Co angler

[Rydaddy]

just a few questions gonna fish flw in the fall on the delta never fished any tournment before .How many rods schould I take I was thinking 5 is that to many .Do you need your own measure stick for small keepers can you use scent on your baits can you ask your pro what we might be doing the night before as far as cranking etc.And never fished of the back of a boat only front

[Robert F]

Take as many rods as you need. If you can get by with two, take two. If you need ten, take ten.
You should be fine with the boater's measure stick. If it is not the Ranger/FLW board double check with the courtesy board before you go to the tanks.
Use scent but if you spill you may get killed.
Ask the boater what you want but you may not get a straight answer. Some guys are a bit defensive in non-shared weight formats. If a guy casts in one area that doesn't mean that is where his fish are located. There are guys that make decoy casts to throw the backseater off the trail. Fish your own pattern and treat the boater the way you are treated.
Never fished ANY tournament before? FLW Series is not the place to start.

[fishwithron2]

You should check with the pro the day before on type of fishin he'll be doing. 4-5 poles should be more than suffcient and don't bring your whole inventory of lures and bait. There's only so much room in the back for your poles , tackle box and food.

[Rydaddy]

thanks but why you say flw not the place to start seems like it is a good way to fish with a great pro and learn a lot and fish your own way and get paid good I have been fishing since I was a kid all my family and friends say why do I work I schould fish i no you guys are good but its all our nothing its a long time coming and I want to be seen by the big boys

[jwick22]

Ryan

Basically, Robert was saying there is a learning curve and there may or may not be a better place to start. For example, Club, local team tournaments, etc.

As far as what to bring and do....In my opinion....The less you take the better. Bring double duty rods. Fish water that your pro is not. These are just suggestions and do not always apply.

As far as jumping up to the FLW......Well, if you are that confident and that good. FISH AS A PRO!

John

[Rydaddy]

thanks for the info again I am 30 years old twin girls married house note etc. I have 14 foot gregor 25 horse evinrude with a deck up front I can not afford a pimped out bass boat to fish pro I thank you guys for the info

[fishwithron2]

Like Robert mention " why FLW ?? " Fishin tournament is not like fishin with a buddy on a reg trip. One thing cost is alot more than Won Bass pro/am and other clubs. Another is you have never fish tournament so being seen by the big boys is it a personal thing ??
Your fishin water is from the console toward the back. Your not allowed ( suppose ) to cast up toward the front past the pro. You should fish some of these smaller groups first and if you do well then move up.

[tALLkAN]

thanks but why you say flw not the place to start seems like it is a good way to fish with a great pro and learn a lot and fish your own way and get paid good I have been fishing since I was a kid all my family and friends say why do I work I schould fish i no you guys are good but its all our nothing its a long time coming and I want to be seen by the big boys

Dont trip bud. I've fished 2 FLW coanglers and it all depends on who you draw. You can get treated good and you can get treated BAD... its all about getting lucky.

[tALLkAN]

thanks but why you say flw not the place to start seems like it is a good way to fish with a great pro and learn a lot and fish your own way and get paid good I have been fishing since I was a kid all my family and friends say why do I work I schould fish i no you guys are good but its all our nothing its a long time coming and I want to be seen by the big boys

Dont trip bud. I've fished 2 FLW coanglers and it all depends on who you draw. You can get treated good and you can get treated BAD... its all about getting lucky.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b296/ ... astner.jpg

peep this....

[Robert F]

Even a Stren would be better than a Series tournament. A little less polished boater skills in a majority of the field.
It is your money and you can do with as you desire. Just my opinion that the Series is not a real sharing venue. The boaters have a lot invested in their portion of the tournament and most do not consider it their job to educate a Co-angler.
Pro/AM would be the best learning platform. A shared weight tournament has a boater looking for success from the non-boater. They are more willing to teach as they will profit from your fishing. WCB and AC both have tournaments that you can fish close to a whole season for the same price as one FLW Series tournament. You have a good chance of drawing the same guys that fish the Series but are fishing a different mindset in a shared weight. It is not so much about learning how to fish as learning how to maximize your fishing in the tournament.

[BigBoy]

Fish a pro-am or local circuit. The co-anglers in the Series and Stren are very good, quite a few of them run 18-20 ft bass boats, and fish these events from the back of boats. They just haven't made the move to the front of the boat for this tournament. Some of the co-anglers will fish other circuits as pros.

Secondly, I wouldn't ask the pro what they are throwing, if they're throwing a crank bait and your fishing a crankbait, you'll have less opportunity. The guys who fish these circuits are vacuums. The guys who do well, Justin Lucas, Pat Wilson...etc. They do something the pro not doing. Lucas won two tournaments last year dragging a carolina rig around. Wilson is a master of the drop shot. Most of the time as a co-angler it's about consistently catching a limit behind some great fisherman.

So just be mindful of what you signed up for. Just my 2 cents.

[scottsweet]

Ryan,

I emailed you...please see my note.

[drew]

I have to agree with the information provided in the previous responses. The FLW National Guard is not a very good place to start. Its a very high level of competition and its expensive.

However you do live close to the Delta and obviously have experience fishing there which is a plus. My opinion is if your committed to fish this tournament, get some tournament co-angler experience before. There is plenty of time since the event is 3 months away.

Fishing a tournament is not the same as fun fishing and fishing as a co-angler is even more different. You will be fishing with someone who is controlling the boat speed and location. When you fun fish, you fish your water, when you fish as a co-angler your going to fish the Pro's water. If your set on fishing this tournament and have the $1k to cover the entry fees and peripheral costs then do it. Get some tournament co-angler experience and make sure you send in the deposit/entry fee soon. BTW I will also be fishing this event as co and you can PM me with any questions. Andy

thanks but why you say flw not the place to start seems like it is a good way to fish with a great pro and learn a lot and fish your own way and get paid good I have been fishing since I was a kid all my family and friends say why do I work I schould fish i no you guys are good but its all our nothing its a long time coming and I want to be seen by the big boys

thanks for the info again I am 30 years old twin girls married house note etc. I have 14 foot gregor 25 horse evinrude with a deck up front I can not afford a pimped out bass boat to fish pro I thank you guys for the info

[acm95301]

By no means am I an experienced tournament angler but, I would stick to the 5 or less rod idea and one med tackle bag.

Scents are ok, bait and chum are not.

the boat owner should have a fish measurement device, but if you have the luxury of knowing your co angler then always communicate.

as the back seater, you need to adapt to the front angler. If he or she is tossing cranks then you need to use techniques that keep up with that. Also keep in mind techniques that fish diffrent water than your co angler, maybe a diffrent depth until you find the pattern anyway. so if he tosses cranks then maybe you can do jigs or split shot...maybe.

sometimes changing the angle of retrieve of a pressure spot is enough to get a bite....so if everybody is tossing to the same ol' spots...either toss to an unlikely spot or change the angles of retrieve.

[Bassinlee]

I'm not a tournament fisherman, so take this with a grain of salt. But I do have co-anglers on my boat every week. This is what I think is important, and which I have read in several posts on this site in the past:
1. Don't bring the kitchen sink. Helps to talk to your pro the night before about what to bring.
2. Don't cast forward past the console unless the pro sez it's okay. (It isn't.) BAAAD form.
3. You ask about using scent. Fine, if you make damn sure you contain it, and don't get it on his/her carpet.
4. Don't spread your stuff all over the place. Keep your tackle contained, and secured. Because...
5. When the pro says it's time to go, IMMEDIATELY stop fishing, stow your stuff, and sit down. Y'know, "get in, sit down, shut up, and hold on".
6. Bring the proper clothing in a small bag. Bass boats travel a wee bit faster than your aluminum rig. You'll freeze yer buns off if you just wear a tee shirt and jeans. And make sure you secure any hat you wear. Ticks me off if I have to cut throttle, and make a u-turn to retrieve a floating hat.
7. Consider just breaking off any lures (except maybe Huds) that you hang. Pros don't like losing fishing time just because you can't cast into tangles without getting hung all the time. Go back on your own time and retrieve any lures that you leave in trees or bushes.
8. Offer to wipe down the boat after retrieval. Or just do it without asking. Pros have enough to do.
9. Agree on any gas/oil fees beforehand, and make sure you pay afterward. Especially now that gas prices are going back up.
10. Don't go telling everyone where your pro's water is. That's a basic.
11. Talk beforehand about net etiquette. That means, know how and when to use a net, and whether the pro prefers to just swing his/her fish into the boat. To make a long story short, stick the net in the water, and let the pro lead his fish into it, then immediately pick it up. DO NOT stab the net into the water as the fish gets near the boat. It'll panic, the fish'll throw the lure, and the pro will want to throw you in after it. Because that will invariable be the biggest damn fish of the day.
12. There's probably other stuff, but like I said, I'm not a tournament fisherman. I do, however, know what works for me!

Bassinlee

[Rydaddy]

You guys are great thats why I love this site I ask something and bang I get results I will keep all this in mind and I will start my tournment fishing on the right track I just want to do it good our bad I like that picture on that card nice I really dont care what the pro fishes with I have my own way already on what I like to throw only good thing is to see where they go just even more spots for me If there nice great if there dicks thats great to fish on I see some ya soon thanks for info