MikeF

thanks for the replies guys. 1. I used to be a bigger deep-V boat guy, sold that and wandered creeks & rivers for years trout hunting. My intent is to expand to other species still focused on the fly, ie. bass, musky, NPike, etc. I have no desire to go out into deep lake or big river waters (ie. Lakes Erie, Ontario, or Niagara River). Thats just where my heads at - smaller more intimate venues but expand my target species. 2. hooks-in-inflatable-pontoons has crossed my mind, although I'm an experienced fly guy and know what I'm doing, accidents do happen. The pontoon sleeves are inflated with a dual bladder system, so if one gets punctured somehow, I'll be crippled, but wont sink. Again, I'll never be more than 100 yards from a shoreline.

Hey Guys - been trolling this column for a long time. long time stream fly fisherman, and due to the terrible stream conditions this summer as a result of the drought, I purchased a one man inflatable pontoon craft to open up some opportunities for me, and I've have been having a blast ever since. First half of the summer I floated the southtowns small lake systems - Cassadaga, Allen, Case, etc. Then in preparation for the (hopefully) pending salmon/brown/steelhead run I started focusing north on the Oak Orchard river system that I've fly fished for over 20 years. So instead of the confined section of river near the dam and directly downstream I'll be scouting other sections of water. So thanks for this forum, and Tight lines! Mike