1st tournament: Co-angler or boater?

[Functional]

Ran into a guy yesterday and he told me about a local bass club I'm likely going to end up joining. Not a money tournament and its more relaxed but seeing as I have ZERO fishing tournament experience I'm debating going as a co-angler for a round (or a few) rather than taking my boat and potentially being responsible for another.

 

Any input some of you more seasoned people have? Any input from people who recently go into the scene?

[Bassbum1016]

Most bass clubs are low money derby’s and are a great way to get your feet wet.

Being a co would definitely help you along with finding and catching fish, with every boater doing something a little different.

Eventually you’ll definitely want to use your own boat

[volzfan59]

2 hours ago, Bassbum1016 said:

Most bass clubs are low money derby’s and are a great way to get your feet wet.

Being a co would definitely help you along with finding and catching fish, with every boater doing something a little different.

Eventually you’ll definitely want to use your own boat

I agree with @Bassbum1016. I would do the entire first season as a non boater. You could always use your boat on practice days, assuming that is allowed.

[Captain Phil]

Go as a co-angler.  Be courteous and friendly.  Keep a low profile.  Don't talk about yourself.  There is something to be learned from everyone, even if it's what not to do.  After the tournament, offer to give the boater some gas money. Everything I learned about bass fishing I learned from someone else.

[Cbump]

I would never go be a co-angler in a local no money derby if I owned a boat. Which I do.
That sounds crazy. 
 

There’s nothing magical about It. Go to lake, put boat in water, fish your way in your boat between the derby hours, bring your fish to weigh in. That’s It. 

[rangerjockey]

Great way to learn. A few unwritten rules like don't cast over the boater, offer to give some gas money, don't clutter up the boat with 10 rods etc

. Money or not ,Derbies have a different vibe about them than a day out with your buddy.

I've done it some at the FLW level and I always had my morning speech..."I'm here to stay out of your way and have some fun. Let me know if you want me to net em. " Everybody has horror stories about getting shut out by the boater but you learn to adapt. I had a guy spend over a hour on a bedded fish he had waypointed , I couldn't  blame him it was a dandy but she never did bite. A shaky head is your best friend in those situations I don't mind letting someone else drive in those 200+ boat take offs anymore.

[Functional]

So I asked about co vs boater simply because it's a smaller group (they have a club member limit which puts max boaters around 12) and the way its set up encourages a co vs boater situation. Prevents large number of boats and "bonds" the club members. If multiple people have boats they rotate. Cos have a say in where they fish for half the day but boater remains in control of the boat. There are situations where I can be a solo boater but won't know until the monthly pairing meeting if that's the case or not. 

 

As far as offering gas money,  it's in the bylaws the co has to put up half the tow vehicle and boats gas money and split any launch fees if there are any. 

 

Read through the whole thread here on being a co and honestly it's just common courtesy it seems. I'm not a heathen so I'll be fine haha. 

 

Mainly considering being a Co just to have a less pressure into to the tournament setting and to learn some of these lakes I've never fished. There are a few I've heard can be stumpy and it'd be nice to learn about it before I blow my lower off my motor. 

[WIGuide]

I jumped into the tournament game being a boater from day 1. If I could go back, it probably would have been better for me to start as a co. I had spent a lot of time on the water at that point, but it had been pretty evenly divided on 2 bodies of water that were actually very similar to one another in the ways of cover, depth, structure, and even water color. Those first few years were a very eye opening experience fishing water I've never fished before. Learning how to break it down quickly and factoring in far more variables was something I wasn't used to. I feel like I could have learned some of the lessons a lot quicker fishing with someone with more experience. Instead, I had to learn my lessons the harder way falling flat on my face multiple times in the same situations before learning what the right move was.

Your situation is slightly different given that your club derby's don't have entry fees. You aren't out anything if you don't do well, except maybe in points if they track those. It's really up to you and how you feel about your own fishing skills.