I am a huge fan of Costco and if you do any reading about their business model, you quickly find out how small their margins are. Their margins average 11%; with higher margins on their store branded Kirkland products and lower than 11% margins are branded products.  What does this mean for fisherman?

They have a single person pontoon for about 1/2 of what you can buy it from a "traditional" retailer. I assume it is either The Colorado XTS or Colorado XT. 

Check this out. https://www.costco.com/classic-accessories-wilderness-pontoon-boat.product.100115389.html 

Anybody use this type of boat? Seems like a great boat when you fish single and don't have room to store a bigger boat. I love the idea of sitting up higher, unlike fishing in a kayak. 

What do you think?

Hi Steve,

That is certainly a good price. I have both a one man and two man pontoon that I used on rivers and lakes while in living in New Zealand (pics below). I rarely use them here in TX.  Agreed, they are great if you want to sit up higher and cast. They will deflate and disassemble into a duffle bag. Great for limited storage. 

The only downside I mention is they are TERRIBLE in the wind.  Similar to riding on a balloon with a sail on top, any breeze will whip you all over, even if you are anchored.  Near impossible to oar into the wind.  One stroke forward, and a 5 mph wind blows you back two stokes. As long as the water is flat calm they are great.  They do much better in river current where the wind is normally not an issue.  That Costco one is cheap enough to get as a backup. 

Thanks Jim. I love that you post pictures of your adventures. New Zealand is a special place. 
 

I did not think about the boat blowing you around. Good info!

Jim,

Did you ever use the inflatable pontoon with drift socks rather than anchors? I have the same problem in our small flat bottom jon boats and have gone to the drift sock (s) approach with TM adjustments.

Dave