I am new to kickboat fishing. (Just sold my 20ft Champion bass boat, OUCH!!!!!!!!) I was wondering if it's very easy to land fish in a pontoon boat? With the large pontoons (ie. 8ft. creek company pontoon) in front of you, is it hard to land large fish? Do you land them to the side of you and lean overthe side to grab them or in front of you? I haven't been in a Pontoon boat yet and I'm not sure how sturdy they are. Can you lean from side to side very easily w/o the pontoon moving around to much? I have fished quite a bit from a float tube and felt fishing was easy in those. Are kickboats easier to fish out of than float tubes?


Thanks,

Brian

The Sonoma County Belly Boat Bass Club is featuring a video on this subject. Just click on their Home button at the top of this page. Then click on to their forum.Then click on to the Thread titled John Lake on Western bass, to see the video. Its very informative and is geared twords newbies, like you.You probably havent got many replies to your thread because Bass Fishing is a progression starting with a float tube and ending in a tournament boat, as ones confidence increases, or ones love of the sport increases.

Hi Brian, Welcome to the forum.

The answer to your question is yes it is actually quite easy. Whether you go over the side or between the pontoons is usually determined by each situation you find yourself in. If I'm using a net it's always from the side but if I'm lipping the fish it's about 50/50 from the side or between the pontoons. Kickboats are a very stable platform and are almost impossible to flip over without actually trying to.

Personally I think a kickboat is easier to fish from than a float tube just because you sit higher out of the water. It makes pitching and flipping easier for sure.

If you haven't found it already, here's a link the rigging gallery where you can see some of the things people have come up with when customizing their kickboats.
http://www.bass-n-tubes.com/gallery/rigging


MT

Mitch pretty much summed it up. There is no set way to land fish of any size in a KB. I know a net sure makes it easier with treble hook baits. As far as big fish go, you just need to take advantage of the right time to get the fish in the boat. Go out and have some fun, KB fishing is very easy. We look forward to hearing your experiences.