Lots of opinions from people who have never fished an FLW/BASS event and have no clue what they are talking about other than what they heard. Cooch is dead on with his comment.
Not signing a weight slip will not DQ anyone It will get the two of you some one-on-one time with the TD to tell your stories, it equates to a protest. You had better have something better than "He asked me not to fish his bed fish" if you want to be heard. Backseating someone could be accomplished when you could not cast ahead of the console. Since a co-angler can cast anywhere around the boat you can not just point the back of the boat into the lake and keep them from having anything but deep water. It's an old term that really has little meaning with todays rules.
Let me translate something for you. When your buddy tells you he got backseated all day what he is really saying is "I sucked today and rather than accept responsibility for my poor fishing I had this guy on the front of the boat to blame for my poor decision making."
It's real simple. The challenge of being a co-angler is milking fish from used water. If you expect your pro to pull up to a bank and say "Here, want first crack?" then your headed into the event with the wrong attitude. The good co-anglers milk fish from used water all day long. Heck, I have had many outfish me without making a cast to water I had not already worked. I pick up a jig, they throw a Senko. I pick up a Senko, they throw a drop shot. The guys who complain about being back seated usually do the opposite and pick up the same bait as the boater and try to outfish you from behind you with the same bait. I've even seen some who want to throw a crankbait all day while your flipping. HELLO! that dont work!!! It requires that you think to do well.
Brian, as a boater you cannot tell your co-angler not to fish, that is against the FLW rules. You may ask that they respect a bed fish you are working, but that usually covers a 10 foot area from all the water around the boat. Yes, some co anglers who do not have experience enough to know that there are usually many fish that cannot be seen in the same area will quit because they have an impression they are being "back seated" even though they have lots of water to fish. I remember a few years ago at Havasu I was working a bed fish and kept telling my co-angler to cast to the middle of the bay with a Senko while I worked the fish. He gave up and sat down. I picked my Senko up and threw it to the middle of the bay to show him where I had two bites in pre-fish. I got bit on that demo cast, landed a two pounder and went back to my bed fish. Now, I bet that kid swore I back seated him.
The really good co-anglers love two things, bad weather and bed fishing tournaments. In either about 25% of the field will be beat before they make a cast. Both improve their odds.
It's real simple. As a boater or co-angler there are always easy excuses and we all at one time or another want to use those excuses. If you have never fisnished a tournament and had to say "I sucked today" then you may be allowing excuses to cloud your perspective.
Sorry, it is just an overused excuse that ticks me off. If you see me sometime ask me about the story of the guy I overhreard telling his friends that I backseated him. It is a classic.
Now onto the main subject. The field is small because Havasu was terrible the lest two visits. When guys like Robert Lee go days without a fish, what do you expect. There are several factors including that we are not bringing new people in to fill each year as people move from co-angler to boater, the economy, gas prices, payback, and etc.
Rant over.
Dewayne
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