Confused!

[Sodus Bay Scooter]

So we had our club classic this weekend and I was fishing as a non boater with and against my buddy in his boat. We were both throwing a black and blue jig, mine 3/4 ounce and his a one ounce. I also threw the kitchen sink that first day.

To make the story short, he won with over 17lbs and around 15 fish caught and me...well I had one measly 1.5lb fish. Probably a total of two actual bites the whole 8 hours.

I just can't get over why I could have such an awful day and he literally had one of his best days ever.

Please help shed some light on this, it's been bugging the heck out of me.

Thanks!

[bassguytom]

It seems like they should be 2 separate categories. Guys in a boat have a clear advantage over guys on the bank. Boats have fish finders and can move to where the fish are if there are no fish on the bank you are casting you won't catch any no matter what lure you use.

[Paul Roberts]

Not enough info provided. If you can't provide more, then .. that might be the problem right there. Not trying to be funny. The question is: What did HE know that you didn't.

 

Also, there's an advantage to running the boat in terms of game plan and positioning. A lot of it could be there. But if you don't realize how that was to his advantage that day, then I'd go back to question #1.

[Shane J]

Couple things to consider. First, his fall rate would have been faster, and that could have been the ticket. Second, were you both using the same trailer? If not, that definitely coulda been it. Third, was he back boating you? Like pithing to choice places first? Also, if he was on a good jig bite, and you were busy messing around with lure choices and stuff, then he had his bait in the water much more than you, greatly increasing his odds of catching more fish than you. Lastly, think about what he was actually doing with his jig. Was he hopping, dragging, swimming, yo-yo ing? And were you doing the same or different? There are a thousand factors involved with catching a bass. Lure choice is only one of them.

[Sodus Bay Scooter]

To bassguytom, I was in the boat, not on the bank.

Paul, he was running the trolling motor and basically getting first cast to everything but I still can't believe I only could get two bites to his many.

I do know that positioning is everything. When I'm out on my kayak and in control I can muster up plenty of bass without an issue.

Is that all it could be? I'll tell you, if that's the case I prob won't be donating next year and wait till I have my own boat to compete.

[AK-Jax86]

Few things to consider you only caught 1 fish. He caught more

[Chriswar]

He was catching all the fish before you. Throw something different but similar. Throw in spots he wasn't. If he's pitching, you pitch, but use a t rig when he's jigging. Change it up so you pick up the fish he didn't interest. Throw a different color.

[Sodus Bay Scooter]

Shane, fall rate, I would agree on that. Jig trailer was different, back boated, I would say yes. Lure swapping, yes but not so much to where the cast count was way different. Jig presentation was pretty much the same, small to medium hops on the bottom.

The fish I caught was actually on something different I setup, a 1/2 ounce t rigged 10" power worm.

[KyakR]

As a kayaker, I can tell you ( have been advised by members here) that casting and working a lure from a boat can be very different than what you do from a kayak. Like pitching and flipping especially, casting, skipping, etc. Looks like there were a lot of variables for you. The key thing you may have said yourself, that when you're in your kayak you have no problem.

[tomustang]

He's in control of the boat, he gets all the good spots first. Can easly happen and I could do it too, but it's not my priority to steal fish from my coangler since she's my wife.

[WRB]

You were front seated and only could fish used water. My guess is the front seater was pitch or flipping his jig and hit all the good targets. What you should have done was back seat fish. C-rig works good for back seaters that are not fishing up front with the boater.

Tom

[bgraham91]

X2 on what Tom said and to add shaky head to that as well. Also if I'm using the same bait as the guy in the front and he's catching 15/1 on me, at some point I would of stop and take a minute to watch the guy in the front and pretty much mimic his retrieve.

[Sodus Bay Scooter]

Chriswar, I pretty much did exactly that with no luck except the one. This is why I'm so confused!

[Swampstud]

X2 on what Tom said and to add shaky head to that as well. Also if I'm using the same bait as the guy in the front and he's catching 15/1 on me, at some point I would of stop and take a minute to watch the guy in the front and pretty much mimic his retrieve.

got that right! Id say either your presentation or that fall rate triggered his strikes

[Sodus Bay Scooter]

I did mimic what he was doing as far as retrieve when I was flipping a jig but no luck. I fish from my kayak the same way I do from the front of a boat, standing flipping and pitching.

Its sounding like I was back boated for the most part so I guess I'll have to find a different way to fish when being the co angler.

[Swampstud]

Try a t rig rage craw, ive had decent luck with those this year

[David P]

You got second dibs, throwing the SAME bait is the wrong approach if the guy up front is good and knows what he's casting at. 

[Sam]

JV,

 

1. You were back boated and he got to the fish first.

2. His technique was better than yours although you could not see it.

3. They wanted his style and color bait and not yours.

4. He modified his bait and did not tell anyone.

 

Happens to the guy in the back of the boat all the time.

 

When I have a nonboater with me my worst fear is that he will skunk. As captain of the ship it is my responsibility to put him on fish and to discuss baits, presentations, where to go next, etc. If you work as a team everyone wins.

[roadwarrior]

If the boater is treating you like a partner, you need to figure out what works.

On the otherhand, if you are "nobody" in the back of his boat, troll a Rage Tail

Eeliminator Carolina rigged.

 

 

 

[Oregon Native]

Wudda thought he might have given you more fresh water!! Shakey head or tube are my desperate back seat baits. But a club tourney should of have been more like a team thing. Better luck next time..

[Sodus Bay Scooter]

Haha, he gave me fresh water......at the end when he had his monster bag! No worries on that though, it's his boat and it's all just for fun but I just couldn't understand why I couldn't get more bites. Thanks guys.

[bassguytom]

Ok. If you are on the back of the boat the thing that has always worked for me is a finess worm t-rigged with a 1/16 bullet weight unpegged. If the guy in the front of the boat and misses a fish you want to come in with a secondary bait like this. If you throw what they just saw you won't get bit as much. This should increase your catch. Good luck.

[Bluebasser86]

You got second dibs, throwing the SAME bait is the wrong approach if the guy up front is good and knows what he's casting at. 

Exactly! Fishing the same bait on the same targets will work sometimes but if he's popping all the fish off every piece of cover that's going to eat that bait then you're wasting your time casting the same bait back at them. When I fished as a non boater I loved to fish a shakyhead or a T rigged stick bait, either weightless or with a pegged weight depending on the cover. He'll get the more aggressive fish sure, but you can still pick off fish behind him like that. My first two tournament wins were as a non boater, back to back tournaments, first with a shakyhead and a trick worm, next with a 5" senko and a pegged 1/4oz weight. 

[Ratherbfishing]

I doubt it's simply because he got in the first cast-although that too does happen.  A more likely scenario (IMHO) was that, in addition to first dibs, he was doing something different than you were.  If asked (and he was honest), he may not even know WHAT it was that was different.  Perhaps the fall rate of his bait was faster or slower than yours.  Perhaps he was using a clear leader and you weren't.  Perhaps his casts were more precise or he was able to get the bait to fall down straighter (not pendulum swinging away from the cover), perhaps he let it rest longer before he moved the bait (or vice versa), perhaps he said his prayers the night before.  Who knows!  My friend and I once got into a school of largemouth in Canada where the wind blown current eddied around a point.  Despite every effort I made to emulate his bait and technique, he easily caught 6 fish to my one.  He (my friend) just about took some impromptu swimming lessons that day).  Anyway, you just never know.