Here's the deal.. I've got an "Eliminator" type tourney coming up in a few months... You win, you move on, you lose your out. First round is 4 hours, second round is 4 hours.. if you win both of those, you move on to the next day and a new lake. This time you fish all day, 7-3. If you win... you move on to the next round... which will be held a month and a half later...

I've fished lots of Pot Tourneys on my home lake, with a few buddies... no big deal, even got some money out of it... ;D

I'm registered as a boater in this tournament. I'll be fishing with a co-angler that they pair me up with... much like a BFL, etc..

My question: Any advice for a "first time boater"... Besides practicing... I'll be down there every weekend from here till May..

I always see all these "Co-angler rules to live by" and such... how bout helping a first time boater out... ;D ;D ;D

I'm nervouse already.... :-/ :-/

Goes without saying...find the fish! But probably the biggest chore you have is time prioity, not only in preparation for the tourney but while in the tourney. Another thing is boat position and control. Weather conditions now dictate where you can hold your boat, and where that puts your co-angler as well as the fish. Will you opt for a more freindly co-angler pattern, or put up with him staring at you all day. Have you properly prepared him for your time together? Are you going for quality or quantity, what will it take to make the cut? Is my equippment ready and can I avoid all the "bad" luck, the lack of preparation brings with it.  Last but not least your now responsible for 2, his success as well as yours, thats not easy for either to deal with sometimes. Practice for the sake of practice is not always good. Make a log of weather conditions, water temps, fish moods, seasonal as well as particular patterns the fish are in, another is to just observe what others are doing and whats going on around you, and that doesn't mean running up behind someone and smackin the WPT button. The list goes on and on. How will I handle having to share my "honey" hole with another boat ? If theres another in there wheres the sweet spot ? How much run time can my pattern stand? Whos watchin the clock ? Do I know all the possible violation zones on the lake, so I don't get disqualed ?  Good luck!  First time out as boater can be a nervous time but if you prioritize and prepare, the experience and sense of accomplishment far outweighs any experience in winning I had as a co-angler.

With money and prestiege on the line may I suggest calling your non-boater and seeing what he knows about the bodies of water you will be fishing.

If you meet him the day of the tournament then sit in the boat before blastoff and look at a map and get his input.

Tell him your plans and the baits you are going to throw and the techniques you will be using.  Since you have a short amount of time it is imperative that you start catching fish ASAP.

Work together and hopefully you all will be successful.

Great idea; however, your idea of fishing every weekend until the tournament might not be the best use of your time. Make a few trips to learn the lay of the lake so you will know how to navigate the water. Any lessons you learn now will be of little help for May. If you like fishing the lake that well go ahead and fish it every weekend, but don't game plan for May on what you learn now. the fish are going to be going through pre spawn, spawn, and post spawn. What you should look for are areas that fish to your strengths and try to find the ditches, grass, and drops. This is what will help you down the road. If it is a large lake pick an area and try top learn as much as you can about an area. If it does not produce start on another. Is the lake a highland lake, resovier, or river lake? this will determine your choices and if it was me I would try to spend most of my time the two weeks just before the tournament to figure out what is going on.Good luck.

With money and prestiege on the line may I suggest calling your non-boater and seeing what he knows about the bodies of water you will be fishing.

If you meet him the day of the tournament then sit in the boat before blastoff and look at a map and get his input.

Tell him your plans and the baits you are going to throw and the techniques you will be using. Since you have a short amount of time it is imperative that you start catching fish ASAP.

Work together and hopefully you all will be successful.

i dont think he will know his nonboater till the night before, and as a boater you wanna have your ducks in a row if you know what i mean, if i was a nonboater and the boater asked me the day of the tourney what should we do, i wouldnt feel to confident in knowing that my boater doesnt have a clue as to whats going on

Will it be a team event with your non-boating partner or will each of you be fishing in separate competitions?  If you advance, will you keep the same partner for the next round?

Hey Cajun77,

I meant that he has to know what he is going to do but to discuss it with his non-boater to find out if the non-boater has any insight into where to go.

Plus the fact that a non-boater may come up with a Plan B if Plan A does not work out.

Great hearing from you. There are five former LSU players in the Super Bowl.  Cory Webster ticked me off when he intercepted the pass to defeat the Packers.

But now I can see Eli go down in flames, which will be fun.

Have a fun Super Bowl Sunday.

Hey GeorgiaSpotSticker I posted something like this similar about 2 years ago. Here's the link to the post.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1142702871

bassdocktor

Sam im guessing you never fished a tournament, cause if the boater needs the input from a nonboater hes never met then the boater shouldnt be fishing in the tournament, he might as well write a check send it in and stay home. ;D

Just be prepared.Read over all the rules and make sure you follow them.Other than that,just go fishing.To much thinking about it may hinder you.Try and keep your train of thought towards the fish.The one thing I did in my first few tournaments as a boater was get in to much of a hurry.

Good Luck! CJ

Be on the water as often as possible and not when the weather is perfect but in every imaginable condition.

Learn to read a depth finder

Learn to read a Topo Map

Learn to read baitfish

Learn to read bass

Remember to put the plug in!  If you remember that the rest of the day should be taken care of by your instincts.

LOL! good one lee.

i dont know if anyone said it yet, but go fish a couple of draw tournaments to get a feel for it before the one you care about.

I would say remember to put the trolling motor up before you take off!! Last year was my first year as a boater I got PO'd at a dude that pulled up a cast away on me. Rather then start casting at him and yelling I put the poles down cranked the motor hit the ol'throttle to leap frog'em and got sprayed in the face by water . Terrable lesson learned and kinda expencive. Oh yeah I also bring a roll of TP(White Gold).