Beach Fishing Mods for Pontoon
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As you guys know, I love to fish from the beach in my one-man pontoon. I have a 9′ JW Outfitters Renegade model which is now over a decade old. In the few sessions with beach fishing I’ve gotten quite good at stand up fishing, but of course I’m limited to the configuration of the boat itself – seat plus rear deck.
Well, I decided I could do better than that, so I’ve designed a deck modification and I’m going to build it out this weekend with leftover marine ply from my Gheenoe.
The idea is to give me a wide flat surface to stand on so I can shift my feet if need be to avoid a fall. I’ll just use a Crazy Creek type chair to paddle from, then I can roll that up and stow it away once I get out there.
I assume you are talking saltwater beaches. If so, how does that pontoon work out. I have never seen anyone using one off the beaches around here. Seems like wind and waves would be an issue.
It’s actually ideal. There’s also an article coming out this month in American Angler on all forms of stand up fishing.
This turned out to be a super easy mod. It took literally 45 minutes. I’m going to cover the deck in polyester resin to waterproof then cut and glue down the yoga mat for traction and padding if I fall.
When I say it works well I really mean that. I’ve caught enough bluefish, mackerel, and assorted other species to make fish tacos for a party of 18 in one day fishing off this thing.
The problem before was that I had to straddle the seat and put one foot on the rear deck. It was awkward. This will give me more flexibility to move around a bit.
The key to fishing from one of these in the surf is to make a chain anchor. Get a regular fluked sand anchor, then add a length of chain to it, then the rope. The chain will lay down and keep the flukes digging. A normal anchor does no good at all — wave action will lift you right off the bottom.
Zach
That may be the answer for the times I don’t want to drag a kayak in and out of my truck.
I have one of the earliest JW Outfitter pontoons that I haven’t used in a while. I’ll be looking for the American Angler article.
It might even save me a few bucks at the “boat” launch.
Nearly done. Got a Crazy Creek chair in this morning. I’m concerned it won’t provide enough support for actual rowing so I may just do without – I only need to get this thing through the front breakers and then I can drop anchor and stand.
Finished.
Slightly rough around the edges but overall should be extremely functional. Added weight isn’t that much of a factor with an inflatable which rows like a tub anyway. I am not sure whether I’ll use the seat or not – I’ll probably experiment both with and without it. It’s not overly stout so I am not sure what I really gain.
The advantage of having more platform space (and traction) is the ability to dance around a little. In the waves that’s inevitable. When the waves get too strong I just kneel and keep fishing.
Zach
The width on the platform was 22 inches and I just cut it out of leftover 1/2″ marine plywood with a circular saw. I used a jigsaw to cut the notches for the frame after modeling it in posterboard. I just used like a paint can to make the circles. The cuts on the wood are actually better than those in the foam – I used scissors to do that.
The foam is an ultra-cheap yoga mat ordered off eBay for like $15. The board itself probably would cost $20-30 in a store, but you don’t really need marine plywood so long as you seal it. I used polyester resin to seal after staining with ordinary wood stain. That’s necessary to prevent swelling/rotting, especially since this will be in the ocean.
I glued the mat down with Goop, applying a lot of pressure with a flat board and iron weights on top while it dried.
Zach
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