Last fall we started hearing rumors Viaggio Pontoons was releasing an all-new lineup for 2024, complete with a full redesign of its Lago series. The exciting news was later confirmed when we learned Lago was being divided into three separate classes. However, it wasn’t until we had a chance to get the V, X and Z models all on the water together that we could truly appreciate the evolution.

Lago, Italian for lake, now includes an entry-level (V), mid-line (X), as well as a luxurious version (Z), and you don’t need to be Goldilocks to appreciate the three new choices.

Unlike the 19th-century English fairy tale, what Viaggio is doing is very real and a progressive step in helping customers find the porridge–ahem–the pontoon boat, that is just right for them.

Spending time with your family on the water in a high-performance and high-caliber pontoon becomes easily attainable with the price-conscious Cabrio. With sporty handling, comfortable seats, and enough horsepower for water sports, the Cabrio is a terrific all-around model. We agree with Barletta’s VP of marketing, Jeff Roth, who said, “The Cabrio 22UC is a rock star in our lineup…we don’t believe there is another boat in its class that offers as much, or performs better. Add a beautiful, functional, and comfortable interior package, with all of the pet-friendly amenities, and you have a pontoon boat that checks ALL of the boxes.”

We found thoughtful features and solid construction throughout the pontoon we reviewed, and enjoyed a smooth and comfy ride since every Barletta has a frame built to glide through all types of water and uses vibration isolation pads, wave tamers, and heavy-duty nose cones.

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, Avalon Pontoons held a giveaway where they awarded a brand-new Avalon Venture Cruise for the oldest Avalon-brand pontoon still in use. Among 150 entries from all over the country, the winning boat belonged to Adam Josephus of Vestaburg, Mich. He and his family were currently fishing from a 1975 Playbuoy, a weathered blue and silver King Fisher with a languidly slow 15hp engine. Originally founded under the name Playbuoy Pontoons in the early 1970s, the company changed its name to Avalon in 2005.

And they couldn’t have found a more fitting winner. Adam and his wife April, with their two kids Javin and Janelle, are the all-American family spending summer evenings at football practice and on motorcycle rides, and weekends camping and fishing at Crystal Lake and on the Muskegon River. They searched for a fishing boat five years ago, but their budget didn’t allow for a new pontoon so Adam trawled Facebook marketplace for his favorite brand, Playbuoy. He was thrilled to find the King Fisher for sale nearby from a family friend. The listing price was over his budget, and his wife of nearly 20 years said, “You don’t need another boat.” But when the seller finally accepted his lower offer, Adam quickly drove to Six Lakes and bought it.

Fishing thick mats of surface weeds, referred by many anglers as ‘slop,’ calls for stout rods, reels and line to muscle the catch out of the growth.

Gotcha’
Covered

Fishing thick mats of surface weeds, referred by many anglers as ‘slop,’ calls for stout rods, reels and line to muscle the catch out of the growth.

Slow trolling over submerged weedbeds can produce a variety of gamefish that use the cover as an ambush point to prey on baitfish that hide within the greenery.

If you’ve always considered the terms “cover” and “structure” to be one and the same, interchangeable if you will, join the club. Early in my writing career I often used both those words to describe places where fish are often found, but have learned that among anglers they are not necessarily considered one and the same. I’ve found that “cover” primarily refers to aquatic weeds, while “structure” describes more static stuff such as flooded timber, rip-rap, docks and laydowns as well as other physical characteristics such as reefs, points and islands.

Fish relate to both, for shelter, shade, food and security from predators, providing the gamefish we seek with hiding and ambush areas. Large areas of weedy cover are like “aquatic neighborhoods” with each stage of the food chain present. From insects, to bluegills, to largemouth, cover serves as a place where fish come to feed, or hide out in an effort to avoid being eaten.