Toon vs Tube

I'm sure this has been brought up before here over the years but for us new guys maybe ya'll could chime in on why you stick with what you're using today.

Cost?
Ease of transport?
Weight?
More useful in certain environments?

What I see so far with zero experience is that I might be better suited to a pontoon. I say that because, well, I'm getting older and I really don't feel like freezing my nuts off. I have a torn rotator cuff and it looks like it would be easier to cast being even a few inches higher off the water allowing an easier and more successful side cast.

There is a dramatic difference between them so there must be a definitive reason why one would choose one over the other.

I've owned both and they have their pros and cons .. tubes.. easy to transport , easy to launch, can be econaomical. toons stay dry.. mobility (when equipped with a trolling motor) transportation can be an issue. Launching difficult and they are pricy.. personally I ended up with a mini bass boat for basically the price of a toon. And I love it... oh ya both tubes and toons have no storage space which is a problem for me since I'm addicted to fishing gear...

What boat did you you get for the price of a toon?

I would say tube, for some of the reasons you are stating a tube will do it. First cost is better that the toon although we get 15% off at Cover Bonanza and there are some good prices there check it out. But the newer tubes IE the ODC 420, Cumberland and so on still sit you up high out of the water.
With your shoulder injury I would say the tube, for as with a toon you will be rowing and that will not be a good combination to have to deal with. There are pro's and con's with both but for your needs I think the tube is a better bet. That is just my 2 cents lets see what other say.

Me no row. Did not know that part. Thought you just kicked a little harder or used a t motor.

Jesus, my eyes are watering just thinking about rowing.

You can use a motor but you need to register it as a boat, and you can kick but not really meant for that.

So if I take a toon to SFD and put a motor on it I have to have it registered?
What goes along with that process?
DO the guys at Sante Fe even care?

Never owned a toon so can't chime in on that but my reasoning for the tube was COST and ease of transportation. Also storage is easier and less of a hassle than a toon. My other option before my purchase was a kayak. Love the idea of able to hit outside the breakwater and fish the kelp lines but the cost and the bulk ness of it makes it difficult to store and transport. The tube is awesome as it's lightweight & not as bulky if deflated, the options are almost endless, stealth fishing & very relaxing. A lot of people say it's tiring and is a workout but I beg the differ. Unless you absolutely have to get to the other side, you really don't need to kick like you're being chased by an angry 500 lb sealion. A gradual methodical kick is all u need to get a movin'. My FC4 sits me high above the water enough to make casting and netting a fish with ease. To each their own, Tubin is for me.

Well see there, getting chased by an angry 500 lb sea Lion is so not a turn on for me. I'll stick with my mother in law barking from across the room.

I think I have come up with something to get around this Pontoon / motor registration issue.
It's a very rough draft but if it catches on I could be making millions be 3015.
I can't believe some redneck from SC hasn't tried this already.
Meet Lucy and Betty, I call them mah *&@#*'s on Friday nights.


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This is what you get when the moderator says you have to have 100 posts to compete in the next contest. lol

Hahaha. Nice. I'll never leave the house.   

I'll take this better than one answer posts.

You do have to register your toon if youre going to put a motor on it. Not a big deal, it was like 40 bucks for two years. I think for you, you would be better off with a tube. I dont use the oars on my toon often as I have a motor on mine. In the water, a toon is better than a tube hands down, I can go anywhere a tube can go and faster, have all the storage room I would ever need, and can carry more rods - i can bring 5 rods with my current set up, and up it to 8 if I wanted to..lol

But out of the water, a toon is a pain in the arse!! Theyre heavy, awkward, and set up time is longer. Theyre also more expensive.

Put me in the toon list, have used both and don't see myself going back to a tube.( still have glide riders hanging in the garage, never say never.) The casting height is noticeable better. I've not had as much trouble with wind as I did with the tubes.

I have used and owned both including a Donut.
You could not pay me to use a U or Donut tube ever again.
If I could have only one boat, hands down it would be a Pontoon. More specific, a "Frameless".
You can do anything that a floattube can do, but you can add a motor, wear HIP waders, and row if you want. I can't tell you how many fish I have caught rowing because of the motion. AND you can use fin power.
There is the 8' Predator that folds down small and weighs a whopping 14 lbs.
Advantage to a pontoon, sit higher, quicker response, more choices of mobility, don't get beat up in the wind. Pack more gear.
Down side, the cost....that is it.

Renegade wrote:
Down side, the cost....that is it.

Weight, and transport are the biggest downside for me. As far as advantages, 100% agree with you

yeah i love my toon for lots of reasons. i can cut across big areas faster. i have a lot of space for more stuff. also if i dont wannt put my feet in the water i dont have to, i can put a trolling motor on just not there yet. only down fall is corrosion and rust if you fish salt water.

ive used both and i like both for different situations

Pavo21 wrote:yeah i love my toon for lots of reasons. i can cut across big areas faster. i have a lot of space for more stuff. also if i dont wannt put my feet in the water i dont have to, i can put a trolling motor on just not there yet. only  down fall is corrosion and rust if you fish salt water.

ive used both and i like both for different situations

Can you be more specific about "big areas"? Do you mean 3 miles 6 miles? I rarely kick my Cumberland more than 2 miles, my doughnut I would limit to 1/4 mile if at all posssible.

Yeah well I'm talking about like new port harbor or irvine lake trying to cross the lake or any other big lake. I fish for minimum 6 hours so u can cover a crap ton of area with oars. And if there is wind it's nota big deal when you have oars and a anchor

Casting Call wrote:

Renegade wrote:
Down side, the cost....that is it.

Weight, and transport are the biggest downside for me. As far as advantages, 100% agree with you

There are pontoons on the market that have changed this. The NFO Renegade is the ultimate pontoon. Weighs 28lbs, 9' long, folds up about 20" X 20" X 6". Bladderless rocks!

Hey guys,
well, you know I am a staunch tooner after years of toobing. (including doughnuts).

Toons are:

faster,

drier,

has a multitude of propulsion options, (easier to kick, electric or gas motors, and rowing, I have even seen a sail option for them!)

safer, (by far!)

carry more cargo, (tackle)

better in deep, heavy water, and weather, (seaworthy)

better in shallow, heavy cover water, (they draft a mere few inches)

by far and away a better fishing platform,

and if you like modding your boat they are the most adaptable...

WAY more comfortable,

BUT!....they are

heavier, and bulkier,

more complicated,

more costly,

require more storage space and are more difficult to transport, (especially to and from the truck to the water, I typically launch from ramps lately)

harder to launch, and recover,

Toons take effort!


All in all, for me it is the superior fishing platform that it is, that clinches it for me. It can go farther, is more adaptive, comfortable and safe, in almost all conditions. From white water river, large impoundments, or inshore salt, to the local pond or small river....it is a superior watercraft.

Nuff said?    bodfish

food for thought...10' two man pontoon, 36 lbs. No assembly, no rust, 5 separate bladders.
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36" rolling duffle
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need I say more?  Again $ is the only issue. Think outside the frame.

SWEET!!!!

Nice rig @Renegade. I was thinking of looking into a toon. Just for the heck of it. Attach a small trolling engine and troll. Toons are really notice more that a tube. Soon....

Does anybody here cover more than 5 miles a day out and back on their pontoons?
I mean using the oars, and not with a tolling motor or just running downstream on a river. I know it is no problem for the yak boys, but will a pontoon handle that?