Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Pontoon Boats and rough water

How do pontoon boats handle rough water? I am thinking of Ft. Peck Res., if you are familiar with it, and a lot of wind. Can get large waves and since it mostly runs from west to east. I would like to get a boat that can handle 6 people at least and not cost $70,000 or more.

I don’t know about handling waves, I don’t think they sink unless you puncture a pontoon. But in high wind flipping might be a danger due to how high the sit. I know a buddy absolutely hates his and won’t go to the lake if the wind is blowing at all due to it drifting and being uncontrollable at slow speeds. He has issues trolling unless he’s going directly into or with the wind due to the high profile of the boat acting like a sail and shoving him all around.

It depends on the boat.
A lot of the old ones sucked but some of the new ones out there aren't bad at all.

Which are the good new ones. My B-in-L had a pontoon and a regular v-hull boat. One kept getting flipped in storms while docked, but I can't remember which one. By the what you guys are saying it was probably the pontoon. Lund is making a pontoon again I see.

Go with a tri-toon design. (three tubes) They handle heavy water better.

Thanks

A picture or a video says a thousand words. Looks like I'll forget about a pontoon.

I agree in November of 2019 I got to fish Lake Erie with Brad the owner of Angler Quest boats and Wow I could not believe how a Tri tune handled wicked water

There was a group that was down there of pretty hard core fishermen that I knew
and I believe Brad wanted to show them that we could fish while they could not they were on shore while we fished.

Well my feet got wet but honestly I never felt unsafe is some of the most wicked water I have seen in a while
Angler Quest is really a cool niche boat for the fishermen by fishermen

Hank

I've been running pontoons for over 20 years and have never had a problem. In the video the problems were because of unsafe or downright stupid actions or in the case of the overturned boat an unsafe design. I currently run a tri toon and it is far better than the two tune models. It is faster, smoother running and much better in rough waters. That being said, if you load any pontoon safely,( distribute weight so the bow isn't low), slow down for large wakes or waves and take down the bimini or other canvas in high winds, they are quite safe. In an area where rough water and high wind are common a deep V hull would still probably be a better choice.

I just looked at the Angler Quest boats an mine Is virtually identical to the 822 Troll. Same size pontoons, same overall length, same weight. The only real difference is I have a 150 4 stroke engine vs 115.

Pontoons are best for day drinking on calm waters with a crew. Not so much for fishing, particularly in rough waters.

I know several people who use pontoons for fishing and they have good luck on walleyes and salmon. I know a guide who only uses a pontoon and his clients have great luck and he can take a lot of people out at a time.

I personally run a 19.5' Fisher avenger pro with a walk through windshield. I have about 10k into it and use it in SD reservoirs, much like ft. Peck. Welded hull is a must in my opinion as is a kicker motor. We do lots of trolling pulling bottom bounders and plugs.

Several guides here on the James use them for going after big cats.

Three large diameter tubes!

JustaHunter: I have a larger (8 feet long) pontoon boat and even with the longer pontoons "my" boat looses directional stability in modest wind - in other words it is VERY difficult to keep on course/in a straight line.
I have been on Georgetown Lake and Clark canyon reservoir when the "wind came up" and it is NOT fun!
I have also been on Ft. Peck Reservoir in the wind in motor boats and that is not fun either - in fact it has been to the point of dangerous on a couple of occasions.
if you were to stay near your launch point and fish protected or calm waters only - you could get it done in a pontoon boat - first sign of 10 to 12 MPH winds I would head for shore!
Good luck with whichever you choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Thanks

I made a mistake when it comes to pontoon boats—they are way more useful than I ever thought they would be. 5 years ago i had a friend from Wisconsin park his pontoon here in my yard-its a 25fter tri-tube with 150 honda. He could only come on weekends and was a die-hard fisherman—so he was going out no matter what the weather did.

After using his in some heavy water I sold my 17ft Crestliner and bought a 25foot pontoon with a 90hp Honda. Mine is a 2 tube model but big 25inch pontoons.

Pontoons handle a little differently than a deep V—they will slip sideways in a wind quite a bit and you are on the throttle a lot more trolling to get proper speed—it just takes a little gettin used to. Trim it bow up cause it is easy to bury the bow in wave—not the end of the world if you’re going slow enough—might get some wet feet. Slow down and trim it up no worries. I find the 25ft length is more important than 3rd pontoon for stability in rough seas.

My Crestliner had a 115hp 4-cycle Merc—pushed the boat around 42mph in flat seas and I only burned about 7 gallons a day fishing. More than 3 guys on board and the boat was crowded. Pontoon with the 90 honda does about 23mph and i can run thru 15 gallons of gas on a full day fishing— but its not crowded even with 8 or 10 people on board.

By the year 1200AD the Polynesians had navigated the whole of the Pacific Ocean in pontoon boats with crab-claw sails.

The Hokulea from Hawaii is 63ft long by 17ft wide—replica of ancient Polynesian pontoon boats and it only draws 2.5ft-it has sailed around the world several times

Lots of them on Oahe. I don't understand it myself but lots of people running them.

I met a walleye fishing guide from Oahu—he told me he could put 2 more guys on board and make more money off the pontoon than his 20-foot Lund