Co-Angler trying to down size and needs help!

[Marty]

Got up early this morning to go buy a smaller fishing bag because the one I used last year as a Co-Angler was a bit big – ok it would not fit into anyone’s bass boats storage compartments. Well I got a real nice one, about 40% smaller in a real cool color –red. The nice thing was it did not cost an arm and leg and I had few bucks lift over to buy some more lures that I might need during the tournament.

I then spent the rest of the day trying to pack it. There I sat in my boat trying to determine what items that I would need. By diner time the deck of my boat look like a puzzling and I still needed every item that I own and was trying to pack all into one little red bag.

As I sat there trying to put this puzzle together the problem hit me in the face – I never fished Lake Havasu and have no idea what techniques, patterns and colors work best on this waterway.

Will top-water work that time of the year (Arizona does warn up fast then Northern California) should I bring buzz-baits, poppers, spooks and frogs? What about Spinner-baits and the type of blade (Leaf or Colorado – chrome or brass) and the color of the skirts? Crankbaits, the lipless or diving bill and different size lip for different depth. What type of bait fish (food chain, crawdad, shad) does Lake Havasu have? I already filled four boxes of lures and that does not even include my speed traps and I only have five small boxes to use in this little red bag. I think that take care of the power fishing and one box left for finesse fishing. I have all kinds of worms and other soft plastics that are fished slowly.

I need to know the structures of Lake Havasu, if there are Rip-Rap or sand shore lines, will there be overhangs, docks and what type of vegetation. Will the water be stained or clear? Will the bass be per spawn or still in the winter pattern.

Could some of you share some hints with me and other Co-Angler reading this forum to increase our chances of catching and landing fish.

Next week I ask about what rods and line are best at Lake Havasu.

[Skeeterman]

Marty when I was a co angler I would take a little bit of every thing that way when I talk to my boater he can tell me what he is doing for example if is dropshotting I would grab my dropshot worm, weights etc. or if he is throwing jigs I grab my jigs put in my main bag same with reaction baits. I try to stick with with main colors like browns, purple,shad colors.I also take back rods and reels.lines,weights.etc. I hope this helps good luck Marty.

[MikeD]

Us fulltime backseaters face this problem every time out, trying to be as contained as possible while trying to be sure that we won't get caught out there without having that one thing that the fish want to eat that day.

I use the basspro Tournament Angler 370 Tackle Bag with four Plano 3771 CDS boxes and two Plano 3730 deep storage boxes for worms/gitzits/plastics/etc (equals a total of six 3700 sized boxes), I keep hooks in a 3600 series box in the front compartment. I cut the sunglass case off the front and put my sunglasses in the case in a side pocket along with small jig box and rapala digital scale, and headlamp (with red, ultraviolet and high intensity spot). the other side pocket holds 7 spools of line some TP and some aspirin. back pocket holds culling balls. front pocket holds maps, pen, fishing license. Finally the scent, bug spray, pliers, and sunscreen go in various small pockets on the outside of the bag. Because I don't have any room for a spinnerbait box or raingear/jacket or lunch/water I have to carry a 2nd small Plano soft bag to put all that stuff in. I stick the small bag under the dash in the footwell on my side.

Likes: holds 6 3700 sized boxes, has some extra storage, you can sit on it when you are dragging worms vs walking around the installed back seat all day (i prefer not having the back seat in), will fit under a backseat if one is installed (first bag I bought didn't fit under the backseat). there is an open pocket between the front section and the main body that I can quickly chuck stuff in when the boater suddenly decides he needs to move NOW. When the boater decides he needs to be on the move I wrap everything I have laying on the back deck into a small hand towel and stuff it into the open pocket and then latch the front flap closed and I'm in the seat grabbing for my vest. I throw shoulder strap onto seat and sit on it while the bag sits on the back deck behind me - sitting on the strap keeps the bag from flying out of the boat when I'm on the fly in a chop

Dislikes: not enough room for lunch and rain gear. only holds 6 boxes, could use 8 given all the worms and plastic I have. 14" tall hard boxes sit vertical so could be considered tall. using the handle on the top has caused a seam on the inside of the bag to start to separate abit, contacted BPS to see about getting it replaced - we'll see how that goes.

I'm looking at a larger bag thru cabelas to be able get it all in one bag while still staying as small as possible.

hope this helps

[rickyshabazz]

Down load Google Earth and it will allow you to zoom in on Lake Havasu and see the Lake.

Lake Havasu is two bodies of water in two.

The north and south ends are river systems that have backwaters that look a lot like Clear Lake (rodman slew) or the Delta and many of the baits that you would use there will work in the river. Some of the back waters are clear and others are dirty.

The lake portion is rocky, has tules, docks, marinas, and these fish attracter things that the fish relate to. Anything that would work on Oroville or Shasta will work in the lake.

In my opinion, Lake Havasu is one of the hardest lakes to pack for because there is a wide variety of structure and options available. One day you might be dropshotting or cranking in the lake and the next you might be jumping a sand bar in the river to get in a backwater to flip and pitch.

[Riplip]

I have found the Falcon FTO boxes are very compact and organized to save space well. What I have done is purchase a bag that will hold 6 FTO's and a couple worm bags, plus a jig/leadhead box. I take a large selection of tackle in the usual plano boxes and "cherry pick" the best choices into the FTO boxes for that day after talking to my partner. One box is a spinnerbait/buzz, one is for all terminal tackle, one for rip baits, and for other crankbaits depending on size I might take two. The FTO's kinda force you into making a selection, but they hold plenty enough baits and besides that, too many choices will only slow you down and complicate things! For example, I have a plano box that contains about 50 rip baits like Pointers, Rouges, ect. I select 12 to carry that day based on my confidence, what my partner told me, and what conditions dictate. They fit very neatly in the FTO box, and I can find a specific bait in seconds, no tangles. I especially like the terminal box for hooks, weights, beads, rattles etc. It holds a large selection of stuff in realistic day use quantities. hope this helps and good luck!

[JamesH]

I usually take two tackle bags to the motel but consolidate to one for the tournament day depending on what I think I will need. If I need to adjust for day two, I can.

[rmcollins3]

I'm fishing my first tourny as a AAA this season, and I plan on bringing my boat to Shasta just in case it's needed. So I plan on keeping most of my stuff in the boat until the night before. Plus this gives me a chance to fish the lake the day before the tournament, so I'll have an idea of what to bring out on the lake on the actual day of the tournament.

But my philosophy might be a bit different than most. I'm fishing as a AAA to learn more about fishing as an eventual pro. I was going to sign up as a pro this season but figured I should do at least a season or two as a AAA first.

I wouldn't mind some advice as well though. How many rods is considered too many to take in the back??

[MikeD]

I wouldn't mind some advice as well though. How many rods is considered too many to take in the back??

I take 4 usually and 5 at the most: drop shot, carolina, crank/spin, and texas rigged, the 5th would be a flippin/light swimbait rod. i'd entertain taking more rods but digging them out of the footwell all tangled up with the line of the pole you are after with the other poles guides and reels, royal PITA. more than 5 rods for me is a rats nest, pulling one rod out results in 2 rods coming along with it because of the tangles

I found the cabelas rod bag for 4 rods while digging around for a new bag today, thinking about trying it out to see if it helps keep rods better organized in the footwell.

I find that I can retie pretty fast these days and its easier to have the drop shot or carolina rod wormed up, then throw it out to keep something in the water while retying the crank/spinnerbait rod or the texas rod with something new. some will not agree but I use the speedclips on the crank/spinner rod to get turned around faster. no lost fish so far but I could see where a 10lb'r would possibly cause some concern

botom line is to try to anticipate what kind of fishing your boater may want to do and then setup your rods as flexible as possible. for instance there is a "florida rigged" bullet weight that has rubber on the inside - I'll move the weight up to the loop in the hook to simulate a darter/texas setup, and then move it up the line to simulate a splitshot rig. I'll only retie and use a different sized weight if I've gone to a plastic thats either heavier or lighter. If you don't know how your boater is planning on fishing, or you are competing against him and he's not showing his cards, then go with the styles that you fish best and be prepared to adapt.

[225by5]

I've been doing the am thing for a while now and its all a learning process with the packing thing let me tell ya. On a long trip to a lake i've never been to before the first thing is to get all the info about the lake. Havasu is half Oroville half delta so i'll be bringing not only my tackle bag with my confidence baits and seasonal pattern baits(pre spawn spawn) but I'm also bringing a bag with me for when I get there, with items that I may or may not need....ie topwater/flippin baits etc. After talking with my first day pro about the kinds of water and patterns he will be fishin I can narrow down my selection too one bag for the water. Also I like to get one box that can fit several items. I know I won't need all 20 of my rattletraps but I can bring 3 or 4 of my best ones 3 or 4 ripbaits etc. in one box, with other cranks, you get the idea. I like to bring 5 rods once in a while 6 if I don't think its going to be a problem. I don;t want to get in the pros way for sure but I do want to be prepared. Some pros will tell you how much they want on their boat and some don't care. But if your guy tells you were going to burn down banks throwin reaction all day I proly won't bother bringing a dropshot rod or flipstick. One problem I had first starting out was that I would bring so much stuff I'd get lost in all my gear and get frustrated trying to figure out the right bait and color to throw cause I had hundreds to choose from. Now I bring my strong confidence baits and colors with one or two oddball things trown in for good measure and its so much easier! Hope this helps a little...DanC SeeYA at Havy!!!!

[ttb31183]

For Havasu in Feb.

Bring your cranks and drop-shots for the lake (aaron's magic works really well). And your brown/purple jigs are a MUST.

If you go up the river, spinnerbaits and jigs will work well in the sloughs. You can also still drop-shot and crank up there.

Havasu is full of shad, bluegill and crawfish for the bass to eat, so key on these colors. They should still be in the winter pattern (although I heard it has been in the 70's lately), but it should get colder and keep them in the winter/pre spawn pattern.

As a co-angler, you must be able to adapt. You could be fishing deep offshore reefs in clear water for smallmouth in the lake one day and then the next day draw someone who is flipping for largemouths up the river in muddy 3 foot water.

Good Luck!

[fishnfool]

Take everything and prefish the lake if you can. This will atleast give you some color chioces to pack. After you talk to your first day pro, you will know exactly what you will need to bring by combining the tactics your pro plans to fish along with the results from prefishing yourself.

[Kevin Evans - Kap]

Keep it simple and stick to your confidence baits. A bass is a bass no matter where he lives. Do what you feel you do best. I f you draw a Pro who is flipping down a bank, you probaly wont catch much if your flipping right behind him. Change it up with either a different bait selection or something a little more subtle or even the exact opposite and go big and bulky. No matter what, do what you do best. That is what I have learned.
Maybe the backseat PRO - Pat Wilson can shed some light on this subject.

Good luck,
Kap

[backdeckpro]

Shed some light? Well, I'll give it my best shot now that the kids are asleep. Let's see...there were several questions asked in this thread so I will try and cover them all.

Marty asked,

"I never fished Lake Havasu and have no idea what techniques, patterns and colors work best on this waterway."

While I wouldn't consider myself a Havasu expert since I only have around 10 days total time fishing it, I do feel confident on what to do to be successful there. The two tournaments I have fished there as a co-angler I finished 1st and tied for 4th in the other.

I think the pattern will be a winter transition going into pre-spawn and possibly even a few spawning fish. The techniques should be tailored towards that (i.e. Stickbaits-senko/fluke/weightless worm, Ripbait/Jerkbait, Jig, Spinnerbait, Dropshot, Crankbait). Colors would be the main forage in the lake (shad, crawfish, and sunfish).

Another of Marty's questions was,

"I need to know the structures of Lake Havasu, if there are Rip-Rap or sand shore lines, will there be overhangs, docks and what type of vegetation. Will the water be stained or clear?"

I think of Havasu as three lakes.
1. The lower end near the dam (Bill Williams arm I think it's called) is stained, has tules, and grass depending on the time of year.
2. The middle main lake section where you launch is crystal clear, has some marinas with docks and riprap, lots of coves with man made structure (imagine different kinds of trees made out of plastic), and is mostly rocky (some kind of sandstone I think). Just imagine a desert canyon with water filled in it.
3. The upper end or river portion is a crystal clear river lined mostly with tules that has many stained to muddy shallow backwaters also mainly surrounded by tules.

Marty asked about different lure selections and said,

"Could some of you share some hints with me and other Co-Angler reading this forum to increase our chances of catching and landing fish?"

I will answer these questions together since the answer to the second question should also answer the first one. There are two main parts to getting ready for a tournament. The first part is logistics (i.e. how you get to the tournament site, where you will stay once there, pre-fish partner, etc). The second part is the fishing.

In preparation for the fishing part I want to know all I can about a lake before I get there. I already mentioned and answered some of these questions in regards to Havasu(year/season, structure, forage) I would also want to know what kind of black bass are in the lake? Havasu has smallmouth and northern strain largemouth. I also try and think about the water temp. My guess is it will be 55-65 degrees during this tournament.

One of the other big things I do to prepare for a tournament is try and determine what I need to catch (weight) to be successful. In most tournaments as a co-angler you will do very well if you can catch five keepers everyday. You will probably win if you can do that in this tournament. How I figure out what I think it will take to win is to research previous tournaments. Especially the ones which have taken place during the same time of year.

If you look at last years tournament, which took place around the same time, it took 9lbs to make the top twenty on the co-angler side. Shoot, there was only four 5 fish limits caught all four days of the tournament by co-anglers! Three of them on the first day and the other limit was caught on the second day. This is not an easy fishery this time of year.

So, you should now know you probably need 4-6lbs a day to have a chance of making the top twenty cut. How do you catch that you ask? Target keeper bites!!! Throw small plastics like 4" Robo worms, Tiny Brush Hogs, Smallie Beavers, 3"-4" Senkos, Flukes, etc. on a splitshot, dropshot, or throw them weightless. Try small ripbaits/jerkbaits, small crankbaits, small spinnerbaits. Throw small jigs (1/8 & 1/4 ounce). Use light line (4-10lb) and I would also suggest using quality fluorocarbon like P-Line. Use what techniques you have confidence in and what you get bites on in pre-fish.

If you happen to get a boater who is fishing the stained backwater just upsize slightly. When I fished Topac Marsh the second day of the 2002 BFL regional I pitched a baby brush hog on 15lb test with a 1/4 bullet weight in this very stained water.

Hopefully these suggestions will help you with your pre-fish. When you are done with pre-fish you should be down to 4-6 rods/techniques at the most. This should also help you limit the amount of tackle you take on the boat with you.

I actually like tournament days when I am only bringing 3-4 rods and I'm leaving the rest in the hotel. Confidence and a good mental attitude plays a big part in being successful. I wish I could join you all down there but I put my limited time into the two FLW Opens again. Hopefully I can manage the same success this year as I did last year.

See you on the water.


Pat Wilson

[Colebass]

about the lake.

I would take lots of stuff then plan to limit what you take on the water come tournament day.

[Colebass]

I haven't fished from the back in sometime, but this post nails it on the head as I remember!

If you follow this, I'm sure you'll do well, provided you "land" the fish!

Good Luck.

[Marty]

I would like to say thank you to each and everyone of you:

Skeeterman – I will make sure I talk to the Pro and bring a back up Rod and Line – thanks

MikeD – Thanks for the hot links to the “Tackle Bagsâ€

[Colebass]

to start typing my responses! HAR!HAR! You both gave great detail.