I've been really searching around for the right thing to get me out on the water and I think that I have settled on a pontoon kickboat. I just have a few questions from you guys who fish from float tubes or kickboats...

What kickboats do you recomend me looking at (links would be great!)?

Does anybody know of any place that has advice or instructions for how to build a rod holder that attaches to the back of a pontoon kickboat?

Thanks for any advice!!

What the heck is a kickboat?

well depending on how much u wanna spend i recently got a float tube in the u design wit a bar across the front and found it to be not to desirable  depending on what type of whater u fish u could probaly but u cud probably find a jon boat for the same price or a lil more/ less check craigs list in ur area

a kickboat is a pontoon style inflatable with a bladder on each side and a seat mounted in the middle there are 2 oars, but you also move the boat with flippers on your feet.

and to answer the other question... im willing to spend $200-$400 range... a little more if it is worth it...

Cabelas have some.

A little more might be worth it dude.

I use an Outcast Fish Cat Cougar and love it. It's the quad pontoon design. I think they expected better handling with the quad, but didn't get it. The trend seems to be back to the standard single pontoon. However, I love the quad. I'm on pretty small ponds and lakes though. I really appreciate the extra space it provides for storage. http://www.outcastboats.com/outcastboats/pacmain.shtml

You can get float boats anywhere from Cabelas to Wall-Mart. You can certainly get a little one for $300 at those places, but the frame won't be as sturdy. The pontoons might not be either. I did a lot of Internet research. When I narrowed my choices down to 2 or 3, I did specific searches for those boats. I ended up getting mine from a little guide company in Colorado that sold boats on the web too. It was, at least, $100 cheaper than anywhere else and they added a swivel for the seat and shipped it for free. Sorry, but that was years ago and I don't recall the name. But there are a lot of little companies like that in the South West and NW. They tend to be sold at fly fishing sites, but they're great little bass fishing boats!

http://www.thefloattubestore.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4

I have this one:

http://www.creekcompany.com/indivdisplay_contest.php?primaryAutoID=6

I like it, it is the entry level pontoon they have and I am very please with it, maybe a higher priced one would be nicer but this is definatly an affordable way to get in the water, this company also has rod holders and a few other accesories you can get.

I also have to say that they have very good customer service, when I received mine the package looked like it was dragged by the UPS man and one of the inflatable parts had a hole in it, I called them up and they send me a new one; another time I called looking to get some of the safety pins they use for it's assembly because I broke a couple of them getting the pontoon out of the water in a 15ft incline and the Creek co. send them for free. I will always come back to a good customer service company.

yea have two opions imo the ponntoon above for 199 or u cud find a jon boat and eventualy mod it to be like a bass boat like decicking and such but if its just u  fishing then jon mght be harder to get in the water

Creek Co. makes good boats. You should definitely look into that one. But, like I said, you get what you pay for. At the least, go with one of the bigger companies like Creek, Outcast, or Water Skeeter. I can't imagine what I would have to do to puncture one of my pontoons. Once inflated, they are very puncture resistant. And I carry mine, assembled, from the top of the car to the water all the time. I never worry about anything on the frame breaking. My pins are thick. So think about how much you are going to be hauling this around. If you assemble it at the water and break it down before you go home, you have less to worry about. But, you're already talking about mods, so it sounds like whatever you get, it will be well used. You don't want a day of fishing spoiled by a broken cotter pin, do you?

I also suggest checking out bigfishtackle.com and their float tube forums. They have one forum that's just pictures of people's mods. Lots of rod holders, motor mounts, etc. Those dude trick out their tubes and toons pretty hard.

I call this my PONTUBE. Not quite a kickboat but more than a float tube. Got it on sale for $325 from Dave Scadden's website. Made the rod and sonor holder myself from PVC tubing. Works GREAT for me:o)

Sweet ride.

I have this one:

http://www.creekcompany.com/indivdisplay_contest.php?primaryAutoID=6

I like it, it is the entry level pontoon they have and I am very please with it, maybe a higher priced one would be nicer but this is definatly an affordable way to get in the water, this company also has rod holders and a few other accesories you can get.

I also have to say that they have very good customer service, when I received mine the package looked like it was dragged by the UPS man and one of the inflatable parts had a hole in it, I called them up and they send me a new one; another time I called looking to get some of the safety pins they use for it's assembly because I broke a couple of them getting the pontoon out of the water in a 15ft incline and the Creek co. send them for free. I will always come back to a good customer service company.

i have two of these for the river they kick butt!

I have a "FishCat 9" and absolutely love it! Bought it from some online company in Colorado for about $500. I see one place online has a blue one at $479 (theflyhatch.com)

I prefer the green that I have though. (I'd post a pic but I haven't been a member on the forum long enough!) Shop around for good deals.

The great thing about these boats is their stability and ease of movement. When you reach the your fishing spot you can just kick your fins and move real slow and stop/start as and when you want. You have more control than with a trolling motor and a lot more stealth. I catch a lot of fish under the rod tip. They also move really fast when you're rowing. The only downsides are that they're kinda heavy, they take about 25mins to get set up and the wind will really blow you about on the lake if you don't have an anchor. (The FC9 comes with an anchor mount).

Yeah, the wind can blow you around pretty easily. But then again, I don't even use fins; just the oars. It's frustrating at first, but I think everyone learns how to compensate and/or deal. But you really can't be more quiet in one of these things. I can litterally float right above a bass I'm stalking. But I've been freaked out several times now after a huge carp swam right between my legs. The draft is amazing too. I can literally float right up onto shore. It rides on inches of water.

Man, we just had a new baby this summer and I've only been out in my Cougar once this year! I got the itch bad now.

The draft is amazing too. I can literally float right up onto shore. It rides on inches of water.

Yeah, you sit very high up off the water so they're fantastic for crossing very shallow bays or even dense grass beds.

Here's my setup (the "fishcat 9 deluxe")