I am thinking a pontoon may be the way to go unless there is something I haven't seen before. Anything that floats you can fish out of and any boat is great. Here are my findings for my needs and maybe a few other people's as well:

Looking for a newer 22'+ size, 95% of the time used for fishing.

1) Most deck boats don't have live wells or fish boxes. Any that do have a ton of upholstery to work around which could get nasty quick.

2) Pontoons don't handle as well as a fiberglass deck boats and catch in the wind pretty bad. They have a lot of room for fishing though and I am thinking could be lower maintenance and economical. Trailering could be a pain though.

3) Bass boats and bay boats don't have high enough sides for my family.

4) Center consoles don't have enough seating for family and can draft a lot at times.

5) Aluminum walleye type boats like Crestliner, Lund, Alumacraft, etc. mostly are under 20' don't have a ton of capacity and if you do find one 22'+ it is VERY expensive.

6) Same as #5 with aluminum jet boats. Crazy expensive for a 22'+.

This leads me to a pontoon I suppose? I may have to pick and choose my days for weather, but it should work. Open to insight........

What manufacturers are out there though that are serious fishing boats w/ fish box, large live well, trolling motor capacity, etc?

OR are there custom pontoons or people in the area that can make motivations on a stock model?

Much Thanks!!!

Personaly I think long pontoons are great. My buddy had a 24ft and we fished in 40 to 50mph winds on tawakoni. There slow but comfy. Plus the water that hits the deck just runs off. No pumping needed.

I watched a pontoon out on Texoma in 30-45mph winds. He was having a much easier time with the big waves than we were.

Love my toon for many of the reasons you listed here.
Loading up was a beast for a good while even to the point that as much as I loved the boat I literally hated loading it up.
I fixed that with some mods and now it rarely takes more that one attempt to load in any wind.
I'll try to snap a few new pics if you are interested in what I worked out.
Most all of the drawbacks can be overcome with mods, like anchoring or drifting.

In the pontoon world the are many choices to make also, two log or tri toon, performance packages, you can go basic or high dollar.
I'll PM you a website that has tons of very good pontoon info with guys that will shoot straight about what their boats will or won't do.
These are hardcore pontoon guys so you will get pontoon specific answers there if you choose.
There are many folks that get on there BEFORE they purchase so your questions will be welcomed.

Thanks. I just learned tritoons may take chop much better. Do all pontoon manufacturers have a third log option or do you have to buy a specific tritoon?Good Stuff.

I don't know that answer sorry-that source I showed you Will absolutely know.

TRH on the forum has a tri toon and I bet he has some good info if you lean toward a tri toon.

Ive had 20 ft. Flat bottoms , had run abouts, the ol skoll tri hull but I will never buy anything other than a pontoon again!! You can pick one up reasonbly cheap and if you get one you willmake changes to fit you. So id plan on finding the size you need and basic as you can find. I fished with stinkbait tom and now im thinkin of ditchin my L seat in opt for some other moveable and storable seating. Not to mention the fishing room I will gain. And that eliminates some weight too. My wife will just have to deal with the seating the few times she goes. Dont tell her I said that lol. And also. Toms side rails stopped at about 20ft which left about a 3' platform on the front to throw a bait net. My total lenngth is 20'. So it sucks to throw over the rail at times but its short enough. With just me and my son top speed is 24-26 mph loaded down and thats powered by a 90 horse merc. Same boat with 3 grown men gear, coolers, and top up to keep us dry dragged my top end down to 21 mph. If you can I would get a 4 stroke and you will save a bit more gas. And a 115 will push it a little better. Have a gas card to pull it if you lake hop like I do. Ive seen guys white knuckled in little to 20 mph wind as to where I go right over the top no worry and dry. Toons dont turn on a dime like the other boats but I think take water alot better than most other boats.and no plug to remember either.

I was was out with tom last sunday in 3-4 foot rollers and im glad it was a toon.

Check out the 21 ft suntracker fishin barge the 2012 modle it has a live well up fron and a 20 gallon in the rear has 2 fishing chairs and 2 fishing chairs up front has a very good lay out

A 17' deep v aluminum boat is a pretty big boat. They handle rough water well. One with a nice big windshield like Bobby has will keep the Mrs dry and comfortable.

I agree with this as well. Decisions, decisions............

Mine is a bennington. They seem to make one of the better tri-Toons IMO. Ive been in a way older model 2 log toon and from that to the one I have now is night and day when it comes to ride and the way it handles. The tri-toon allows for a larger moter as well and if set up with a few performance options can handle like nothing you have ever seen. As others have said you will mod just about any boat you get.
If you do decide on a tri toon, definately get lifting strakes on all 3 logs. The strakes help the toon plane out and ride much like a regular boat as opposed to sitting level. They also allow you to get the nose of the toon up when in the big waves. If you have other questions let me know and ill try to answer best I can.

I have a fisher pontoon 18ft. taking your family fishing there is nothing better