Maximize Fishing Time - Kayak, Inflatable Pontoon Or Wader/boot Combo?

[Chris-W]

Hey everyone! So here's my scenario. I just need some help thinking through the pros and cons of each. I usually only have 2-3 hours to fish with the occasional half day trip. I most often fish a neighborhood lake (images and details here - http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/143450-how-would-you-fish-this-neighborhood-lake-images-included/) but plan to branch out to Lake Acworth in Acworth, GA soon (the closest "big" lake near me). When fishing at the neighborhood lake, I have access to my father-in-laws Bass Raider 10E and have considered buying a Humminbird 398CI SI to map that lake and get the most out of my time there. However I don't have means to take that boat to Lake Acworth so I was trying to see what would be the best bang for my buck (kayak, inflatable pontoon or waders/boots) for my trips to Lake Acworth. I am TERRIFIED of snakes and I realize that I will likely encounter a few bank fishing (thinking that waders/boots would protect me from them for the most part?) I also realize that bank fishing is limiting as far as locations accessible and I want to make the most out of my 2-6 hour trips to the lake. I have an SUV with a luggage rack so I'm thinking I could use ratchet straps if I got a hard kayak. The possibility for a fishfinder (on a kayak or inflatable pontoon) is very inticing given the limited time I have on the water. I don't want to spend all of my time trying to locate fish on a bigger lake, when I could be spending the time finding what lures/presentations work for that day/time/moment.

So....what would everyone recommend for maximizing my time on the water keeping my budget for this purchase (fishfinder not included) at or under $300? I realize this would only get me entry level gear but that's all I can afford right now.

Hard kayak?

Inflatable pontoon?

Waders/boots?

Thanks in advance!

[flyfisher]

Personally i think you are selling yourself short but making your budget more on a fish finder than a kayak.  I would just get a kayak, paddle & PFD and scrap the fish finder for now and get one later on down the road. 

 

The fish finder will be nice to have but you can have plenty of success without one by looking at topo maps, reading the shore etc... and learning to read the screen is another learning curve to consider as well.  

 

As far as kayak transport goes you should have no issues using your luggage racks but don't bother with the ratchet straps and they can put undue stress on the boat and rack system.  Just use some cam buckle straps and you will be fine and save yourself a lot of hassle as well.

[Darren.]

Personally i think you are selling yourself short but making your budget more on a fish finder than a kayak.  I would just get a kayak, paddle & PFD and scrap the fish finder for now and get one later on down the road. 

 

The fish finder will be nice to have but you can have plenty of success without one by looking at topo maps, reading the shore etc... and learning to read the screen is another learning curve to consider as well.  

 

As far as kayak transport goes you should have no issues using your luggage racks but don't bother with the ratchet straps and they can put undue stress on the boat and rack system.  Just use some cam buckle straps and you will be fine and save yourself a lot of hassle as well.

 

Well said. Agree 100%.

[200racing]

a kayak sounds perfect for this. keep in the other stuff you need will be $100.

 

my b.i.l has had good luck buying used package deals off craigslist.

 

watch your weight if your putting in on the roof by yourself.

[Fishes in trees]

What's your budget?  Given a choice between bank bound and kayak, I'd choose kayak. If the choice were either putting it on Mastercard, (i.e. short term debt) or being bank bound, I'd choose short term debt.

Really, I'd choose anything over being bank bound, except for inflatables, not a big fan of inflatables, they are ok for some guys, not so much for me, paranoia I guess.  If you are afraid of snakes, you will have the opportunity to get up close & personal with snakes from time to time, fishing out of a kayak.  Not that big a deal, really, the first the you come up on one suddenly or one comes up on you suddenly, you might have to take your kayak to the car wash.  Given a choice, snakes prefer not to mess with humans.

[Scott F]

Really, I'd choose anything over being bank bound, except for inflatables, not a big fan of inflatables, they are ok for some guys, not so much for me, paranoia I guess.  

 

What's your problem with inflatables? Worried about putting a hole in one? The boats available are not pool toys. The tubes on pontoon boats are very durable.  My first ones I had for 12 years and never came close to puncturing one. Pontoons are MUCH more stable and comfortable than any kayak or canoe. They are great platforms to fish from.

[flyfisher]

What's your problem with inflatables? Worried about putting a hole in one? The boats available are not pool toys. The tubes on pontoon boats are very durable.  My first ones I had for 12 years and never came close to puncturing one. Pontoons are MUCH more stable and comfortable than any kayak or canoe. They are great platforms to fish from.

i agree but they are not the easiest to paddle in a flat water environment.  Floating a river you really can't beat a pontoon style raft/boat though

[Scott F]

i agree but they are not the easiest to paddle in a flat water environment.  Floating a river you really can't beat a pontoon style raft/boat though

 

I guess you haven't actually been in a good one. My Outcast rows pretty easily. Plus, most have trolling motor mounts if you don't like to row.

[flyfisher]

I guess you haven't actually been in one. My Outcast rows pretty easily. Plus, most have trolling motor mounts if you don't like to row.

I have been in quite a few and I will lake paddling my kayak over a pontoon style boat any day of the week on a lake.  

[sully99]

I'd buy a kayak. But you know the saying "what ever floats your boat"

[Nelson Wormefeller]

Test the seats before you buy. You may go cheap, and have something unbearable to sit in after 60 minutes.  

[Fishes in trees]

One of the first rules of fishing & boat owning is to know yourself and how you fish.  My problem with inflatables is yeah, I am worried about punching a hole in them.  I got mad skills.  Sometimes I believe that I could tear up a crowbar in a sandbox.  In the conservation lakes that I fish in mostly, they didn't do a lot of brush removal, just enough that was necessary to build the dam and maybe create a boat lane or 2.  Thus there be lots of thorn bushes left with 1 to 2 inch thorns on them, right at the waterline or slightly above the water line.  Given my boat control skills, that isn't a good combination.  I prefer being in my Lowe aluminum, which is basically bullet proof,  where I just bounce off or drive over that stuff.

 

Secondly, there isn some maintenance involved in owning an inflatable, inflating and deflating correctly, don't put it away wet, fold it right, etc.  I don't want to deal with that.

 

Don't get me wrong, I feel that those are cool little boats, and if I lived in an area where they were more practical, or if I lived in an area where space was a consideration, I would probably have one.  Right now, for me, they represent a compromise that I don't feel like making.

[FrogFreak]

I would save more and get a good quality yak. The seat is very important. I just bought a sub $300 yak for my wife to use occasionally and I wouldn't be comfortable it it for over an hour. I'm with the others when it comes to the fish finder. Invest in a good yak, then later on down the road, get the fish finder. Just my 2 cents.