Curious loon inspects new pontoon boat

We have taken the plunge into powerboats. Can you call a 13.8 foot pontoon boat with a 15 horsepower outboard a powerboat? Anyway, it should suit.  This is a Qwest fishing compact pontoon, which is a bit of a spiffed-up Gillgetter.  It’s manufactured by the St. Louis, Michigan company, Apex. It has a live well, a fishfinder/GPS, a sound system we intend not to use, comfy couches and two fishing seats up front. We are hoping that this will mean that occasionally we shall catch a fish. Maybe even “one fish, two fish, walleye fish, blue(gill) fish” this season.

And even if the fish turn out to be totally safe from us, it will at least provide an interesting platform for viewing fish, turtles and other aquatic life. Kayaks are still likely to be the boat of choice for early morning visits to Ghost Bay for morning coffee. Clicking Here will lead you to a website that has some of the best marine supplies. You might be able to take your pick from there. But we are looking forward to enjoying this addition to the “fleet.” We like the idea of being the smallest pontoon on the lake. The only somewhat embarrassing thing is that we have to ride around the lake on a boat with a misspelled name. Apex, please, the name should have been Quest, Quest with a “u,” not a “w.”

The first day our boat arrived at the lake, this curious loon inspected it repeatedly and at close range. It was so unusual to see a loon this close to our dock that I wondered whether it was possible loons know the lake so well that they know when new shiny things appear. Not likely. But loons do seem to be very aware creatures. So unlike the dull-brained Canada Goose armada that only knows to patrol around the lake looking for nicely mowed expanses of lawn (like ours).