Logan S

We'll just agree to disagree...That statement by FLW seems pretty accurate to me, since the path to the pro tours is through the boater side of the Open tours. I don't see it as negative toward co-anglers at all. Comparing 'skill' in a tournament setting between boaters and co-anglers is sort of an apples/oranges scenario. Both sides face challenges that the other guy doesn't on tournament day. Different skill sets IMO.

What about a casting rod with spiral wrapped guides? Ultimate sensitivity? ?

No one is saying that and this change by FLW doesn't imply that in any way. I never hear people claim that about all co-anglers...Even among the most grumpy and grizzled boaters I know.

I doubt that, if it hurt their bottom line they probably wouldn't do it...The Marshal fee will likely be the same or similar to the co-angler entry fees and all the Marshals will still be booking rooms and all that other stuff. They also won't have to pay out winnings to the co-angler field. The money aspect is probably a wash for FLW. I don't think a professional level tour should have co-anglers, so to me this is a good move for FLW. BASS Opens and FLW Costa are still high-level tours for co-anglers to compete in. I think the prize stuff is kind of cool. I wouldn't really be interested in marshaling for FLW normally, but with that added I might do it...It's obviously like a raffle or lottery, but it's enough to make me think about doing it if they come to a local spot.

My boat ownership history from about 13 years old til now...AKA the history of my spending habits for more than half my life ?. 12' hand-me-down aluminum v-hull that was probably 40 years old, w/electric motors. 17' Tracker TX17 w/ 25hp Mercury 20' Stratos 20SS w/200HP Ficht, followed by a 200HP ETEC when the Ficht blew up. 21' Skeeter ZX250 w/250HP Yamaha SHO. (Current)

I was in KVD's boat and asked him about it...He didn't give me a sales pitch, he just turned it on and showed me. He didn't have it on because he said it didn't really apply to how he was currently fishing, but he turned it on and within minutes a school of baitfish had appeared and was circling around and following the boat. He explained that in shallow grassy water (what he was in at the time) it's not as valuable. It's true strength is in a more traditional shad lake (like a typical reservoir). It can get the shad schools moving around which gets the bass moving around. I don't own one, but based on that quick demo and explanation I can see it's merits. I might add one in the future. Most pro boats have one installed, including lot's of guys that don't promote them...That tells me something too.

Lots of people throwing 'what-if' scenarios around here that obviously wouldn't apply to the situation originally described. Situations like this where 2 shorelines are within casting range (canal, cove, cut, etc) are tricky on the boater/co-angler dynamic for all the reasons you see in here... Lots of people also assuming the boater picked the 'wrong side' and was dumb for doing so...Maybe that's true and maybe it's not, but I can easily think of several reasons someone might do that intentionally which would make perfect sense. Most obvious one is that he simply wanted to work that good side in a specific direction for whatever reason...But he fished his way in on the bad side before turning around for the sake of thoroughness. I do that or similar things fairly often, usually when the wind is blowing into the cove/cut/canal I'm targeting but sometimes for no other reason than personal preference on that particular spot.

Daily occurrence on some lakes around here. Most of them are oblivious to the fact that they are in the way or being rude so I typically just let them pass. I can't imagine ever thinking it'd be a good idea to get between a fisherman and his target - you know with the hooks and all...But it seems that common sense isn't as common as you'd think. Kayaks on the boat ramp is what really gets me boiling though. It's impressive how a single person in a kayak and car can manage to block a 3-lane boat ramp for 30 minutes. If a group of them comes in, forget it, might as well go back out on the lake for an hour. If you ever mention anything to them, even a friendly manner, you're just the jerk fisherman to them. Oh well...Such is life at the boat ramp during the summer months.

Was only a matter of time...I really hope that authorities somehow catch some of the people transplanting them and make an example out of them. I don't think they'll poison BH to get rid of them, its big enough that it would probably be cost-prohibitive to do so.

Umm...Yea. Unless you're paying me to guide you or we're out fun fishing, I'm getting first crack at the water we fish in a draw tournament. FWIW, I don't cry when my backseater catches fish, I enjoy it. I've already had 2 co's win the co-angler division of tournaments in my boat this year. I was happy for them and we had a great time on the water.

I don't worry about console-lines or windows...I just tell my co's to use common sense and not skip ahead of me. This means they have the freedom to cast forward when we're moving or fan cast off the back if fishing open water. Seems to work out fine for me and the co-angler's I've drawn. Out of several hundred tournaments I can count the number of poor co-angler experiences on one hand. The situation you described would fall into the 'skipping ahead' category IMO, especially since he told you he was planning on looping around. Like I said originally, he probably could have explained it better...Good news is that it seems to be water under the bridge and not a big deal on the water.

I've actually done that...Asked my co-angler to please not mess with a fish that I missed or am coming back to for whatever reason (like a bedding fish). Flame-on ?. None had issues with it BTW... You asked a question and I answered, sorry you don't like my take on it.

He told you his plan, what you did was effectively the same as casting in front of him -- You hit a target he planned to hit. Sorry, gotta side with boater here. There's some grey area in that he could have told you more specifically, but then again you also could have asked him first... He could have avoided this by fishing both sides at once on the way in...But then he might have been labeled as a 'backseater' ? No-win situation for him.

I'm usually good for at least 1 or 2 in a full day of fishing on the Potomac. Always a disappointment...Smashing bite, heavy weight - Start yelling at your co-angler for the net - Start thinking about how this 6lber will help your tournament day....Then the death-roll starts and you start cursing those annoying cats while the Co rolls his eyes at you ?.

No. One got out and physically helped the angler, the other didn't...That's the difference. The marshal moves around the boat all day, so going up front is no big deal. When I was a marshal they specifically told us we couldn't get out to help. Sitting on the front deck is something every marshal is able to do, getting out and physically pushing is something that some marshals might not be able to do - That's why it's different.

I believe you, although I still think most are 'flogging then fishing' and not 'flogging while fishing' , but I won't argue that point - I could be wrong. I guess I just don't see it as that big of a deal since the guys are still finding and catching the fish in a somewhat conventional manner. Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised if they get banned at some point for same reasons as A-Rigs or long-lining. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it if it happened.

It's no different than using electronics to locate fish or fish-holding cover/structure. You also can't really fish while 'flogging', at least not effectively...So you need to put it down to actually fish for and catch those fish that you see. The bed-fishing angle has been discussed at length here and elsewhere and the bottom line is that DNR and tournament organizations allow it, so not really anything to talk about there. People do lots of legal things to help them see better when bed-fishing - Dish soap to dissipate ripples and pollen, marking beds with reeds on a practice day, standing on their outboards for higher vantage points, etc...Not sure why the flogger is any different.

Despite being a full power heavier, the Perfect Pitch is better at handling the lighter stuff when pitching/flipping than the Tour Versatile is. I have both (2 TV's actually). I use the TV for casting/skipping jigs, big spinnerbaits, toads, and some other stuff...But generally all techniques where you're casting the bait, not pitching/flipping short distances. For the short distance, heavy cover stuff I'll use the Perfect Pitch. The Perfect Pitch does casting stuff just as well too, it's just also really good at pitching/flipping...The name is fitting, it's awesome at pitching. Both rods would do the job well...But if you ask me, I'd take the Perfect Pitch for the scenario you described. Only disclaimer I'd add is that this is all based on the 1st Gen XX rods since I have not used the 2nd Gen XX's yet.

Perfect Pitch...You'll probably like it a lot more than the Jig & Worm model you broke.

There was a thread a while ago about the possibility of a Curado DC and I was one of the people who said/thought it would never happen....Can't remember who was in the thread or when it was, but this is my official "I was wrong" post . I've got a couple E-Series Scorpion DC's and love them, so I'm looking forward to these.

Brian usually does this but he didn't this time.... There is a FOBA tournament at Black Hills tomorrow, I'm posting just in case someone might see this and not be shocked at all the boats there in the morning. I think last count was 17 or 18 boats and we'll be launching at 6AM and pulling out at 3PM. Will be a bit hectic around the ramp around those times. The tournament itself is not open, you need to be a member (but membership is always open )...But if you're there and want more info feel free to ask anyone. Anyone is welcome to hang out at the weigh in if they want too...We do catch-weigh-release (MLF Style) at BH because of the funky size limits so there won't be any fish to see, we just run through the results/standings. If you are there and see a black/blue Skeeter, that's me...Feel free to say hi.

True. There's a point where you 'overstretch' it if you pull too hard and it kills that section of line. If I have to pull hard to get off a snag I'll wrap it around my pliers as close as I can get and pull from there, then cut my line where I wrapped it and retie to avoid the damaged section. But like everyone else said, get a hound dog.

Operator error mixed with bad luck, the percentages of each will probably only ever be known by Alton himself. Sounds like he bow hooked it on the wake of the redfish boat he was passing....He probably had the jackplate and trim high due to the shallow/stumpy water - That plus no skeg would theoretically make it a lot easier to hook the boat. IMO it's always the operator's fault to some degree, in this case he knew about the skeg and presumably knew how it could/should/would effect handling. He's been doing this long enough to know about hooking and how/why it happens too. You can hook a bassboat with a 150HP outboard too BTW...They used to have a 150HP limit and there were accidents back then too.

Outboard choice is something to think about...With Skeeter the only option is the Yamaha SHO, which is an awesome option, but it's the only one you get . The final decision on my last 2 boats came down to deck layout and storage layout. My current boat is a Skeeter ZX250 and I would recommend it (or another Skeeter) in a heartbeat. I've fished, rode, and driven several Ranger models over the years and they are excellent boats as well - I'd be very happy to own one. IMO, the ride/handling is better in the Skeeter (comparing 21' to 21') but that's a very subjective topic and it depends a lot on the driver (and it isn't a huge difference). My opinion is based on actually driving both, not just riding. Excellent point to make. For me it would probably have been a BassCat Caracal...Sounds odd to go from a 21'/250HP to a 19'/225HP, but I REALLY liked the Caracal. It's wide for a BassCat, has a layout I like, and has the muscle car looks and performance. There were 2 big reasons I went with my Skeeter over the Cat. The price of the Caracal was more than my Skeeter for one...And the second is that since I fish big waters like the Potomac and Bay, I wanted the extra length/size of the 21 footer.

Not a ZMan and it didn't come this way...But my favorite look for a chatter head is a beat up one, it's a good sign . I wouldn't worry too much about that paint chip, it probably wasn't used before hand - It was probably just a bad spot of paint or banged around in shipping. BUT, if it does bother you there's nothing wrong with getting it replaced at all...It's not how it's supposed to be. Might get lucky and TW will tell you to just keep the chipped one rather than pay to ship it back.