are you going to be a delta stren co angler?

[MikeD]

thinking about the upcoming stren event, my first that I'll be fishing as a backseater, and wanted to throw this out to see if there is any interest:

would you, as a coangler, be interested in grouping up to share info and techniques specific to fishing the Stren event?

here's my thoughts:

fishing the Stren is somewhat different (for me at least) than other Delta tournaments in that we have no say over the water fished and a lot of the individuals success in the event is dependent on the pro you draw - where your pro takes you, what he is throwing, how he positions the boat, what kind of water he leaves you. If you are unprepared for the water you end up with or the pattern your pro is running and suddenly find you have no strategy to respond with then failure is imminent. I'm not interested in locations at all, this is totally about being prepared, and situationally responsive from the backseat.

I'm very interested in doing the best I can in this event, and be as prepared as I can be - to the point where I'd like to share info with others to learn as much as I can about situational strategy while getting a similar effort from those who would like to participate for the same benefit back in my direction. I'm planning on fishing a bunch prior to the event to learn as much as I can as the event draws near.

If I can't place well then I'd like someone here to do well instead, and would be happy to help them prepare prior to the event by providing whatever info I can for them to get there - if I gotta end up living vicariously thru them as day 4 of the event gets here then so be it - at least I'll feel some sense of ownership in their success and get a chance to cheer on a WB member.

lets get together for a day or half day, each working out of the backseat while the front seat guy puts them in a difficult situation, learning how to react quickly and craft some strategies to be shared with the others. what worked for you, what didn't, what you would do different next time. you should expect to receive the same in return. lets all meet for a beer and some grub and talk fishing one night a week or something leading up to the event. none of this is written in stone, but you get the intent of where I'm trying to take this.

would love to hear from anybody else who might be interested in participating within the spirit of what is being offered, and let's get a WB member into the final days top 10 from the backseat.

[rickd]

I'll be fishing it, that sounds like a good idea.

What would be really nice is if we could get Gary Haraguchi, Justin Lucas or Pat Wilson to help out. Fished with Gary once a few years ago and could prob get a hold of him. Chatted once with Pat online but haven't chatted with him in a while but he's an active member here. Justin maybe to big time to partake but I've never met him.

I've only got 1 check back in the BASS days when they were here, other than that I've stunk it up pretty bad.

These guys that I've mentioned are truly back deck pro's and I would be very interested if we could get one or two of them to school us.

[MIKE TREMONT]

Let us know how that turns out?

Good luck.

[Marty]

Mike,

Seen your post early today and had to think about it! There are some excellent articles out there that can help you! I just read one by Justin Lucas in Bass Angler’s Guide that was outstanding! Before you fish you should read it!

There is one more hot Co-Angler that you could add to RickD list and that is Roy O Desmangles Jr.

Let me know and I will be more then willing to have a few beers.

[cbwiii]

Count me in. Sounds great to me. The Stren Delta will be my first individual weight Pro Am. I've fished a few Pro Ams over the past 2 years and have had some success, but really most as net boy.

Chuck

[Jason C.]

This sounds like an awsome idea. I have talked to a few boaters who have told me that some of the very good co-anglers actually have the pro "back seat them" for pre fish. That way if it happens to them in the tournament they would know exactly what to do. It sounds like this is what you are talkin about. Its a great idea and I would be all for it. But unfortunately I dont have the money to chip in for gas with my motor blowing up and all.

[MikeD]

pleased that the response has been positive so far, glad you all are on board.

What would be really nice is if we could get Gary Haraguchi, Justin Lucas or Pat Wilson to help out. Fished with Gary once a few years ago and could prob get a hold of him. Chatted once with Pat online but haven't chatted with him in a while but he's an active member here. Justin maybe to big time to partake but I've never met him.

I'll ping them and see if they have any interest in getting together somehow with us.

Let me know and I will be more then willing to have a few beers.

cool buddy, glad you are in. I've got the first round. I fish Delta Bass Club with Marty, he's a good stick and a creative thinker. I was hoping to lure him in and have him participate.

I have talked to a few boaters who have told me that some of the very good co-anglers actually have the pro "back seat them" for pre fish. That way if it happens to them in the tournament they would know exactly what to do. It sounds like this is what you are talkin about.

exactly, what do you do when this happens? how do you respond? are you prepared with a game plan so that when it does you still have a strategy you can go to and stay in your game, stay confident, and have yourself in position to still be able to catch fish in adverse conditions? Lets share these strategies/ideas with each other.

Its not a matter of if unintentional backseating is going to happen, it's a game of when, and you will need to be ready for it. This is not a slam at all on the boater, he's paid big money, he'll do his best but at times he's focused on his effort and things will get out of shape as viewed from the back.

Its a very long 3 day grind of fishing and you will become mentally and physically tired. What about pre event diet, and hydration while on the boat? your brain don't work so very good when you are dehydrated. Physical conditioning? recovery at the end of day 1 or day 2? sleep requirements? cleaning up your gear after the end of a day and getting it ready for the next day?

other things come to mind - gear bag setup, having enough rods setup but not too many to avoid having tangled up rods become something else to trip you up. there are a ton of things to be prepared for that I think we can all learn from each other.

as a co I have little if any control during the day - we have no control at all over locations, boat positioning, boat speed, how long we are in a spot, etc. I'm looking for as much control of absolutely everything else that I *do* have the potential to have control over.


If I take Jason out and have him backseat me I want him to watch how I respond, stay with it for 10-15 minutes and then we can stop and we can talk about how I approached it, what worked, what didn't, what I would have done different, solicit his input/ideas/suggestions. I'm a big note taker so I'm planning on keeping a "lab book" thru this process and then using it to refer to when we get together, and update it with other things that I learn when off the water as well. it'll be my bible up to blast off on day 1.

Its a great idea and I would be all for it. But unfortunately I dont have the money to chip in for gas with my motor blowing up and all.

I'm not sure that participating in this requires being out in the boat, its more about sharing the info that you have from your past similar experiences on the back deck and contributing where you can when we get together to chat. In my head all participation is good participation as long as its within the spirit of what we are trying to achieve here. would love to have you join us if that works for you. if I'm going out for a prefish for Stren I've got no problem dragging you along, I wouldn't expect any $$, we'll chat via PM as we get closer.

[MikeD]

well - 17 days away from the start of the Delta Stren and I have not forgotten about this. Thought I'd surface this again and see about how any of you who might be interested in this think it would be best to proceed.

I'm kinda stymied with trying to come up with viable means to get people together given that we're kind of spread all over the place.

best case is meeting for a few hours i nthe evenings on the next 3 Tuesdays - the 29th, the 6th and either before or after the Stren check in on the 13th (there is a stren pre event meeting after check in period at 7:30p on the 13th).

we can try to find a common meeting place, or if there is no way for that to fly then we can try to meet via phone/conf call

suggestions? interest level? I'm ready to share any and all info/tricks up my sleeve that I have

[rickd]

I'm still willing to partake.

Pretty dialed in right now, if you get it together I'll be there.

I like the pre tourney get together, maybe even the day before?

rickd

[Hipster]

Mike,

If I were you I would get in touch with Justin Lucas (the kid has it down as a backseat) hell he is not a kid anymore. I bet if ya called Capitol City Marine and asked to get in contact with him Mike or Mike could hook you up, he can give serious insight on what to do as a backdecker. Ya know Seig worked his way through the back deck as well. Heck Justin might even see this post!!

Good Luck Folks

[Marty]

I still want that beer Mike so I’m in!

The sooner we have it the better for me! The 29th is out – I have dinner plans in SJ. The 2nd, 3rd, and the 4th I’m prefishing but we could do it in the afternoon. The 10th I'm fishing the Future Pro and the 11th to the 13th I’m also pre-fishing. We could work it in after pre-fishing in the afternoon. The day of the pre event meeting is a time trying to get last minutes or setting up what your Pro informed you of. Not a very good day for me. I'm wild open for the 6th but say around 7 pm – I'm have to drive back from Sunnyvale.

What would be real cool is if we get together on the water and review different situations fishing from the back – just an idea.

Let me know - Marty

[justin lucas]

Hey guys,

Just read this post for the first time. I would be willing to help out for sure. Unfortunately I do not have the time to meet before this tournament. Why don't you guys pick up the second issue of Bass Angler's Guide? As Marty already stated, I wrote an article in there, and it is directed completely towards being a successful co-angler. Good fishing!

Justin Lucas

[Jason C.]

To all who want to do this send me a pm! Or give me a call at anytime! My number is 925-550-5271! PM's are being sent to Mike D, Rick D, and Marty. Anyone else that wants to participate should PM me and or Call!

[Ken C.]

I've been following this thread and talked with Jason tonight about it - I think its a great idea and I would like to offer what I can to this project. I have room for a couple of you folks that have to travel a bit to spend the night here (one bed, two couches and even more "floor space"). If it happens on the weekends I will fire up the pit and 'que some ribs or whatever for all and I will even offer to "backseat" a couple of you on my boat! Not that I know how to backseat anyone, but if you can catch a fish while I'm picking the areas and controlling the boat, then I am certain you will catch fish with someone who knows what they are doing!!!

P.S., there will be beer!

[cbwiii]

Sounds good to me!!! Let me know when and where, and I'll try to make it!!

Chuck

[DeltaDan]

I still want that beer Mike so I’m in!

Mike is passing out free beer !!



Whats the dates again ??

[MikeD]

sure, happy to buy the first round(s) if thats what it takes to get you fellas there

I'm open most any night, I know Marty has some constraints (noted above IIRC), and Rick is usually around on weekends --- so when do you all want to get together?? somebody needs to commit, I'm commiting to most any night and can meet down in the valley where-ever. I was going to suggest the brentwood/antioch/tracy corridor somewhere just to keep things central. Ken and Jason have kindly offered up use of their home for us to meet in, and Ken is talking ribs so that works for me!

Lets decide on a meeting place, a date, a time, and then throw out a few topics to talk about for some meeting structure and lets have a go at it.

Time is starting to run short, now or never. For you guys that are interested PM me your email address and we can take this offline and direct by email. Marty, I have yours but need the rest of y'alls addys

[MikeD]

ok all, here we go

Meeting Date/Time/Location: This Saturday the 3rd of May at 4pm at Jason & Kens place in Pittsburgh, about 30 min from Russo's.

Pre Meeting Homework: Think about a back deck situation that you feel you might get into that you have no/limited solution to, write it down and bring it to the meeting and we can use these issues for a round table discussion.

Bring: notebook w/pen or pencil, pre meeting homework, questions, a happy disposition, drink of choice if you want something other than the house beer, snacks are always a good thing, maybe a chair depending on how many people we have coming, something to contribute to the conversation no matter how minor. If you have a gear bag setup, rod reel setup, food, water bottle, or some other sort of setup that you have that you feel is excellent for "game day" that you'd like to share then bring it along.

Future meetings: If we find that people are still interested in further get togethers then we can figure it out when we wrap up.

Gear needs: Hoping to have a white board with erasable markers available for us to draw scenarios on, but if you have one you can bring then please let me know.

What to do next: PM Jason, Ken C or myself for directions to the meeting place. Hope everybody can make it. Might have some surprise guests/speakers...

[Marty]

OK Mike,

I’m in for this Saturday the 3rd of May at 4pm at Jason and Ken’s place in Pittsburgh – I just sent a PM to Jason!

Maybe we can run a list of names who will show – just an idea.

Marty

[chris_hughes]

ahh not going to be here this coming weekend, have an ac semi-pro at oroville!!

[rickd]

Count me in.

[MikeD]

Maybe we can run a list of names who will show

I'll try to keep it up to date:

MikeD
Jason C.
Ken C.
Marty
Rickd

[Marty]

I just want to draw everyone’s attention to the following rule for the FLW Stren – I just want to make sure everyone that joins us is fishing the tournament.

4. Pretournament practice
· The purchasing of, or bartering for, information or the hiring of services will not be permitted after the balance deadline for each tournament.
Which was on 23 April 08.

The next one may not apply because it is “During tournament hoursâ€

[DeltaDan]

Marty- If that means you are gona hold out on your wife famous Chile Verde Tammales with Jack Cheese in Verde Mole' ..........

NO INFO FOR YOU !!!

[Jason C.]

So here is a question if we have a guy come and give us a Seminar that just so happens to be a guide is that against the rules? I am hopein not. What do yall think?

[Marty]

The first thing that needs to be discus is reading the rules. As a Co-angler we need to know the rules better then the Pro that way your are on equal ground in one department at least.

I bring this up because of the last sentence in Mike’s post “Might have some surprise guests/speakers...â€

[Jason C.]

We can also always call FLW and talk to the TD and ask for a FOR SURE ANSWER. I have school tomorrow so I personally cant do it. If some one else want to step up and call them that would be fine by me. But reading the rules it sounds like you cant get any PRIVATE information from a non-competitor. We would have to see if this would be qualified as Privite sence its more then one person and all competitors are welcome to come. There are alot of gray areas that need to be really figured out as far as the guest speaker goes.

[Jason C.]

I just called FLW. And spoke with Allen I belive is what his name is. What he told me was as long as the information is not purchaced then we should be ok. Allen however is not a tournament director and he tried to put me through to a TD(Chris Jones) But he was not in his office, I tried calling his cell phone and that was off. I left messages on both voicemails asking him to call me back. Ill elt you guys know what Chris says when I find out. The guest speaker wouldn't be able to show up untill sometime after 6pm. If this is ok with you guys then I will let him know. That is IF Chris gives us the OK!!

[DeltaDan]

[quote="Marty"]
Dan my cracker bother, No Chile Verde Tamales for you – my wife is “Anglo Saxonâ€

[MikeD]

bump - any other stren backseaters?

[chris_hughes]

I'm going to be out of town at oroville this weekend for ac semi pro, any chance I could get some info on what kind of bite I should be expecting? Haven't been to the delta in almost a year anything will help. PM me.




Chris Hughes
916-990-3133