[Rob Bodkin]

If this has been beat to death already, please forgive.

If you had the choice between taking a drift boat down the Sky/Skagit/Stilly or taking pontoon boats, which would you choose.

We have both and are really diggin' the pontoon boats, but have not had them on waters bigger than the Sauk.

Thanks for your input.

Rob Bodkin

 

[andrew]

It all depends, I have drifted the Skagit via boat and pontoon...and have enjoyed both. However, it all depends on how many people are with you. I took the boat when my fishing partners didn't own pontoons or when the wife came along. As for the Stilly, the North Fork is probably to small for a driftboat, but very do-able in a pontoon. I have not touched the Sauk...so I have no clue, but have seen both on the river. I do enjoy the stability of the drift boat on larger rivers such as the skagit, but then the responsiveness of pontoon boats is also very nice! Lately I have taken the approach of trying new floats in my pontoon, and then taking the boat on the second trip. Hope my 2 cents helps?!

 

[Moved to another website]

Here's my rundown of the feasibility of pontoons and rafts for waters I have drifted during the past year.

Sky - Perfect for pontoon boats. The Sky below Sultan is not difficult. Pontoon boats allow you to launch in more places than a drift boat.

Stilly - Perfect for pontoon boats due to the tight quarters.

Sauk - I'd rather have a raft due to the high standing waves in some of the riffles.

West Fork Humptulips - Pontoon boats are great.

Queets - A raft provides more comfort. There are some class II rapids, rock gardens and logjams.

Skagit - I'd rather have a raft, especially for dealing with some of the logjams on the corners but the river is big enough that you can maneuver a pontoon boat to stay out of trouble.