I am fairly new to the fishing here in Oklahoma so it seems when there is a tounry, I go as a non-boater since I dont know where to go on alot of the lakes and rivers they have the tournys on here.  It may be complete coincidence, but every time we are on a spot, the partner I go with noses in and hits fish and I end up playing Net Boy for the next 15 minutes while they bring in the fish  :-/. what seems to be the concensus on fishing the back of the boat. Do you run the net most the day or do you catch your fair share of fish? Let me know. on a good note, it seems when I am the net boy, we win the tournys, so I am not sure if its a bad thing  ;D

       For me it's a little of both. I'm a back seater, but I don't look at it a a disadvantage. 1. it's a learning experience. 2. If it's windy, he'l have his hands full with the boat. 3. The tourny I fish is a team effort, so it's even across the board. It is not to his advantage to keep me off the fish.

flippin4it, good to see you back on the forum!

If you are fishing a team tournament it really doesnt matter who is the net boy as long as someone in the boat is catching fish.

In a split tournament, fishing from the back can be a real drag. Sure you may learn something but you may not catch anything. Really depends on the boater and how/what he's fishing. As far as being "net boy" in a split tournament, I expect my co-anglers to help with the net if I need it and I always do the same for them. They are fishing a tournament too.

In a split club tournament back some years ago, I was a nonboater and drew a first class @#$%^&* for my boater. Before we took off he showed me the net and said to keep it handy.  :  I ended up catching the first 3 fish of the day and he didnt help net any of them and I lost 1 of the 3. So I asked him "whats up"? He told me that he doesnt net fish for co-anglers......so needless to say I didnt pick up the net the rest of the day except for when I had a fish on. I only weighed in 3 because he seriously front-ended me the rest of the time and never said another word to me all day. He lost 2 nice keepers that day and only weighed in 3 fish. He could've had a good limit if he had not been such a BLEEP!

flippin4it, good to see you back on the forum!

If you are fishing a team tournament it really doesnt matter who is the net boy as long as someone in the boat is catching fish.

In a split tournament, fishing from the back can be a real drag. Sure you may learn something but you may not catch anything. Really depends on the boater and how/what he's fishing. As far as being "net boy" in a split tournament, I expect my co-anglers to help with the net if I need it and I always do the same for them. They are fishing a tournament too.

In a split club tournament back some years ago, I was a nonboater and drew a first class @#$%^&* for my boater. Before we took off he showed me the net and said to keep it handy. : I ended up catching the first 3 fish of the day and he didnt help net any of them and I lost 1 of the 3. So I asked him "whats up"? He told me that he doesnt net fish for co-anglers......so needless to say I didnt pick up the net the rest of the day except for when I had a fish on. I only weighed in 3 because he seriously front-ended me the rest of the time and never said another word to me all day. He lost 2 nice keepers that day and only weighed in 3 fish. He could've had a good limit if he had not been such a BLEEP!

I fished one two day tournament with the same guy!

Never went back, never looked back, never going back.

RW, was it that one bad outing that put the bad taste in your mouth about tournament fishing? I had crappy partners alot when I first started fishing in clubs but the thrill of competition kept bringing me back. The first 3 years I fished in a club were brutal because I was young and didnt have a boat but I survived.

I hate to think that one bad outing with a ******* would form my final opinion on tournament fishing. I'm glad I gave it a fair chance. I had plenty of bad outings starting out.  

I Have been fishing tournaments for about 8 years now, and sometimes go as a rider, most as an owner. When I am an owner I try to make sure the rider has and good opportunity to fish and do not front end them. In fact sometimes my rider outfishes me. Also I always get the net.

Now as a rider, I have had owners that were great, and others that sucked. On the good side I once had an owner that stood there with the net, while I caught fish after fish off of a rock pile. I told him to start fishing and he said he was having fun watching me. I have had more better owners that bad ones.

One bad one will put a bad taste in your mouth. I had an owner in a state federation championship that would not fish a spot I knew had fish. After the first day I was in the middle of the pack, the guy I rode with the first day was great. We fished his spots and caught fish. told him of a spot I found in pre-fishng. we hit it and culled out are fish. He told me he would not fish it the second day. He didn't, neither did I. The guys I rode with the second day was just infront of me in weight for the tournament. We hit his spots and he didn't catch anything. I got 2, and lost 2 because he would not get the net. we sat on one of his spots for 4 hours and didn't have a bite. He just kept saying" they will move in." They never did. I told him about a spot I had, but he would run there. with about an hour left he decide that we would try "my spot" as we got to it I caught a keeper fast, and a non keeper as we spead by with the TM on high. We past that spot and kept on moving. I kept saying there are fish here, lets stop. he just acted like he never heard me and kept moving. That experience put me back a little and I didn't fish a tournament from the back of a boat for a few years. After that I had some really good owners. last one a fished as a rider, bad owner again (not really bad owner, but to much boat for someone that was inexperienced)

flippin4it, good to see you back on the forum!

If you are fishing a team tournament it really doesnt matter who is the net boy as long as someone in the boat is catching fish.

In a split tournament, fishing from the back can be a real drag. Sure you may learn something but you may not catch anything. Really depends on the boater and how/what he's fishing. As far as being "net boy" in a split tournament, I expect my co-anglers to help with the net if I need it and I always do the same for them. They are fishing a tournament too.

In a split club tournament back some years ago, I was a nonboater and drew a first class @#$%^&* for my boater. Before we took off he showed me the net and said to keep it handy. : I ended up catching the first 3 fish of the day and he didnt help net any of them and I lost 1 of the 3. So I asked him "whats up"? He told me that he doesnt net fish for co-anglers......so needless to say I didnt pick up the net the rest of the day except for when I had a fish on. I only weighed in 3 because he seriously front-ended me the rest of the time and never said another word to me all day. He lost 2 nice keepers that day and only weighed in 3 fish. He could've had a good limit if he had not been such a BLEEP!

way to go fivelimit i'd do exactly the same thing i'm no ones toy thats for sure before i even get in the boat i tell the boat owner exactly if you exspect me to be net boy for you yopu better be ready to net mine as well otherwise net them yourself and i'll net my own

If you fish long enough your are going to get one sooner or later. A lot of times

if he doesn't act right on the get go I will just get down on my knee's in the boat and have a word of prayer and ask him if he wants to join in.  ;D Don't have no trouble out of him the rest of the day.

A lot of times

if he doesn't act right on the get go I will just get down on my knee's in the boat and have a word of prayer and ask him if he wants to join in. ;D Don't have no trouble out of him the rest of the day.

LOL!

And Basshunter69, I wouldnt advise saying anything before you guys leave the dock.....that would almost assure you a bad trip and being front-ended from the very first stop. I would at least wait until somebody catches something to see what happens. The way you described would put even a good guy 'off'......

It all depends on the personality of the person you are fishing with. Some are good people, some are ******. Just like life.

RW, was it that one bad outing that put the bad taste in your mouth about tournament fishing? I had crappy partners alot when I first started fishing in clubs but the thrill of competition kept bringing me back. The first 3 years I fished in a club were brutal because I was young and didnt have a boat but I survived.

I hate to think that one bad outing with a ******* would form my final opinion on tournament fishing. I'm glad I gave it a fair chance. I had plenty of bad outings starting out.

I enjoy fishing too much to waste another day with anyone like that. Worst of all, I observed another gentleman being treated in the same manner at this outing. I suspect this type of behavior is far more widespread and typical than most are willing to admit.

Anytime boater/ backseater questions come up on the Forum, I read a subtle case of "attitude" on the boaters side. "Well, it is my boat, blah, blah, blah..." Then change the competition to boaters only. In this format the non-boater is the "floormat". And on one last note, if I'm paying my "fair share" of the variable costs, I'm FULLY PAID. I owe the boater NOTHING for that fact that he owns the boat. To imly that a non-boater should put up with "attitude" is ridiculous or at least, something I will not do.

net boy or stick boy is all good to me as long as the operator checks his vanity at the ramp..be it fun fishin' or tourneys...it is a bear to be back seated when you know where fish are, or know your running over them,or even worse are getting bites and the troller is stuck on HIGH....patience is a virtue as far as the back seat goes imo. I'd much rather ride 5' rollers and play 8 seconds then be stuck with someone who is inconsiderate of the money that is being put up.

tournaments can bring out the worst in people.....communication is a thirteen letter word

I dont care too much for being in the back of the boat during a tournament aka "net boy". I seem to always have a bad tournament day when fishing out the back of the boat. Biggest conflict for me is I never get matched with someone who fishes my style, seems like either I get stuck with someone power fishing at a time we should be finessing or sometimes the other way around. I dunno, never works out for me.