You’ll find a few small Jon boats with fabricated poling platforms, but most people don’t like poling from them for safety reasons. Poling from a small Jon boat poling platform is impractical and unsafe. That’s why many boaters simply install a casting platform on the front to make it safer and more practical. But if you prefer a Jon Boat poling platform, you can have it fabricated by a good metal worker in your area. You can do that for different Jon boat models, such as the 16′ G3 Jon boat, provided it doesn’t get in your way when duck hunting.
Can You Fish from a Jon Boat Poling Platform?
It is possible to do it, but fishing from a small boat poling platform is very difficult. Poling boards are a must-have for boaters who want to launch a small boat. The sailing platform allows you to see more easily, and it allows you to do more maneuvers with any type of boat. Poling platforms are extremely versatile; they can be used for fishing, tubing, or skiing. You can get good metal fabricators who can weld poling platforms built to match the body of any of your boats.
How Safe is a Jon Boat Poling Platform?
It may seem impracticable and unsafe to have a poling platform on a Jon boat, but standing on one in the open waters will not cause any difficulties if you know what you’re doing. Just make sure that another person in the boat doesn’t quickly change positions.
Even people who weigh 280 lbs. can stand and fish in a 14-inch aluminum Jon boat with two people aboard. But in a smaller boat, if you want to fish alone, you probably won’t be able to do that safely. Jon boats that are larger than a typical V-hull are more stable in calm water than a similar size V-hull. But in rough water, a boat with a V-hull is safer.
Jon boats are perfect for sailing from a platform or floating in shallow water, but you will need someone to stand at the front and support the boat while it is in the water. You can also add more weight at the front by placing your gear in the bow to assist you when sailing. If you load up a lot of things, like a motor, gas, and batteries, and if the bow is large, it can go up in the sky or float in the air in a blink of an eye.
Where to Find a Jon Boat Poling Platform
Jon boats are great for fishing, hunting, and other water activities. They have a flat bottom to give them stability in the water. Some fishermen like to use a poling platform to reach higher places in the water. We’re happy to show you the many different options that are available to get the perfect Jon boat poling platform for your needs.
One simple way to do that is to place Jon moorings on the stern of a johnboat to allow anglers to stand and bob the boat while fishing. This is useful for fishing in shallow water to catch some fish that are easier to catch or hunting quiet ducks. There is a wide range of different platforms on the market, and the costs vary based on the platform’s size and features.
Some custom boat fab shops will build aluminum poling platforms for different kinds of boats. A few places also offer smaller, lightweight poling platforms for wildcraft johnboats or other boat models for fishing. Jon boats generally have platforms made from 3/4 inch PVC pipe (or similar). If the metalworker working on your boat is good, they can build the platform for you. If the platform is made of aluminum, you’ll spend around $500 to build it. If not, you can order one from a local boat dealer. You can also find boats with prefab boarding platforms for about $580.
Additionally, you can search on sites like Craigslist for poling platforms for sale. There are plenty of online boating forums and classified websites where people can post their used platforms. Check them out to see if anyone is selling their boat poling platforms.

How Much is a Jon Boat Poling Platform?
The price for a poling platform on a Jon boat is not fixed and depends on what material it’s made of as well as the size. It may cost you less to build a basic platform for your boat, but if you want something custom, you can expect to pay about $1500.
There really is not one right answer, as the value of a Jon boat poling platform varies greatly depending on a number of factors, such as the type and size of the boat, the fishing conditions, and the angler’s preferences. Putting a Jon boat poling platform on a small boat can help anglers see fish more clearly and provide more opportunities to fish effectively. However, other anglers say that the extra cost is not worth it.
It really comes down to the angler who decides to use a Jon boat poling platform to get closer to the fish and improve their fishing success. Some anglers will spare no expense to get every advantage possible when they are fishing for a big fish, and a poling platform is one of those things.
Turning Your Cooler into a Poling Platform
It’s quite easy to turn a small cooler into a poling platform. Yeti-style coolers are perfect for this because they are very sturdy and have tie-down holes. Simply tie down your Yeti on the stern of your boat and then hook it on a long stick. Some anglers use sea decks to soften the top of their cooler to increase their comfort. What you have to do is make sure that the platform is securely attached to the boat. A bad fall or a sprained ankle is just not worth it.
A boat cooler not attached to your boat’s stern can also be used as a removable platform. However, in some cases, anglers are very serious about having a movable metal platform, so they have custom brackets bolted to the transom to support a poling platform. The legs of the poling platform slide down into the brackets, and then a cotter pin secures the legs of the platform.
The legs of the platform just slides down into the brackets on the underside of the boat. Some prefer to affix cotter pins to the bottom of the boat to allow it to be easily removed. This will allow them to get more space on the floor.
How to Make Your Own Jon Boat Poling Platform
Building Jon boats with a poling platform is easy. It takes only a few hours to complete the job. The platform allows you to put your boat on a stable, raised platform to move it through the water.
For a very inexpensive project, just use PVC or wood dowels to create a base for your Jon boat poling platform. We recommend staying with a simple design for your first build. A few simple cross beams and a few vertical poles will do the job. Actually, four poles and a few cross beams should suffice.
After you’ve built a simple platform from PVC or other cheap wood, it’s time to cut up some plywood and build a platform for it. When you build your own Jon boat poling platform, make sure you have enough room to stand on and relax. Use marine-grade hardware that will allow you to easily attach your boat to a boarding platform.

Some people opt for a platform made from aluminum, but you shouldn’t have any problems with wood if you just spray it with good-quality marine oil. You might want the platform to be redesigned after a while, so it’s best to build one out of fiberglass.
DIY blogging platforms are very easy to build. Creating one yourself should cost you around $400-$600, and it will be well worth the money. All you need is aluminum tubing and thin plywood to make the deck. It may look a little primitive, but it’s really quite useful. Buy some tubing and wood for the top, and pay a rig welder to piece up the whole thing together properly. You’ll need to spend at least $400 to make a perfect blogging platform.
Some people can build a very nice poling platform by cutting a few long pipes from a couple of different metals, including steel. It might be cheaper to do that, but the thing will likely be heavy and subject to rust. It’s better to have one custom-made from aluminum tubing and welded properly. It costs about $400-$600, but you’ll get a great-looking, functional poling platform for your Jon boat.
Using a Gheenoe Poling Platform
Some boat owners have had success with a custom-made poling platform made for Gheenoe on their Jon boats. It easily fits onto a Tracker Grizzly. You may have to get a good metal fabricator to attach your rear deck to a frame, and it costs about $350 to install it.
Fitting a Skimmer Skiff Poling Platform
If you really need to make some money, the large beams on the Skimmer Skiff poling platform really help you get some more space on your boat. If you’ve got a smaller boat, you shouldn’t set the hook as hard as you would with a larger boat because it will cause your boat to tip over. Some older Jon boats have much wider beams than their modern counterparts. Jon boats are great if you want to stand and fish and you want to do it safely.
Using a Smaller Casting Platform
One alternative for a Jon boat is to get a tiny casting platform and attach it to the front of the boat with a turnbuckle. If you plan to pole back to front, you may want to use a casting platform to increase your boat’s stability. With 14-16 inch Jon boats, having a casting platform welded to the front deck makes it relatively easy to pole back.
Wrapping Up
If you are purchasing a Jon boat boarding platform, make sure you trade carefully. It is important to pay attention to your weight and the weight of any person on the boat. What you carry in your bag is also essential, including the weight of all the fishing gear, the boat motor, and the boat itself. Poling from Jon boats can cause injury or even cause damage to your boat (or other boats). It is very easy to slip and fall over and get injured or lose all your gear if you are fishing in deep water.