Making the most out of used water comes down to adaptation and a confidence in your ability to make a move from the back of the boat. Co-anglers continue to learn and adjust to not only fishing conditions, environmental patterns and all of the other known stressors in tournament bass fishing, but these men and women must also compete on the fly where many times, boaters can throw serious curve balls throughout the day. This article is meant to help drive the co-angler’s ability to adapt and overcome.
CRANKIN’ UNTOUCHED WATER
Covering water is easiest from the back of the boat with shallow to mid-diving crankbaits, as well as lipless crankbaits too. When fishing coves, secondary points and vegetation, these lures are excellent choices in early spring for largemouth and smallmouth bass.
Strike King’s Red Eye Shad is a phenomenal lure that excels across the board. From casting in the wind, to methodical retrieves and ripping it up out of weeds. This is one lipless crankbait that packs a springtime punch, but several others are known to consistently help anglers, from the back of the boat.
Craw colors dominate. I prefer a mix of colors such as chili craw, natural shad and perch.
The strategy here for co-anglers is to utilize untouched water, by making long casts on the opposite side of the boat – parallel to shore. By covering deeper breaks and structure, these fish are often overlooked or missed altogether by boaters who are targeting shallow cover.
TARGETING AGGRESSIVE BASS
Aggressive fish will travel moderate distances to eat bladed jigs in spring. Warming water temperatures, longer periods of sunlight and an annoying vibration are perfect ingredients to a masterpiece that many co-anglers would consider magical.
Out of the many co-angler options, bladed jigs are at the forefront of catching bigger fish. It moves slow compared to lipless crankbaits, offers a larger profile in most circumstances, and the landing ratio is higher due to one penetrating jig hook. Strike King’s Pure Poison and Z-Man’s ChatterBait are the most popular choices throughout my region, but many custom baits are also used. The keys are making sure you choose a brand that holds up to powerful strikes and monitoring the hook’s sharpness.
I prefer black and blue skirts and have find greater success with gold blades.
WHILE YOUR BOATER IS BEING METHODICAL
Boaters who are fishing specific pieces of structure can really benefit a co-angler who prefers jerkbaits and ripbaits. So, how do you make this your choice on tournament day?
If your boater keeps the trolling motor on high, it can wreak havoc on the suspending nature of the technique. If he or she is spending time in a certain area or on a specific piece of cover or structure, it is a great time to pick it up and fan cast to entice nearby fish.
Suspending capabilities vary from lake to lake depending on water temperature, so it is essential for co-anglers to make sure each and every jerkbait is ready to go for tournament day.
Adding weight, split rings, or adjusting hooks can steal precious time out of the day. One of the most consistent baits out of the package has been the KVD 300. From fishing it in 39-degree water and higher, the bait does a magnificent job at suspending without modification.
Water clarity dictates color choices, but if heavy winds are present, try colors with high-reflection properties such as chrome and gold.
MIMIC A CRAWDAD AT ANY SPEED
All of this talk about the best baits from the back of the boat has inevitably directed us towards the best crayfish imitators – football jigs.
For co-anglers who find themselves looking for a kicker fish, or need to cull additional weight, jigs are big fish baits that are easy to fish with a multitude of boater styles.
A ½-ounce football jig can be fished at a crawl, or fairly efficiently behind a boater who may be fishing at a consistent pace. The difference here is that many times, the football jig will carry a larger profile and appear as an easy meal over the front-end competition. If fishing behind a speedster, increasing your weight to a ¾-ounce football jig will allow faster falls and more time fishing where it counts.
BIG FISH STRATEGY
A tip to succeeding as a co-angler is fishing bigger than your boater. Instead of traditional jig trailers, try something that bulks up the jig profile more than normal.
During certain times of the year, bass may be stacked on a specific rock without rhyme or reason. If the fish are inhaling the jig on the fall, the likelihood of catching more fish off the exact same spot skyrockets due to increased competition.
Make every cast count and fish with a purpose.
In a game of ounces, the co-angler can go head-to-head with any angler and succeed by strategizing before blast off. Adapting to curve balls and overcoming challenges is only the beginning; succeeding as a co-angler inevitably leads to a more well-rounded boater.
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