35 replies to this topic

[fisher of bass]

I do alright fishing from the back of the boat,i mostly use reaction baits,rattle trap,chatterbait,spinnerbait.i used to be pretty good at jigs,texas rigged soft plastics,senkos,but since the driver of the boat goes 90mph and gets the good spots,laydowns,beds,i cant focus on the finnesse lures,i had a boat but had to sell it due to medical reasons.
Does anybody have any tricks or opinions on how i can do better. tia

[Crestliner2008]

Since I sold my boat last year to cover medical expenses for my wife, I am forced to fish from the back of the boat quite often now. It does present it's challenges, that's for sure. Like you, I have to adapt and use more aggressive presentations to stay in the game. Finesse has a very low percentage of being employed in this situation, unless the boat owner is a finesse type individual.

I look at it this way. I thank the Lord that I have an opportunity to fish - period. And I'll make the best of it at each time. I would suggest, however, to some of you boat owners, to try to empathize with your partner's plight. Take a piece of cover you approach yourself, but then give the next one to your partner. Then alternate. You should also talk over presentation strategies PRIOR to launching. So he can have some idea of what you want to try as well. Common courtesy, as I see it. It's what I always did when I had people fishing from my boat. JMO!

[BrianinMD]

I fish from the back of the boat and mostly finesse fishing. Most of the time this works, but if the boater is trying to cover water it has to be scrapped. My club is boaters vs. boaters, and coanglers vs. coanglers. I do not expect and will not ask that he pass up a spot so I can have first shot. He is fishing for a win himself, not guiding me. The most important thing to learn as a coangler is to adapt, look for different angles or other ways to present baits the boater isn't doing.

If its a team tourney then its all different, a plan of attack should have been discussed prior to hitting the water.

[bassin is addicting]

since i don't own a boat....i fish from the back every club tournament. (finished 3rd yesterday) and it's every guy for himself. i wish it was boater vs boater and non vs non but i can;t get the needed majority votes from the boaters to go for that (wonder why lol!!)

most of the guys are pretty good about not "back boating" me too bad. i certainly don't expect if to be 50/50 for the best spots. if i can get 65/35 for a decent shot then i feel like the boater is being fair. it's not like either one of us is fishing for big money in our club.

i certainly have had to adapt how i fish since i was used to fishing from the bank and really working the areas i had walked to. i mainly had used plastics either weightless or very little weight, spinnerbaits and topwater since cranks or jigs would get hung up too easily. since joining the club i've had to learn to fish much faster and i've had to invest in a lot more cranks to be able to effectively fish the areas and keep up with the speed that the boater is going since most of the guys are like you say "going 90 mph" . there are a few that fish slow, but not many. i sometimes think if they slowed down they/we would do better but i'm at the mercy of the boater.

a lot of the time i'll try to throw something a little different than he is. it just depends, if he is killing them, i'm not too proud that i won't use the same bait. and i'm always looking at what we are approaching and if i can cast on the other side of the boat to something good like a stump or a point as we come up to a cove.

i'm interested to hear what others try too.

[SENKOSAM]

I've been a co-angler at times with different parnters and its sometimes tough to adapt to a boater's style of fishing and boat positioning, though it has helped me be more considerate of the angler in the back of my boat. If you're fishing with someone who fishes totally opposite the way you do and has to be reminded every 10 minutes to slow down, get closer to potential target areas, fish deeper or fish shallower or just try fishing structure you're confident fishing, etc. GOOD LUCK! It's even worse when your fishing new water and have to depend on the boater to put you on fish or a pattern. It can make for a V-E-R-Y L-O-O-O-N-G day. Good luck!

[Siebert Outdoors]

Once in awhile I'll choose to fish the back because I do not feel like driving the TM. Just relax and fish!

[J Francho]

I love the back of the boat for that very reason. Besides, I like to get any opportunity to fish with someone better than I to see the "whole package" in how they fish. Some of the best fisherman I know spent a lot of time honing their craft on the back deck.

[TommyBass]

Once in awhile I'll choose to fish the back because I do not feel like driving the TM. Just relax and fish!

Exactly... I hate to be a debbie downer but its almost impossible to take fishing seriously as a non-boater. You have to have a boater who cares, and the truth is most won't unless your a teamate. Your along for a ride and seconds that he misses.

If your tournament is boater vs boater and nonboater vs nonboater, its different that way. The guy with the best skill won't always win, but the guy who has the best combination of skill and good boater will.

I fish with a non-boater that is my teamate. I think this is much more fun and fair than trying to segregate the two. There is then zero territory or presentation issue, if the boater catches all the fish, or you split the bag, it dosn't matter... your both in it for the 'boat'. My buddy won't hardly drive the boat even if I need him to. Our chemistry has gotten so good with me driving and him fishing next to me that we just share the front deck and know what the other one is doing. We duck on hooksets, point out casts, plan out the day together, etc. Its just plain fun.

I personally think that if you are in it to be serious, either fish alone or fish as a team. Its the only way its fair really. Competition as boat vs boat is the only way to go in my eyes. You skip all of the drama between eachother. If you are fishing as nonboater vs nonboater and are getting highly annoyed, I highly recommend you join a team league and sign up with someone who has an opening.

[backpain...]

I love fishing from the back. I often get fish that the boater misses. I like not having to worrt about boat position and concentrating on the fish.

[jkarol24]

I just bought my first boat, but fish all of last year as a co-angler...
The single most important thing for me wasn't the lure to throw, a certain technique, or anything like that. IMO the most important thing is how well you can cast. Im not talking distance, but accuracy, skipping, backhanded, and pinpoint casts. Up here in the north, guys fish alot of docks and shoreline cover. For instance, i was fishing with a boater who could pitch to the edges of docks and pontoon boats, but could not skip lures under the boats or far back into them. It just so happens that fish were not on the edges of boat docks, but were way in the back in the shade. Therefore, my casting proficiency allowed me to outfish the boater. Docks are the same way. If you can skip a lure further back and more accuratly, you will be fishing new and untouched waters that the boater simply couldnt get to.

[fisher of bass]

thanks for all the replies,now,dont get me wrong i am very grateful to be fishing and love just being able to enjoy being on the water,its not a tourney or anything like that,but at times its very frustrating,i tried teaching him how to flip and pitch with a jig and soft plastics[brush hog,rage tail, senkos,etc.] and slow down, he did pretty good.all he wants to use is buzzbait,frogs,lipless crank,and spinnerbait, i'm sure some people are thinking, ''just dont go with him anymore,'' but i'm just trying to get an edge and think outside the box on how to better myself and be a better fisherman

[Hooligan]

I love back-seating. It's given me more opportunity to up my game than any other thing. I've won many, many checks from the back, even while I own my own rig. If you think you're not going to get the prime spots, you're not. If you think you can't get fish from where the boater has, or hasn't you're not. I've made many boaters angry because I will catch a 20lb sack out of their "trash." I'll fish behind anyone, I don't care if it's KVD. He's not going to hit everything the same way I will, he's not going to catch every fish off of every piece of cover or structure. It's partly about the belief in your ability, and it's partly in having the versatility to do so. If you cannot pinpoint a jig from the 20' mark, start practicing. If you can't skip a tube under a dock that your boater may not have, start practicing. If you can't read transitions and pick apart a piece of cover or structure and see which angles have been missed- learn. I'm not saying it to be cocky, but I'm very confident in my abilities to do so. If I weren't, I wouldn't do it.

In terms of angler and co "sharing" water? That's bunk. It's something you live with being a back seater. Adapt and overcome, don't try to compromise in the situation or make some sort of excuse about it. It's got nothing to do with mutual respect unless you're friends fun-fishing. In which case, I'd be planting myself on the front deck right beside anyone I fish with.

[retiredbosn]

When I have someone in the back I take into consideration their fishing as much as mine. I don't fish tournaments and we both are out there for the enjoyment of the sport. I'll actually alternate laydowns or fish one side of the cover (left or right) and they can fish the other side, however they want to do it. I have also spent a lot of time in the back one trick that will help you is learning how to cast backhanded. Glenn show how to cast this way on a video entitled Advanced Spinnerbait tactics, lets you get behind cover that they guy in the front can't. Additionally I have also caught fish out of cover that the guy in the front just plain missed, don't assume for a second just because the guy on the bow fished a spot that he caught the fish. I always make sure I'm fishing a different color or profile whatever. Sitting in the back you don't have to worry about navigation or anything, and can concentrate of the fish. Tight lines

[Dave P]

Lots of good advice here. I would add that you need to make sure that what you are doing is complimentary, but different from the angler in front unless he's just killing them. I often outfish the boat driver 2-3 to one just by doing different things. If he's shallow cranking, I'm pitching spinnerbaits at stumps and laydowns. Accuracy is key. Be able to pitch baits forehand, backhand, underhand and overhand. Even if they're flipping or pitching jigs you can get angles they can't and get bit. Dropshotting can be difficult unless they are TX rigging or C Rig. Persevere!!!

[Deadeye-1]

I have a friend I fish with. Sometimes we use his boat, sometimes mine. We both catch fish. He goes a little faster than I do, so when I'm on his boat I adapt. Even if we're fishing the same bait we both catch fish. You simply can not hit EVERY spot. I throw where he does not and so does he.