Quote Originally Posted by OutInKy View Post
I am so eager to hook a good striper the thought of following guide boats out, just to see where they are fishing, has crossed my mind. I would never drop in in-front/behind them to fish, but Cumberland is a big lake and right now it seems the biggest hurdle to overcome is simply picking the right spot to fish.
I would highly suggest hiring a guide instead of following them. You'll learn a ton more working with a pro versus shadowing them. I had boats shadow me off and on the past few weekends and it makes it very difficult to navigate when pulling boards. People may think they are out of the way but you may not realize that I need to turn to port, starboard or slow down, or speed up (when someone drops in front). I'll usually be the better guy and change course but sometimes they just sit right with you no matter what you do.

And that happens a lot. I was stuck at one point this past weekend where a boat had me pinned and wouldn't let me get free by speeding up or slowing down.. Another, I swung out to turn around and the boat turned dead into my new route forcing me almost on the shore. And trust me, just being in the right general area is a fraction of the hurdle. I can't tell you how many times I've limited out while boats shadowing me didn't get a thing. Having a guide explain why he is doing what he is doing will increase your odds tremendously. You also will have a relationship with the guide and that would be worth the cost of the trip all by itself.