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Fishing Techniques

Lake techniques. In the past few years, several companies have manufactured portable fish finders that open up a new world to pontoon boat users. With a portable fish finder strapped on your pontoon boat frame, you can locate the fish, determine the type of underwater structure, and know the water temperature and depth.

PICKING YOUR BOAT First you need to pick the right boat for your type of fishing. If you are going to take it on lakes and rivers, you need a boat designed for both environments. Fortunately, most pontoon boats are right at home on any type of water. Portability is also an issue. Models range from fully inflatable frameless models (some look like kayaks), designed especially for packing in to inaccessible places, to models with frames that you can disassemble. You should also consider the weight-to-capacity ratio. It is important to honestly assess the amount of weight you will be carrying. You might not need the pontoon boat with the capacity to carry 500 pounds and that weighs 40 pounds more than a pontoon boat with less carrying capacity. You should also sit in the boat you are interested in buying to make sure that it fits you. Newer models have adjustable seats and footrests, but you want to be sure you fit comfortably in the craft.

With the side-finder feature found on some models, you can track fish out to 120 feet, following them as they move across the screen. This allows you to cast in front of cruising fish and get your fly to the proper depth at the proper time. Slowly spinning your pontoon boat with a scissors kick as the fish finder searches for your quarry is a good way to improve your success.

Another less exacting but effective technique is trolling your fly. Cast your sinking line, then start kicking slowly. As you move through the water, let line out until your fly trails far behind you. I often use a double-fly rig with a large, flashy fly, followed 18 to 24 inches by a more imitative one. Once I catch fish in an area, I'll carefully work the area by fan casting. To fan cast, I make one cast, then another cast 10 feet to the right, working around in a circle and pivoting my boat with scissors kicks as I cover the water.

The trolling technique works well on windy days when you can let the wind push you along without having to use your fins. Keep at a right angle to the wind so it hits the side of your boat, providing more push. You can slow your drift, if necessary, with your fins.

River techniques. I often drag my fins on the bottom as I float down the river to maintain my position and control my boat speed so that I can get long, drag-free drifts with my fly. As I float downstream, I try to line up the fly with the fish's feeding lane, which is often the seam between the slower and faster currents. Most of the time, I line up my pontoon boat on the seam and float down, working this lane. The downstream drift is probably the most deadly technique on a pontoon boat after you have the skills to keep your boat in position.

These long downstream drifts also work for nymph presentations, but I generally get out of my boat to fish nymphs. I lay out a few casts as I float through a good-looking run. If nothing moves for the fly, float to shore just below the run and slip off the boat. I stand in the water, holding the boat with my legs while I cast back upstream to the water I just passed through. I wedge my legs out against the pontoon to hold the boat so it doesn't float away, or I anchor the boat.

It is also possible to slip out of your pontoon boat in the river, letting the current hold it against your legs while you work a productive run or cover the slack water behind a submerged rock. If you position your boat in a back eddy, you can work the foam lines for sipping fish without getting out of the boat or anchoring. Some fly fishers use a pontoon boat to reach their favorite holes, then beach the boat, slip off their fins, and wade-fish.
 

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Begin with an easygoing river to practice controlling your boat, and always remember that the river comes first. You must pay attention downstream to give yourself plenty of time for course adjustments. As long as your fins are moving, your boat is going to respond to you rather than the current. Using a scissors kick, a side kick, or just a straight-line kick to move against the current will always keep you in position and in control.

I discuss more advanced river fishing techniques, including whitewater techniques, in my book, Fishing Untouched Waters, but beginners should become comfortable with pontoon boat basics on slow and moderate rivers before attempting these maneuvers.

Dave Scadden is one of the pioneers in the pontoon boat industry and author of Fishing Untouched Waters, a book of pontoon boat techniques and tales.

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