I can get so don't hold back.

Tom

 

[tumblebug1949]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

Indiana allows a person to have three rod out at one time. That will be plenty for me. I am trying to figure out the live bait rules in the state. The rules as I understand them, only allow live G shad to be used in certain lakes. I think if the lake is known to have G shad you can use live shad for bait. The other lakes do not allow live shad and no shad can be brought to that lake from another lake. It seems to be ok to use bluegill as bait so that is probably the most common. Of course, cut bait is ok. I may need to find a game warden and pick his brain so I understand the rules.

Indiana's fishing season starts in April as far as licensing goes. I have been told it is too late to be able to find a place that would still have this years license so I am hoping they have a sence of humor this coming March.

Tom

 

[River_Lizard]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

I may need to find a game warden and pick his brain so I understand the rules.

Although Tom it sounds like it would be, take care in getting advice from a game warden......ask one you get one answer, ask another and you get another answer. I know.....it shouldn't be that way but it can be and I've seen it first hand. I asked 2 different officers about using live Largemouth Bass as bait and I got two different answers. One said as long as I caught the LM on a fishing reel I could use it for bait; the other one said that I couldn't use it for bait regardless if I caught it on rod and reel. It's one of those very gray areas in the regs and it's why I asked them.
But I will say this, if you fish 1 lake normally and there's a Game Warden managing it, then by all means ask him because he'll be the one writing the tickets if you're doing something wrong. But on the river that I fish we have at least 4 different departments out there and they all are looking for different things (Coast Guard, Fish and Game, Marine Division and 2 different County police depts). Seems I always have someone visiting me out on the river in the summer time...not too many come out in the middle of winter. :lol:

 

[River_Lizard]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

Tom,

Nice looking toon......too nice for the slime old catfish that I bring into my toon. :lol: :lol:

 

[tumblebug1949]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

I understand what you mean about getting different answers to the same question. From what I have read, Indiana allows any game fish to be used as bait if it meets the size requirements to be kept. Bluegill in Indiana almost everywhere in Indiana have no limit in numbers or size so I figure it would be a good bait. I guess it they can keep G shad out of a lake it is overall a good thing so I can see not allowing live ones to be used in some waters.

This is a question for everyone. Do you have a favorite punch bait and what specifically do you like about it?

I am not sure if we can use a 12/0 hook here. a hook can have no more than 1/2 inch between the shank and the tip/point. I think a 12/0 might not meet that requirement. I have some 6/0 mustads circles coming that should work on the two, 1400 acre lakes, I plan to fish a lot.

The toon I got is older but in very good shape. I really wasn't too concerned about the furniture because I wanted most of the space for fishing. I figured it would not be too hard to remove if I decided to.

Tom

 

[River_Lizard]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

Tom,

Not sure if Indiana allows baiting a hole or not, but if they do, you can try 1 of 2 things. First a small bucket with 1/4" holes drill all around it and filled with dry dog food and a heavy rock to sink it OR filled it with cut bait/chicken livers/etc. with a heavy rock to sink it, put the lid on and attach a small diameter rope on the bucket and tie a float to the rope once you lower the bucket to the bottom of the lake. Wait about an hour or two and then anchor within casting distance of the float. It's called baiting a hole...guides on the river do it when they have clients who wish to fish for small catfish to keep. They'll drop of number of these buckets in different areas and then keep moving from one location to another pulling in catfish. Big cats won't be hanging around much but the pan-friers will be.

 

[tumblebug1949]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

River_lizard, I don't think they do but I will find out. I have read some on fermented soy beans so I did want to find out. My toon has regular bass seats but I think I will put them in the garage and put my fold out camping chair on board. It is more comfortable. I have a blacklight coming that I got on good old ebay. It was less than 20bucks so I had to give it a try.

I am sure looking forward to the weather warming some. I want to just get the toon on the lake and get used to how she feels. Knowing that the motor runs and knowing that everything works right are two different things. I felt good about the person I bought it from though. He seems like a person that took good care of his stuff.

I am curious if Sun Trackers have timers on their live well or if that has to be added. I guess I have plenty of time to figure that out before I will need it.

Tom

 

[tumblebug1949]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

I did some more reading. That 1/2 inch hook maximum is Lake Michigan and tribs. not here in central IN.

I looked and have not found anything on chumming in Indiana. I will have to check this out some more.

Tom

 

[River_Lizard]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

Tom,
Since this section is for pontoons, I guess we should be talking about your pontoon here. :lol: (start a new topic in the fishing section and we can discuss the fishing topic there)

I would recommend that you consider getting some trailer guides installed on your trailer to help guide your pontoon on when loading it on the trailer. They'll pay for themselves the first time when there's a 10-15 mph wind hitting the ramp from side to side and you're trying to get your pontoon squared up on the trailer. Trust me, it's almost impossible to do without having guides or a couple people helping with ropes. Even with guides there's times that I've been caught out on the river and the winds picked up to 40 mph and loading the pontoon in a cross wind is about the toughest moment owning a pontoon and that's with guides on my trailer!!
Make sure they're tall enough too because once you back the trailer into the water at the ramp, 3/4's of the guide will be under the water unless you have tall enough guides. Just need them so you can point the nose of your pontoon in-between them and have them help stabilize the front of your pontoon while you're driving the pontoon on to the trailer. You want some good padded guides or a type that's flexible enough to give a little so they don't do any damage to your logs also. Might check here in iboats to see if they have them available.
Here's a photo of what I'm talking about.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

Out side guides work ok for a normal boat but on a pontoon inside guides work a lot better unless its a scissor trailer. and this style works very well even in a 20 mph cross wind.





This is what mine looks like right now

 

[River_Lizard]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

Hawker is right.....if you're trailer doesn't have the guides like he posted, look to add them they'll help you 150% get your pontoon on the trailer during cross winds. A pontoon is like an empty aluminum beer can on the surface of the water....any wind and they love to scoot sideways.

Thanks for posting that Hawker. Those are better on the logs vs the outside guides too.

 

[tumblebug1949]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

Thanks River Lizard and MH for all the advice. My trailer has inside the tube rollers, two on each side, but they are not quite as tall. Are these equivalent or should I still add the taller outside guides.

I am new to this forum and did not notice the Freshwater fishing Group. I will check it out and open a thread there if needed. This is Cat toon's thread that I just joined in on. I did not intend to take it over but it seems I may have. Or, Cat toon may just be out fishing, being from the south.

Thanks again everyone for the help.

Tom

 

[River_Lizard]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

Tom,

Hawker posted the correct guides for a pontoon and he also provided a drawing for measurements. Check yours to that drawing and see where yours are to what the drawing says. Plus once you get it out on the water and there's any wind coming across the ramp...you'll see first hand the issues with pontoons and loading them on a trailer.

 

[Old Screwball]

Re: Pontoon for Catfishing!

Speaking of Game Wardens, we have a unique situation here on the Colorado River. On the West side of the river you could be in either California or Arizona. East side you are in Arizona.... EXCEPT every other section (600 acres) is Fort Mohave Indian Reservation, and they have both sides. And, YES, the rules are different for each state and on Tribal land. I buy a Reservation Use Permit every year just in case we beach the boat on Tribal Land. You can see Arizona, Nevada, or California Fish and Game Wardens cruising, along with Tribal patrol boats, and even Bullhead City, Arizona Police and Laughlin Nv. Police. Only real problem is which state you beached your boat, and if you have a gun aboard...... Can't have too much Government involvement in your recreation.



Oh, did I leave out the Army Corps of Engineers??? They have Federal authority over the River.