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Spring is in the air and his legs

Is anyone complaining about the recent hot weather?

I hope not because we have been waiting for spring weather for way too long. I sure am enjoying the warm sunshine and spending as much time as possible outdoors.

Last week I wrote about how pretty Barb’s jonquils looked as they formed a golden border along one side of our lawn. Now the neighbor’s forsythia has joined the beauty parade and colt’s foot flowers are blooming along the road. Just seeing all of these signs of spring lifts my spirit.

But what really lifts my spirit is seeing that my fishing pontoon boat, The Barbie J, is nestled snugly at her dock. She looks much prettier at the dock than she does on her trailer covered up by a tarp. I am certain that by the time you read this we will be out on the lake fishing and soaking up a lot of sunshine. Oh my, but that will feel good even if the fish do not bite.

Fishing from a pontoon boat is a little different but I have fished from about every type of boat from a kayak to this pontoon, and I have learned that each type of boat has its advantages and disadvantages. It is up to the angler to adjust to what the boat has to offer, and a pontoon boat has a lot to offer. For instance I would never try to cross Lake Erie on a pontoon boat, but they are perfect here on inland waters such as Lake Tomahawk, or Guilford Lake. They also seem to work well on Pymatuning. I also would never want to trailer a pontoon boat from lake to lake every time I wanted to fish. I consider a pontoon to be best kept at a dock.

The secret to making a pontoon boat a fishing boat is how it’s set up and that might mean deciding on its main purpose. Some pontoon boats are really meant more for comfort than fishing and I have fished from a few with more comfort seating than my living room. They were great family boats, but they were awkward for fishing.

The Barbie Jis an 18-foot Sweetwater Fish & Cruise design and the only way I would switch from my regular fishing boat to a pontoon boat was if she was set up to fish. Fortunately she came with a fishing layout and very little additions were needed.

Of course I needed an electric trolling motor for fishing and we had one added by the dealer. It was a foot controlled Minn Kota so it could be steered while sitting in the comfortable padded fishing chair on the bow. It sure beats the hard seats I’ve sat on in many fishing boats. Later that motor was replaced with a model with a built in transducer because a Humminbird fish finder was added to the bow to supplement the one on the console. I know I’ve gone overboard (pun?), but a boat is a lady and needs the best.

There seem to be more and more pontoon boats on our local lakes, and with many good reasons. They are stable and safe, and they certainly are comfortable. With the Barbie JI can fish while Barb curls up on the settee and reads a book, and nearly every pontoon boat has these comforts built in. That makes them a perfect family boat.

The disadvantages might be trying to work a shoreline for bass, but on the other hand they are perfect for trolling and trolling catches fish. My pontoon has only a 9.9-horsepower outboard for power and I can troll as slow as 2 mph. I know this is the accurate speed because my fish finder has built in GPS. I sure am spoiled when it comes to fishing.

After fishing from most everything that floats I now use my pontoon boat exclusively. Will the Barbie J catch me a lot of fish? I do not know and I do not care. My goal is to keep fishing as long as the Lord allows and have fun doing it.

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