You don’t have to start competitive fishing with a 21-foot bass boat. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on gear. Yes, being a boater has its perks, but getting a start in competitive fishing doesn’t have to be an all or nothing venture.
Early on I chose to leave the higher “boater” entry fees to those who have the disposable income and instead registered as a co-angler. I competed as a boater (although rather limitedly) with the Rutland BASS club in a couple of paper tournaments last year, and as a co-angler (again rather limitedly) for a couple of years. I was also fortunate to compete as a co-angler in a couple of BASS Opens both down south in Florida and Alabama and here on Champlain in previous years. When looking back over my “body of work” it seemed more fitting to compete as a co-angler instead of rushing full-on in as a boater, and quite possibly have paid the higher entry fees and not have been very competitive (self doubt runs rampant through my blood). These tournament dreams require some fiscal responsibility, and while everyone thinks they’re the best fisherman in the world, sometimes it’s best to measure and weigh that belief by being an observer as much as being a competitor. There’s no sense learning to be humble by throwing your money away.
There are a lot of good tips out there in both magazines and on the web if you’re looking to get into the professional side of bass fishing as an angler. Heck, once you’ve got the boat and the desire, the rest of it is all about money. What there isn’t much of though, are the tips that can allow a co-angler to be successful on their end of the boat. No competitive angler wants to be fishing in a tournament as their co-angler beats up on the fish from the back of the boat. I’ve read numerous articles about what the pros do and what they may or may not suggest to co-anglers and out of all of it I’ve learned one thing – They’re not giving away any secrets.
Oh, they’ll tell you all about the common sense stuff and fill you up with great ideas, but think about it for a minute. Go ahead. Take a minute. I’ll wait. (Don’t give yourself a headache).
Remember, they’re competing as well. They want to be the vacuum cleaner. They want the big sack. They have more money invested than you do as a co-angler not just to compete, but to win. Boaters are risking a lot more than a co-angler is financially and time-wise. Anything they may tell you in order to give you an advantage takes away a little bit of their advantage. So guess what? They aren’t going to give you much of anything. (I know this may sound a bit paranoid. Good fishermen will, most of the time, share their knowledge. Sharing is a strength of many professionals. But, we are all human, and when money, or sex, or something that causes competition is injected into a situation we all look to come out on top). Once a co-angler wraps their head around that simple idea, things get a bit more intuitive.
The first thing to keep in mind is that you’re not fishing against your boater. If you get out there and feel like you have to show him or her up from the back of the boat, you’re taking a step back competitively. Sure, it’s a great feeling to be doing well, but you have to understand that all the other co-anglers are eyeing the same prize – victory. Leave your boater alone.
I remember being down on Lewis Smith Lake in Alabama a few years ago and my angler was red hot in the morning. He had boated four or five fish. I wasn’t doing so well from where I stood but I was definitely into what he was doing. I was a juggernaut on the net. Once the bite shut off though, I started to get discouraged. And, that’s when I sat back and started to think a bit
As my boater started to move around a bit more I realized I could be a bit more selective about what I was using for lures. Once my boater started shot-gunning – tossing whatever he thought may trigger a bite, and I remember thinking it was time for me to slow down a bit. If my boater switched to a topwater bait, I started Carolina rigging. If he was drop-shotting I was throwing a slash-bait. It made no sense to be throwing the same bait they were. In my head I was developing a “fishing law of averages”.
The other thing to keep in mind is that boaters like to fish their “spots”. If they pull up on a GPS waypoint that consists of a rock pile in 15 feet of water, they’re going to nose the boat over it so they can drop-shot or throw a jig. As a co-angler you have to take a step back and think a bit. While your boater is focusing on a concentrated area at the front of the boat, you, the co-angler, have the rest of the lake to fish – take advantage of it. If they’ve got the trolling motor on high while they pound the bank, don’t be afraid to turn and cast to open water, or drag a Carolina rig or tube.
Back to Lewis Smith Lake. I had caught a few fish and my boater and I were getting a little concerned that neither of us had caught a fish for a couple of hours. The sun had moved directly above us and I knew my chances to get some keeper fish to weigh in were getting slim. As he continued to run from spot to spot I decided to slow down and change tactics. He pounded the bank with all manner of stuff, but I slowed down and went with a green pumpkin stick worm (I think it was a Wave Worm). In the last hour of the tournament I managed to catch a couple of keeper fish while he caught none. In my head I could see him waking up the fish with the lures he threw, but it wasn’t until my worm dropped in front of them that they decided to eat. He was happy for me. I was happy for me. At least I’d get to weigh in something.
And, that's sorta' the key. Well, it is for me at least. Many people who compete as boaters still enjoy being on the back of a friend's boat at times. It gives them the opportunity to see what works for other people and why it works. The more a fisherman can figure out and put in their bag, the more prepared they'll be in the future when they want to try out a "new-to-me" technique.