With all this talk about co-anglers.......

Bassin · Post by **Bassin** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:23 am

I have a question for you more experienced co-anglers,non-boaters or AAA's.......Recently, I was fishing a draw type event where everyone fishes against everyone Boater, nonboater all against each other. I was fishing it as a non-boater. My boater was on a pattern of burning the shore line (about 3-5' off the shore) and speed cranking out in front of him. Now when I say "burning", I mean at warp speed, trolling motor as high as it can go. I tried fishing a crank also, but it was useless, no water to the front or side and if I went to the back, the retreive would be skipping across the surface because of the speed we were traveling. I tried pitching a jig, but as soon as it hit the water, it was just about dragging, because of the speed we were traveling. Now not only the speed was a factor, but the worst part is how close to the shore we were....basicly running over any fish I might have a chance at. Sooooo, with this in mind, HOW would you experienced Co-anglers make this situation more productive for your self.....and I do believe this could happen in any FLW/Stren event.....

Thanks for your input!
Bryan Vogt

FATGUY · Post by **FATGUY** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:39 am

first ask the guy to give you more room . sometimes they don't realize they are doing that to you . then one thing you can do that i've had work in the delta is to carolina rig way behing the boat and just drag .. third option is to file a complaint against the guy for back seating you . probably won't work but ??? lastly if you ever draw him again you can request a re draw.. probably should tell the td before the draw so he just re draws for you without making it public ???

Fishin' Dave · Post by **Fishin' Dave** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:53 am

Sounds like a federation event. If you are fishing against everyone, you usually have the right to the front of the boat for 1/2 the day. Unfortunately, you might have to wait for your 1/2

Ricky-S · Post by **Ricky-S** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 9:06 am

I had this happen to me in a AC on the Delta back when it wasn't combined weight. It happened to be a big named pro who was on a killer crank bite on a red bomber 7A.

I decided to use a C-rig and a different crank. I would use the C-rig when I couldn't cast the crank and I would pick up the crank whenever there was an opening, such as jumping from one side to another; when he caught a fish, or when we made a new stop. I took every opportunity that he gave me, which wasn't much.

I actually weighted in a bigger bag from the back of the boat but he out fished me 10 to 1. I only got five bites but they were the right one.

PS. I lost 5 cranks that day but the check I got paid for them on the back end.

rexford · Post by **rexford** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 9:10 am

If the rules permited it I would ask if I could fish his 10:00 or 2:00
depending on what direction he is going. This allows me to cast
forward of the boat a little and not interfer with his water. If the rules
or his desire kept me behind the console I would be burning a
crank bait at his 3:00 and hope to pick up the fish he is scaring off the
bank. He must of had a pretty good gear ratio cranking against
a full forward trolling motor but at his 3:00 you have the angle on
him a little and will be staying in the water longer then he is.

good luck.

NaCl · Post by **NaCl** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 9:14 am

Tie on a big swimbait and feed it out behind the boat. Flip the switch on your reel so you can "back reel" to control the speed of the swimbait. After it gets pretty far back, reel it in and repeat the process. If this inconsiderate bozo is positioning the boat that close to shore then (you're right!) the boat is moving directly over tons of good fish. And, the swimbait will attract the big mommas that will win the tournament.

Now, before anyone whines about "trolling", it's NOT trolling if you're turning the handle. So, if the guy on front is "burning the bank" and you are slowly letting out line to slow down your swimbait presentation then you ARE reeling! You ARE putting action on the bait. Only backwards.

After you stick a few 5+ fish in the box, I'll bet your partner slows down a lot! HaHa! In fact, I'll bet he starts throwing a swimbait too!

The other option is to cast right over his shoulder a few times. Make sure you're using 50# test braid and let the line wrap up in the trolling motor once or twice. After he unwraps the line a few times, he'll give you more room.

.....NaCl

Dewayne · Post by **Dewayne** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 9:25 am

I had the same thing happen to me once as a Co-angler at a BFL event (blade along rock walls) and once as a co-angler at a BASS Tour event in the finals (Speed flipping). IMHO it may be the toughest situation you can be put into as a co-angler when your boater is close to or on top the fish and moving very fast. I went to heavy jigs (3/4 and 1 Oz) in the BFL and cast them across the creeks when there was an opportunity. When there wasn't I would pitch then in front of the boat a few feet and hope something would eat it on the fall. I got one fish with a 70 yard cast to a rock outcropping on a far bank. The next day I had a great boater and blanked, tough to say the day 1 boater hurt my performance, although it was frustrating.

In the Tour event I was behind Alton Jones who won that event. He was flipping at warp speed and only hitting high probability spots. I had got that far on Senko and drop shot, but he was flipping a weighted senko (copy) and the drop shot would only occasionally work. In the tour events the Pros would ask you not to cast across a creek and fish the water they were planning to fish, so you were stuck behind them. I picked up a heavy flipping stick and hit the lower probability spots that he was passing on. I did manage a couple fish that day and ended up 5th.

What I did learn about this situation is that it is very frustrating, but you have to keep your cool. Go to heavy rigs and work the deeper water. If you see a prime spot you want to work slowly drop a bait in as you go by and free spool out line as they speed away. Of course though, if you hang up you cannot expect then to go back. It is not something you can protest, they are not preventing you from fishing, they are just fishing in a way that makes it tough on you.

BassTramp · Post by **BassTramp** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 9:56 am

Sounds like you were fishing in a â€œStraight Drawâ€

MIKE TREMONT · Post by **MIKE TREMONT** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 10:36 am

I was also in a similar situation. The guy up front was burning a shallow runner and making his casts close to the shore.
I let him know my intenions first, which was to cover the fish a little deeper and further off the bank. I just cast out over his right shoulder(no contact, whew!) and worked my bait back.
It was covering everything we could at that speed and boat positioning.
There's no way a guy up front can cover everything. If it's a shared weight format than you're working as a team, if not than you're not intruding on their space and you might even put them on another pattern.

Smitty_dennis · Post by **Smitty_dennis** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 10:54 am

I would fish a shallower crankbait/lighter spinnerbait on the shoreside or deep crankbait/heavier spinnerbait on the waterside. Also I would tell the pro of my method and intentions.