Is this normal???

[LarryG]

Been in front, and been in back, front does have an advantage where skills are almost equal. I met a guy on line years ago that wanted to go musky fishing, he didn't have a boat, but knew the lake from back seat experience. When we got onto the water, I told him to try the front, he couldn't believe it, but I told him I'm picking his brains, so its a fair trrade. He caught two, I got one.mine was a fluke but a 36 inch throw back sure felt good.

[RICHYD4U]

Every Year, My Father-in-law, His Brother, And I Go To Quetico National Forest In Canada Fishin For Browns And Pikes.....this Last Summer We Went And After A Couple Days Of Outfishin 'em, They Sentenced Me To The Back Of The Boat For The Remainder Of The Trip! Lol! It Didn't Seem To Make Much Of A Difference....except For When They Would Fish Perpendicular To The Shoreline With Me Hangin Out On The Rear...just To Tick Me Off! Ha!
It Seems Some Fisherman Get Into A "zone" Where Nothing Else Matters But Catchin The Next Fish. My Brother And I Are Big Guys And We Always Joke That We'd Lose Weight If We Fished More.....we Get So Involved That We Forget To Eat, Drink And Even Go The Bathroom! Needless To Say That When We Are Done Fishin....we Hit A Burger Joint, And The Bathroom, On The Way Home! Lol!:d :d :d

[Moose1am]

Tell him that this happens to the best of fishermen.
I fish with Larry from Southern IN and he out fishes me when we go after crappie. He let his jig count down 5 seconds longer than I did and I didn't catch anything while he caught a crappie on almost each cast.

And some times the speed of the reel's retrieve can be just a slit second faster or slower and that can make a difference in catching a fish or not.

And finally some men (especially men) have more scent chemicals on this skin (hands). Its' got something to do with testosterone. But the chemical on men's hands can turn off fish. It really does help to wash your hands with soap and water. I take some bacterial liquid soap in the boat with me. And if you were the on filling up the truck or boat with gas you can have gasoline on your hands and that can transfer to your baits.

Yes gasoline molecules can turn fish off cold. So wash your hands more often. Try to fill up the boat and truck the day before and be ready to travel the next morning.

I use that orange cleaner which really helps get rid of petroleum products.

And finally if you know exactly where the brush pile is located and the other guy is not so sure then you may be able to out fish him.

And finally if you are fishing perpendicular to the drop off you may not get as many bites and the guy that fishes parallel to the drop off. The latter bait will be in the strike zone longer.

Being able to see or feel the fish taking the lure while it's dropping though the water is also another critical skill that takes time to learn. Good eyesight helps and keeping the line tight between the end of the pole and the bait will allow you to feel the bite better. And having a very sensitive rod helps a great deal.

Larry uses one of them Sam Heaton Super Sensitive Graphite Crappie Rods from B n M rods. I was using a Richard Williams 7 ft graphite rod and Larry's rod was more sensitive than mine. You won't know that you have a bite if you can't feel the bite or see the line moving. And the type of fishing line can make a different too. Thinner diameter line will drop faster and is harder for the fish to see.

There are a lot of variables that you may not notice but these can make or break the bite.

Finally the guy at the front of the boat will generally catch the most fish as he gets the first shot at the fish.

I fished with this guy called Cane Pole in his boat on KY lake one time. He fished at the front of his boat with 4 rods rigged up with 2 baits on each rod. I was lucky to get a few fish from the back of the boat.

Now unless the guy at the front of the boat runs the boat back-wards sometime the guy at the back will have to take the leftovers. LOL. Smart guys run up to the front of the boat and try to get a few casts in from up there. But if your fishing partner shoo-es you back to the back of the boat then don't fo with them anymore. Good partners will have a dual seat setup so that both guys get to fish at the front of the boat in a side by side seating arrangement. Now thats a good fishing partner to fish with.

Hey there fellow anglers.
I have a good friend who goes fishing with me most of the time. The guy gets frustrated because, "I am lucky, and always catch the big one". He joined a bass club and goes tourney fishing quite often, in hopes of changing his luck. Alas, he still throws sea weed on me when I drag in the massive sow. His name is Shawn and wants to know, "is this normal" for one person on the boat using the same technique, lure, and presentation can be lucky as his Buddie.

[Moose1am]

Just take pictures with your cell phone camera and then show them the pictures to prove that you really did catch some.

I got lucky once and found a good spot. I went back to the same spot and took the Bait Store Owner with me fishing that day. We got into them really good that day too. So I have a witness to back my story up along with pictures of all the big crappie. This spot is well know by anyone that's fishing near me or passing by. I was catching crappie one after another and this couple passed by and she almost fell out of their boat gawking at me catching all those fish. LOL It was funny for a second until I realized that they would be there fishing that spot the next day or as soon as I left.

But heck I found that spot by watching a guy fishing it and catching one crappie after another one cold windy day. I remembered seeing him out there and then explored that part of the lake finally after they let us use gasoline motors on the lake at idle speed. Before that my electric trolling motor didn't work good on this lake when the winds were up. Sometimes I could not make it to this spot due to a South Wind in excess of 15 mph. But now I can get there even in 15 mph winds by using the 35 hp gas motor. The 55 lb thrust Min-kota won't push my aluminum bass boat into a 15 mph wind very good.

Now that I can get to this spot I have been able to motor around and learn the lay of the bottom. I found out where the drop off are located and where the channel runs though this area. I also found the underwater brush that's along the ledge in the 7 ft deep water and I figured out where the weeds grow and what the bottom like. Now I can zero in on the fish and if they are there I'll catch them. At times they are not in a feeding mood and will be found suspended over very deep water about 100 ft from the drop off. They will suspend above the thermocline in the summer months or hug the bottom after the fall turnover and during the coldest parts of winter. And if there is a warming spell during the cold parts of winter they may be found right on the surface where the surface water is warmed up by the sunlight. But the next day they could be going back down again. The weather is not always the same each day except during the summer doldrums of August. So be prepared to have to search around for the fish. But if you have a good spot the fish won't be very far away.

[apb]

Thats one benifit of striper fishing, even when throwing plugs/jigs. Stripers move in on a bank rather than just hang out there. Front of the boat, back of the boat, really does not matter. I've done better some days fishing the front, other days my partner does better from the back. Most of the guys I fish with, its more like team fishing anyway. We both know what the other is throwing. If someone hooks up, all info is shared: it hit this plug, 5 feet from the bank, working it like this. Two guys working together will catch more than two guys competing against each other. Seems like the same could be applied to bass fishing too? Sure, the guy in the front has the first shot at the fish. Second guy should be throwing something a little different to pick up on fish the first guy missed. I.e., fish a little deeper, use a larger or small lure, etc. The only time this is a problem is when the guy on the trolling motor is not paying any attention to how you are fishing. Fished with a guy a few times who would make a cast or two to a spot, and then hit the trolling motor on top speed to hit the next spot. You were lucky to get 1/2 cast to a spot before your line was well away from the target. Only took a couple of trips to decide I never wanted to fish with him again.

Andrew

[DJD]

"Fished with a guy a few times who would make a cast or two to a spot, and then hit the trolling motor on top speed to hit the next spot. You were lucky to get 1/2 cast to a spot before your line was well away from the target. Only took a couple of trips to decide I never wanted to fish with him again."
I have fished with several people during draw tournaments that pulled that technique on me. When your fishing for money that gets really frustrating.

[barryj]

i like to fish fast with a spinnerbait also.i love a spinnerbait but your fishing buddy wants you to slow down because if you will slow down sooner or later he is going to bust your hide with a bigger bass than you.denny breuer has won almost 3 million dollars in his lifetime.and we all know what he does best.

[stoner]

"Fished with a guy a few times who would make a cast or two to a spot, and then hit the trolling motor on top speed to hit the next spot. You were lucky to get 1/2 cast to a spot before your line was well away from the target. Only took a couple of trips to decide I never wanted to fish with him again."
I have fished with several people during draw tournaments that pulled that technique on me. When your fishing for money that gets really frustrating.

I prefer the slow approach to fishing and this helps me be curtious to the guy in the back of the boat. With that being said I like to "Van Dam" from time to time, but only under certain Cond.
I also have had my butt whipped from the back seat on more than one ocassion and I've done a little whoopin from the same spot a time or two. It's the very small subtle differences that separate the front and back. I have thrown the same worm, weight,Loomis rod, and reel from the front of the boat and still been out fished from the back. The lines may have been different or his retrieve may have been the difference. Other than that there is no rhyme or reason other than seat time.
Stoner

[18'stratos]

I believe it's mostly experience. Being comfortable in the front or back of the boat. My son-in-law cant fish out of the front. Lack of experience on the trolling motor makes it hard for him to concentrate on what he's doing. I still put him up there from time to time so he will eventually get the hang of it. We catch about the same, however I leave some good targets and tell him where to cast. Some people hog the targets and throw everything there is to throw before the person in the back is even close enough th hit the spot.
There was one guy that quit fishing with because he was a trash talker all day. He would hit every possible target, poor boat positioning, and haul A$$ from spot to spot. Then brag how good he was at fishing. The worst was the ride home from Ky/Barkley when he caught the biggest fish by using the pattern that "I" figured out. Man! Was he good! or what?

[publican57]

I fish with a buddy that likes to fish faster than me. I have learned to adapt knowing that is his style. I prefer not fulling with the trolling motor; but am learning. I got no complaints with my buddy's style.

We have had some experiences where I catch more fish at a certain time or spot and he may have more luck later?

Who really knows why? I think experience is a big factor to some degree; but if both of you have fairly equal experience and all things being the same, sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you.