A pontoon boat’s dimensions and comfortable features make it a standard family utility craft, since it can be used for a range of recreational activities. Mom and Dad can cruise around the lake sightseeing while the teenagers sunbathe on the open deck. The boat’s engine also has the power to pull skiers and tubes, and when anchored in a quiet cove, the boat is a great swim platform.

This multipurpose boat also serves as a great fishing rig that gives the family a chance to wet a line together. Some manufacturers factory-rig pontoons for fishing. The standard pontoon can be converted into a viable fishing rig—especially for openwater applications such as trolling, drifting, or vertical-jigging for a variety of species—with a few modifications to the craft.

In some cases, the boat has become an ideal vessel for fishing guides to take out numbers of novice anglers. “Most of the people I take out don’t go fishing often and don’t have sea legs. A pontoon is a really stable boat for them,” says Fort Gibson Lake Guide Michael Thompson, who guides clients on his 24-foot pontoon. ”They can move around better, and most people feel a lot more comfortable.”

Thompson relies on his pontoon for pursuing white bass and crappies. “Once you get it rigged for fishing, you can be as successful in it as in most other boats,” he says. “My boat is really just a basic pontoon with a few accessories that have been strategically placed to make fishing more comfortable.”

Essential Equipment

A trolling motor like the MotorGuide Wireless Series is an essential piece of equipment for Thompson’s pontoon fishing rig. “The trolling motor is the key thing that allows me to stay on top of the fish or at least in close proximity to them,” he says.

He mounts his in the center of the boat’s stern, which is the best position for boat control. The motor is a 24-volt 75-pound thrust model with a 60-inch shaft. “It works all day long and has more than enough power to pull this boat,” he says. “The reason I use that [shaft] length is because I can raise the motorhead above the level of the pontoon deck and side rails, which allows me to see which direction the head is facing when I run the motor.”

The remote-control features of the electric motor come in handy for Thompson when he has to help his clients bait lines or unhook fish. “I don’t have to be married to that trolling motor,” he says. It also allows his clients to stand on the front deck so they can present their lures straight down into brushpiles or over drops, while Thompson stays behind them to simultaneously coach his customers and run the motor.

Keeping an anchor on board helps him position the boat when he finds a sweet spot. He prefers a Navy anchor, which works best for the sand and mud bottom of Fort Gibson, and recommends that pontoon boat anglers choose an anchor based on the bottom composition of the waters they fish.

Alabama guide Brad Whitehead also has converted a 22-foot deck boat and a 24-foot pontoon into fishing rigs for his clients. One of the key features he installed on the deck boat was a Minn Kota Terrova remote-control trolling motor, which has a 60-inch shaft for keeping the motor’s prop deeper in the water to give it more bite. The trolling motor’s mount also has two release pins that allow the owner to quickly convert the boat’s bow back to a swim deck.

Depthfinders also are essential to converting any pontoon boat into a fishing rig. For their conversion rigs, Thompson and Whitehead both mount electronics on their consoles and front decks. Thompson’s trolling motor is equipped with a built-in transducer compatible with his bow-mounted Lowrance sonar unit; the transducer for his console-mounted Pinpoint unit is attached to a mounting plate on the boat’s stern. “My sonar allows me to see where the drops are,” Thompson says. “A lot of times the fish get right on the drop or on the brushpile, and the sonar gives me a chance to find that depth change and stay on the fish.”

Other Accessories

Thompson rigs his pontoon with a variety of rod racks (both store-bought models and homemade PVC versions) to give his clients more space in the boat. “I don’t like having any rods lying on the floor, which can be a tripping hazard,” he says.

While Thompson has a factory-installed livewell, most standard pontoons usually don’t provide them. Whitehead suggests anglers can make their own portable livewells by equipping a 48- or 52-quart cooler with a portable aerator. A 55-gallon drum with a 500 GPH aerator that he uses as a bait holder for live shad can also serve as a spacious livewell for pontoon rigs.