Pontoon & Deck Boat Magazine – March 2018

http://www.pdbmagazine.com Pontoon & Deck Boat March (^201815)
This basic, affordable 16-footer from
Leland, N.C.-based Lexington Pontoons
can be left bare-bones or customized with
angling accessories to fit your fishing
needs. The standard items offered aboard
include Sea Grass vinyl flooring, backlit
instrument panel, waterproof stereo
and speakers, elevated fence panels
for drainage, UV treated 8-foot Bimini
top and docking lights. Fishing features
include a bow fishing area with fold-down
fishing chairs and a console with built-in
livewell. The boat has a 17-gallon fuel
tank for outboards up to 50hp, which
is plenty for a boat that weighs a little over 1,400 pounds. Lexington
boats are known for being “over-engineered” and they offer some
premium performance models with lots of bells and whistles, but for a
basic fishing pontoon that’s ready for rigging to make it fishable for any
situation, it’s hard to beat the 315.
Specs
http://www.lexingtonpontoons.com
By Dan Armitage
LOA: 16’ 4” Beam: 8’ 6” Max Capacity: 1,572 lbs./9 persons
Dry Weight: 1,420 lbs. Max Horsepower: 50hp Fuel Capacity: 17 gals.
Dan’s Pick
Lexington 315
where that light is most likely to affect
the temperature of the water, including
shallow, south-facing bays and coves with
dark colored bottoms, areas near rock
rip-rap, or docks made of wood or metal.
Bottoms strewn with dead leaves, weeds
or mud are dark and absorb and radiate
that sunlight, as do rocks and docks.
While miniscule, that up-tick of a degree
or two in water temperature attracts and
activates the tiny invertebrates that bait
fish and gamefish alike seek to feed
on. In such early spring circumstances,
dropping a small fathead minnow under
a bobber three inches from a wood piling
can net crappies and bluegills when
the same bait presented a foot off the
structure may be ignored.
Once the spring sunlight is strong and
consistent enough to warm the waters of
the spawning grounds, be they rock reefs,
shallow coves, or shoreline brush, the
fish will move in and make for what can
be the fastest fishing of the season as the
fish spawn and eat and protect their beds.
When that happens, move the bobbers
down the line or begin your retrieves
quickly to offer baits at depths where
the fish are spawning and feeding, which
may be only a foot deep or 30 feet down,
depending on the species and where the
fish have chosen to make their beds. And
get out whenever you can to enjoy this
fast, often fleeting fishing action.
Whenever they do arrive in your
location, note that those same warming,
stabilizing weather conditions that trigger
the spawning move of your favorite
gamefish also trigger the movement of
fair-weather anglers, who soon enough
can be counted upon to compete for those
suddenly easy-to-catch fish. Which is
another reason to get out on the boat early
this season, while you have the water and
the fishing to yourself.
Fishing near wood, rock and cement structures in
the middle of the first sunny days of the spring
season is a good way to hook up to fish seeking
radiant warmth and the baitfish it draws near.
Concentrating on dark, shallow
bottoms, often of mud, that
absorb the sun’s rays and warm
first usually presents the first
fishing action of the season.
Tips from the expert