Going out on a pontoon boat today. Its on a group party boat. They allow fishing. I'm not sure if we will be in the middle of the lake or anchored near an island. Any tips for both scenarios? Lures, tactics?

That is difficult to answer with any degree of certainty.  It depends on the structure of the lake bottom and what seasonal behavior you expect from the fish.  If you are anchored near an island you might possibly have a point or a finger that is underwater that the fish could relate to.  Also, keep an eye out for any indications of cover or tree lines as trees or stumps with an open pathway between them could indicate that there is a channel beneath the water.  If you don't have a choice regarding where the boat is anchored there may or may not be fish in the area.  If there are no cover or landmarks to read, and if there is no fish finder on the pontoon boat, your guess is as good as any about where and how to fish.  I would take enough lures and rods to fish shallow, mid-depths, and deep because you don't know what situation you are facing.

just take some worms or senkos and cast them around, you got nothing to lose really.

We tied up at an island right on the shore. There were a few MASSIVE carp and a blue catfish. I threw some bread and caught the blue catfish (2 pounds) then a huge carp (5 pounds). Threw some cheeto balls and caught the biggest carp there (8 pounds). Stopped fishing for a bit and then threw some more bread. The whole time since we got there, there had been a huge school of perch hanging around. I wanted to catch one so I waited till one ate most of the bread then hooked it right as it bit the last piece. Brought it in. (1 pound). Added a lot of confidence