Need advice on type of boat

Right now, I have a Bass Hound 10.2 which is mostly fine for my son and I for bass fishing but we want to get into catfishing and carp fishing. I know we could use a few rods but ideally we'd like to cast out 4-6 rods, and have enough space to carry a pack bait bucket (for the carp). With a fairly large tackle box, space becomes a huge problem. Also, on occasion my wife might want to come along or I might even want to bring a few other people. So clearly we need something bigger.

I've all but ruled out a bass boat as those won't work very well for us for carp and catfishing. I'm considering a fishing pontoon or center console boat, both somewhere in the 16-18' length range. I would love to hear opinions on which one is better suited for us for fishing ponds, lakes and rivers. I'm leaning toward a pontoon for the capacity (as far as storage and persons) but they are extremely hard to find due to the outbreak of new fishermen and boaters (thanks covid!). I haven't seen any center console boat in the ponds or lakes that I've been to and I'm wondering why? Do people mostly use those for salt waters? Plus, seating can be limited on CC's but I have seen some with clever seating arrangements like fold out benches, etc.

Any help would be appreciated!