whats best way to approach fishing as a co-angler...

[ryan_ekubass]

i have my own boat and i am confident enough to go out and know i can catch fish out of my boat but i never seem to be able to produce in a tournament... which really stinks... so i am fishing as a co angler in the bfl as a co angler an i was just wonderin if u guys had some advice as to what to throw because unless my boater is catching fish i am not goin to fish with the same thing he is and if he is i am going to go smaller or bigger..

thanks and good fishin..
ryan

[Col Forbin]

Go smaller and go slower. I did the co-angler stuff for a year, and it is hard when you have your own boat, because you will always second guessing your boater (maybe not out loud), but in the back of your head you will always be thinking - I know I can catch more fish if we did..... or we go......

Eventually toward the end of the year I started looking at it is an educational trip to learn new techniques rather than a competition. It is hard to stay competitive when so much depends on your boater. I did have a blast and learn a great deal.

[ss]

Every situation is different as far as what baits to throw. The biggest thing is to keep an open mind and be flexible. You have to come to terms with the fact that you are the co-angler, and you are not going to get to do what you think you should be doing most of the time. Remember that you are competing against the other co-anglers and not your boater. Every time you try to beat him to a target, that will just make him try harder to cut you off. No matter how much your boater looks like he is not leaving you anything, there are always fish he missed. Unless your partner is absolutely whacking them, try to do something different than he is. Be respectfull of your boater and his equipment, and most of the time he will be respectfull of you and help you out when it doesn't hurt him.

[18'stratos]

As said in one of the other posts......Seperate yourself from the boater side. You are Not the boater.Through the year I guarentee that you will be stuck with someone who you think is a complete jack-a$$ in your opinion. Where and what YOU want to fish is not an option.
Go to the tournament with a very open mind and treat it as though its not a tournament at all. You're just fishin. As far as tackle goes, take a "little" of everything. Fish something different than the boater unless he is whackin them. If the boater is doing good then they usually share thier baits and help you out if it doesn't hurt their bag. Three things......Patience, open mind, versatility.
Oh, one more thing, I don't want to bring you down with this BUT.............. They say to help out the boater on gas and such. Do this at the end of the day. I once put $50.00 of gas, bought breakfast and supplied snacks for the day. I thought I was being curtious. We only fished about 2 miles from the weigh in. He got a full tank of gas out of me! Plus he QUIT with 3 hours to fish and wouldn't listen to my reccomendations! Needless to say that I was PI$$ED!
Sorry for the ranting I just had to get that out. The rest of the year was great and I learned alot. There are alot of great anglers and most do well at this level. They must be very confident in themselves to pay that $200 entry fee. Just hope you don't get this guy.

[ryan_ekubass]

thanks for all the advice it really helped out alot i am goin into this used to fishing out of my boat my way i am mainly doing this to learn more its not really about winning its about what i learn at the end of the day......

[Dave Stewart]

Ryan: Here are some thoughts for you from my perspective. Like said here before...in most cases you will not have a say in where you fish....but in some cases you may draw a boater that his fish have gone dry or is not on fish and will listen to you..so don't be afraid to share information with your boater if rules allow.

Don't show up on tournament morning with 15 rods and two suitcases full of tackle..don't laugh...it happens all the time.

Do make sure you give your fair share of money to the boater for gas expenses...if you stiff him you will get a reputation that will spread among the boaters like a fire and that won't help you at all in the long run.

Go in with the understanding that in most pro ams...unless you are fishing the Elite 50 or FLW Tour..that the person in the front of the boat may know a lot less than you know...in fact you will find in most lower level pro/am tourneys there are just as many folks in the front of the boat without a clue as there are folks in the back of the boat without a clue. As was told me years ago by one of the top dogs in the FLW organization...the only difference between a pro and an amatuer in most cases is entry fee.

Last: if you are wanting to learn....take your money and hire a guide that has a reputation for teaching....you will learn more in one day in a boat with one on one instruction with a good teaching guide than you will in a year's worth of watching someone else throw a lure whose focus is catching fish and not teaching. Case in point: For what you will spend to fish 2 bfl's as a co-angler by the time you pay for food, lodging, gas etc you can hire a teaching guide for one day, have some money left over and get 8 hours of one on one instruction.

[Bass_King2007]

man i am in the same situation you are in am fishing the co-angler side of the mountain division and all of the lakes within the schudule i am pretty knowledgable of them b/c of my father... but i know with me being 19 there would be very few boaters that would listen to me on how and where to catch fish if they we were struggling.... I just hope i get paired up with someone here localy that knows me, and knows my fishing knowledge,cuz it would **** to get paired up with a jack @!!

[flippinstick]

This will be my first time fishing the BFL. I am going as a co-angler in the Hoosier division. I hope I learn alot but I also hope to catch fish. I pray that I dont get some jack-off but Im sure it will happen. All I can do is adapt to the condition he has put me in and use what knowledge I have to make something happen. I here that if you catch at least 1 fish per tourney, you should qualify for reigonals in the Hoosier division. I am looking forward to fishing this year and see what happens. Everyone that fishes this year good luck and keep us posted on how you are doing. Joe

[bereabasser]

i am in the same boat as some of you...this is my first year as a coangler in the bfl andi think im going to like it.Like some of you i have really good experience on alot of the lakes we will be fishing since i fish with alot of good guys that are awesome fishermen and last year i fished alot of tournys and was successful in most so i decided this year was the year to try it.As far as tackle goes every tourny i WILL have a jig and shaky head tied on 2 rods and the other is just going to be something different.i feel that a shaky head behind any bait instead of itself will always catch fish and also think that about a jig

[CTFSHWHISKER]

i'd have to agree with Dave on this.I wouldn't do the co angler thing if you are just wanting to learn.Do the guide thing and talk to him one on one, decide what would help you most and key on that,use the same guide each time.
as far as showing up on tournament day and being in the hunt,it makes a difference when you have to measure each fish for five keepers,everyone has a bad day,and if you have a thought follow it,second guessing yourself kills production because you end up doing non confidence things,i have had many days that would have been better if i hadn't listened to something on the ramp or at the store and done what i knew.Take it all in but don't change all your baits before takeoff..I don't know, but if you do the guide trips,take some fun days and leave you normal confidence stuff at home and take something different to work with you'll get better.I always run the trolling motor,my partner won't,but if i need him too for a few minutes or something i feel like a blind deer in the woods,so since you are used to being on the t.m
you won't be at home on the back ever probably. these are all jmo..

[Swift1]

Hey guys I wanted to chime in with my 2 cents. I have fished alot of tourneys like you all are talking about as a boater and its funny but boaters are hopeing for the same thing as nonboaters " hope I dont get a turd as a nonboater". And for the record it seemed I had about a 50% turd ratio. What makes a turd in my opinion is the fellow who lets you know how good he is right out the gate and how good his buddy is who is fishing as a boater and at 9:00 oclock he just knows his buddie already has 20 pounds in the box. This does not make for a fun day on the water...... I got my father , brother and a couple of friends interested in fishing these tournaments and this was my advice to them as co anglers.... chill out, enjoy yourself, let your boater know that your are here to have a good time. I also told them to be humble and let your boater know you have 100% confidence in them. There is nothing more powerful than confidence on the water. I will tell you that my friends and family have been extremely successful out of the back of the boat, yes they all have had guys that were turds but they alll have had more positives than negatives and cashed quite a few checks and I think it was because of the way they treated there boater. I have heard plenty of stories were the boater gets his 5 and cuts his bait off and hands it over and says "cast right there", now thats sweet. In closing in my opinion if you think your good enough to be running the show ponny up, get a boat, pay the big entry fees and strut your stuff if not enjoy your time in the back of the boat.....Oh and I have to say it is hard on a boater to get spanked out of the back of his own boat....Yes I have had 1 experience of that and all I have to say is ....... CHUCK ROUNDS ..... Ky lake co-angler legend....That cat has the majic stick....Jarrod