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Z-TUNAKILLER
08-04-2007, 03:21 PM
Hey Now, I'm thinking about getting a toon for fishing socal lake's, any suggestions / pro's / con's , I'm 6'5" and about 300lbs. a friend told me to get a kayak, but sitting in one for hours and not being able to move my legs much, dose not seem a good idea for me.

Thanks,
Z



FISH ON !

Ronira
08-04-2007, 07:18 PM
Hey Z, I've got a toon and would recomend one to someone else for sure. Seeing how your a big guy you might look into one of the bigger models so the boat stays light on the water without a lot of drag. My boat is rated for 400 lbs so even if I haul a lot of gear the boat stays nimble and easy to move around. Ck out some of the threads for kickboat or pontoons and you can see a couple of good ones. Santa Fe Eric has a nice toon as does LightTheSky. If your serious about a pontoon boat you can ck mine out at Perris on Aug 18. I'll be there from 6:00 am till whenever. You can take a little ride and see if it's for you. Peace Ron

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-05-2007, 02:53 AM
Hey Now Ron, I'm looking at the FISH CAT 9 or 10 , rated to 400-450lbs., I have an old van to haul it and i want to make sure it will fit inside. I've read a few reviews on FISH CAT toons and they were all good. I'm looking around for deal right now, eBay has a few new ones for sale, i bid on a used one and lost with 2 sec. left, guy must have had bid-snipe. Thanks for the invite and info, never been to Perris, maybe take you up on test ride. I'm from S. Florida and grew up fishing my grandpa's 11ft. Sears jon-boat, that was 20 years ago, hopefully its like riding a bike? I fish castaic, pyramid & piru , I'll keep looking and reading before i buy.

Ron you ever saltwater fish with your toon, bay, harbor or kelp, i defiantly want to try and what's the deal with toons, do you have to wear a CGA personal flotation vest ?

Z



FISH ON !

Ronira
08-05-2007, 05:43 AM
Hey Z, I haul my boat on the bed of my truck and it works good. You could throw one on top of a van for sure. I have an ODC 1018 from Creek Co. I really like the boat and would recomend looking at them before you buy. The saddle bags and pump come with the boat and the customer support is outstanding. I've not fished the salt with it yet but i'm going to when I can buy a saltwater trolling motor. I was a bonehead when I bought my minn-kota. It works great but it's not saltwater rated and I hear that's not to good for it. As far as a CGA PFD I don't think you have to wear it but you have to have one on your boat. Don't quote me on that, not really sure on the letter of the law on that one. I wear mine if conditions warrant, rest of the time it rides on the back of my seat. How far south in florida were you? I lived on the southeast side of Tampa Bay for about a year and really liked Florida. Anyway good luck with the boat and hope to wet a line with you sometime. Peace Ron

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-05-2007, 06:48 PM
Hey Now Ron, Tampa nice, I've only visited, I grew up east coast, Hollywood FL, my grampus house was on a canal so fishing/scuba diving was easy, not to mention with in 2-3 blocks of the house were 3 lake's, 4 blokes to the inter-coastal waterway and 5 to the ocean. Oh yeah and about 5 golf courses with ponds full of fish.

I'll have a look at Creek Co. toons and I'll be looking for a saltwater trolling motor.


Thanks,
Z

FISH ON !

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-08-2007, 08:28 AM
Hey Now Ron, check out Minn Kota Riptide 40 S at WM, best price i've found.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=5297232 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5297232)




Z




FISH ON !

Ronira
08-08-2007, 01:40 PM
Damn Z, You got to show me this right after I committed to doing 2 days at California Speedway with the family. Shoot I should of never done that, I'd rather have that motor. Oh well, at least I know I can get it at Wall Mart. That rocks. Did you order your boat yet? Later Ron

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-08-2007, 02:48 PM
Hey Now Ron, no still shopping, looking at fish finder's and deep cycle marine battery's also, i guess i have the trolling motor figured out .


Z


FISH ON !

Ronira
08-08-2007, 04:09 PM
Hey Z, I definitly think that's the motor, let me know what you dig up on the battery. I like the one I've got but would like to try finding a more power less weight one if it's available. I'm going to start looking in that direction as soon as I can buy that nice motor. Later Ron, Hey before I forget, look at other options than the Bottom Line fishing buddy finders. I've got one and wish I'd gone with something else.

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-08-2007, 05:03 PM
Ron, yeah I've read some reviews on the fishing buddy finder and they were not that good, i think I'm going with a trolling motor transducer mount FF, from what I've read that's the ticket and I'm looking for a lite weight battery with lots CCA.


I'll keep you posted.


Z


FISH ON !

Ronira
08-08-2007, 05:13 PM
Cool Z

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-20-2007, 03:30 PM
Hey Now Ron, what did you pay for your toon, the website lists it
for $899.+ ?

After looking around, that fish cat 10 ( $550.) is not looking so good, steel frame and saltwater is a really bad mix.


Z

FISH ON !

Ronira
08-20-2007, 05:14 PM
Hey Z, my boat cost me 700.00 when I boght it. Add the seat riser, swivel, seat caddy ( with beer holder ) it ran right at 800.00. I'm really glad I bought the bigger boat. It just hauled me and three tubers across Perris no sweat. Peace Ron

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-20-2007, 09:51 PM
OK Ron, thanks for the info, i'm really not in the position to spend that much $$$$$ right now, i may just get the fish cat 9 for now, found a real good deal on one, little over $300. for the toon+ $350. for TM, FF & batt. =$650. that sounds better then $1,200.00+ on my CC right now. if not i'll keep looking i'm not in a hurry, just JONSEN to fish a toon.



Z


FISH ON !

one_leg
08-20-2007, 09:55 PM
How many pounds of thrust would be the minimum to power a pontoon kickboat?

O_L

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-20-2007, 10:39 PM
Hey Now one_leg, from all the researching I've done in the past few weeks, max. is 34-50lbs. it depends on 1 man toons length and weight loaded, from what I heard an read, it doesn't take much to push one around.

See what, Ron has to say?


Z

FISH ON !

Ronira
08-21-2007, 05:13 AM
Creek Co recomends 36 lbs thrust motor, but I think 40 would be cool. But you might need a little bigger battery.

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-23-2007, 02:03 PM
Hey Now Ron, bit the bullet got the ODC 1018 Inflatable Pontoon Boat, by Creek Company found a good deal. I just looked at WALMART web-site they don't have the 40lb. minn riptide anymore, sold out i guess.

Ron do you think this toon can handle a 50lb. thrust, i see its not much more $$$ ?


Z


FISH ON !

Ronira
08-23-2007, 04:02 PM
Nice choice Z, I'm sure the boat could handle the motor but I don't think you need that much. The motor is going to be bigger and heavier. Also you need to see how big the battery to run it is. The manufacturer says 36 lb and that's what I have on my boat. I would not like to have the motor and battery weigh any more than it does allready. My boat scoots along really well with this motor and when I fished with the Perris crew on sat. we hooked three tubes to it and that motor pulled 4 adults three tubes and my toon across perris in about 5 minutes. I think 50 lbs might be a little silly. That being said, you don't have to run it wide open. The weight of the motor and the neccesary battery size to run it would be my biggest concern. Congrats on the new boat. Your gonna love it. Peace Ron :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-23-2007, 05:36 PM
Yeah Ron i hear you, its funny i can not seem to find any info on the weight of the minn, not even there web-site. looking at them side by side the only difference seems to be their length, I'm sure the weight difference is minimal
like you said it can be run at middle speeds and when needed, high winds, EXTRA heavy loads, hit the full throttle ! Cabela's price is a little more then Walmart, they both have a free shipping deals right now, but Cabela's doesn't charge tax, so the difference is a few cents, $70.00 more 10lb. extra thrust, HMMMMMMMMM ?


I know what Tim the tool man would say, RUF RUF RUF !


Z

FISH ON !

Ronira
08-23-2007, 05:54 PM
Well hell Z, I've got an old 350 V8 we could strap on to that bad boy if you want to haul the mail bud. Seriously it's not just the weight of the motor ( thats not to much more probably ) but the extra battery power and associated battery weight I would be concerned about. Besides, I don't want to have to repower my boat to keep up lol. Peace Ron

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-23-2007, 06:10 PM
LMFAO Ron, i think you can still keep up, i have quite a few extra lbs. I'll be pushing around and its not a battery .


Z

FISH ON !

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-24-2007, 05:04 PM
Hey Now Ron, i ordered the seat riser and swivel they didn't have the BEER holder in stock, WTF ? anyway i forgot all about an anchor, my order shipped today, any suggestions? i also ordered the Minn, PFD & air horn and i started filling out the reg. form DMV. oh yeah pepboys has deep cycle marine energizer batt. on special, so hopefully by the end of next week or the beginning of the following, I'LL BE READY ?


Z

FISH ON !

Ronira
08-24-2007, 06:07 PM
Outstanding Z, don't worry about the anchor. I got mine at Wally World for a good price, less than 20 bucks if I remember. I use one of those plastic coated mushroom anchors and it works well. I don't know how your going to get around the BEER holder man, that's a problem. I think I saw one on the Cabellas site, I'll check. I can't wait to fish with you Z. Your gonna be stoked with the boat I'm sure. Peace Ron

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-25-2007, 11:46 AM
OK Ron, hooking up to fish sounds great to me, i think my maiden voyage will be castaic goon, its only 34 miles from my house and its pretty laid back, i want to take my time setting up and figuring out WTF? , i got myself into.. LOL

I'll post the day i head out their and maybe some other FNF members will be out there for some support? ie: (making fun of the new guy trying to launch his toon for the 1st time) LMFAO


Oh yeah, how many lbs. mushroom anchor and how many feet of rope ?

i'll have to hit the WM out in SCV on my way to castaic, none by my house.


Z

FISH ON !

Ronira
08-25-2007, 01:09 PM
I want to say 12 lbs Z, but I can't recall exactly. It measures 7 1/4 inches high and 6 1/2 inches wide. It will seem small to you but believe me it is plenty. As far as line goes I have 50 ft. for my boat but I don't really fish in really deep water. I plan on getting a new line about 75 ft. for fishing for striper up at Silverwood. Also don't think your line needs be a large diameter. It doesn't take that much load and a smaller diameter line is easier to work with through the cam lock system on your anchor lock. I'm gonna take a couple of pics of it and post them and you can see what I'm talking about. Peace Ron

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-25-2007, 02:01 PM
Great Thanks Ron, the more info the better, this is all new to me so I'll take your word from all your experience. still working on the fish finder, I'm looking at the Humminbird Piranhamax 240, it has a reasonable price and has a wide coverage Tri-Beam with two 35° and 20° beams - 90° total and the transducer can be mounted to the trolling motor, I've read some reviews and there all good for this FF in its price range.(under $150.00)


Anyone out there has any good info on FF, I'll be more then happy to read your input.










Z

FISH ON !


Ron, is this what your toon looks like from a over head view, your toon pic's look a little different or do you have the standing platform installed, this pic is the 2007 model?

Socal Bassman
08-25-2007, 04:26 PM
I'm looking to put a fishfinder on my tube as well. I've been researching this before I even made the decision to buy a tube. So far I've read some great reviews about the Eagle Cuda 168. But when it came the time to pull the trigger, I went to BPS and found that they were sold out. This unit goes for $80 and I think it might make a good entry level sonar. Another FF I was thinking of going with is the Lowrance X67C. It is a bit pricey but after seeing it on another fellow tuber's tube yesterday, I think it is worth every penny. Both of the finders I've mentioned so far have 800 watts peak to peak power, which should be good for identifying fish and structure. Plus with only 800W it shouldn't drain a 7Ah SLA battery much.

On the other hand, I'll eventually buy a toon or boat one of these days. So I'm not ruling out fishfinders with 1500-1600W peak to peak power just yet. With fall and winter coming just around the corner, these units will be an invaluable tool for vertical jigging. The one's I'm keeping in mind are: the Lowrance X96, Humminbird 525, and Eagle Fishmark 320.

Ronira
08-25-2007, 05:53 PM
Hey Z, that is exactly what my boat looks like. The difference is the standing platform as you mentioned, also I move my saddlebagsforward to the first bar on the frame. This helps put more wieght forward and offsets the weight of the battery and motor somewhat. I also move my frame as far forward as the valve protective covers allow for the same reason. You will find that your boat will track much better if your pontoons are fairly level. If you boat tends to ride a little to nose high it loses some of it's directional stability under power and will not travel in a straight line quite as well. Also don't forget to raise your trolling motor before droping the anchor or it will bang on your motor on the way down. Peace Ron

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-25-2007, 06:54 PM
ok Ron, i'll be fu~king with it soon and hopefully get the bugs out fast, thanks to all your info.





Z

FISH ON !

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-30-2007, 12:01 PM
HEY NOW, i received my 1018 late yesterday afternoon was up till 1am putting it together, all done except for 4 nuts & bolts to mount the seat, sumdumb F#@*Er forgot to pack them, you no come here ...no mo.


i took some pic's of the process and will post later, man i have a hang over.


oh yeah all you tubers out there, this is for you guys.

GOT A GOAT ?






Z

FISH ON !

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-30-2007, 12:02 PM
HEY NOW, i received my 1018 late yesterday afternoon was up till 1am putting it together, all done except for 4 nuts & bolts to mount the seat, sumdumb F#@*Er forgot to pack them, you no come here ...no mo.


i took some pic's of the process and will post later, man i have a hang over.


oh yeah all you tubers out there, this is for you guys.

GOT A GOAT ?






Z

FISH ON !

Z-TUNAKILLER
08-30-2007, 12:11 PM
HEY NOW, i received my 1018 late yesterday afternoon was up till 1am putting it together, all done except for 4 nuts & bolts to mount the seat, sumdumb F#@*Er forgot to pack them, you no come here ...no mo.


i took some pic's of the process and will post later, man i have a hang over.


oh yeah all you tubers out there, this is for you guys.

GOT A GOAT ?






Z

FISH ON !