Co-Angler Étiquette (Myth)

[stepup]

On 12/22/2018 at 4:00 PM, Logan S said:

"Co-angler" implies its a draw-tournament scenario...Not 2 buddies out fishing for fun (or family, neighbors, etc).  You shouldn't really compare the two situations or act like they are the same.  This seems to be a big misconception in the thread.

 

In a tournament where a co-angler is paired with a boater it is customary and commonplace for that co-angler to kick in some cash to their boater.  It's very different from hitting the lake with a good friend, family member, kid, neighbor, etc for a fun day on the water...Where such a thing is usually not expected.  

Not really though. Are you not going to fish the tournament irregardless of whether a co-angler gives you 20.00 or not. If you are expecting the 20.00 for them to be fishing from your boat in the tournament then that is your perogative but to me I am fishing the tournament because I want to. That being said there has never been a time I have fished on someone else's boat that I haven't offered them at least 20 to cover the gas burned but I can count on 1 hand the amount of times they have taken it. 

[J Francho]

That might be because $20 isn't enough.  I fish team tournaments, and costs are split 50/50.  That generally means around $75 - $150.

[Logan S]

5 hours ago, stepup said:

Not really though. Are you not going to fish the tournament irregardless of whether a co-angler gives you 20.00 or not. If you are expecting the 20.00 for them to be fishing from your boat in the tournament then that is your perogative but to me I am fishing the tournament because I want to. That being said there has never been a time I have fished on someone else's boat that I haven't offered them at least 20 to cover the gas burned but I can count on 1 hand the amount of times they have taken it. 

That's not really a good argument...The public bus runs the same route whether you get on it or not, but no one expects to ride for free becasue of that.  Probably a terrible analogy, but whatever...It should get the point across.

 

...And $20 is the ramp fee for some places around here, so you're not even into gas at that point ?.  The actual amount of money is meaningless to me, it costs money to operate the boat and I'm fine with that.  My time is worth more than the gas we burn IMO .  

[Carolina Rig]

I've read through a lot of these posts and will say that when I used to ride along as a co-angler, I'd always offer $50.  As stated by some other folks, a lot of times the boat-owner wouldn't accept the money.

 

When it was my boat, I was offered money quite often; but, I always turned it down.

 

I'm not sure what's expected and what isn't; but, in my opinion, anyways, it boils down to common decency.  Sure, you were planning to fish this tournament whether I was in your boat, or not.  But, I wasn't going to be able to fish this tournament if you hadn't given me a spot in your boat and I'm happy to pitch in a little money as a sign of my gratitude for letting me have fun for a day or two.

 

Call it what you will; but, if I take someone out along with me, even though I know going into it that I likely won't take their money, if they don't at least offer, I put a little check mark in the back of my mind beside their name.  If it happens again, it's unlikely that we'll share a boat anymore.  I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt - perhaps he just forgot.  But, fool me once...

 

All of this being said - if it's a buddy and we routinely fish together, then yes, I start to expect a little help with the fees.  Not to say that I couldn't afford to go on my own or need help with the costs to be able to put my boat in the water; but, if he's going to tag along all the time, he should be willing to help out.  That said, it's never an issue with most of my friends because we were all brought up the same way.

 

Just my opinion, not trying to ruffle any feathers.

[Chance_Taker4]

When I co I always offer $60 whether we were on the trolling motor all day or spot hopping. Believe it or not I had a boater once expect me to pay half of EVERYTHING. Literally wanted me to pay half of his hotel room half of his gas in his vehicle driving from his house and back and half of the gas used in the boat. His thinking was that normally he and his co share a hotel room and since I was more local and didn't need a hotel I still needed to pay half of his room. Also he had the mentality that if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be able to fish so I should cover half the gas in his vehicle since he drove 7 hours to fish the event.

[RobbyZ5001]

On 1/8/2019 at 4:54 PM, Chance_Taker4 said:

When I co I always offer $60 whether we were on the trolling motor all day or spot hopping. Believe it or not I had a boater once expect me to pay half of EVERYTHING. Literally wanted me to pay half of his hotel room half of his gas in his vehicle driving from his house and back and half of the gas used in the boat. His thinking was that normally he and his co share a hotel room and since I was more local and didn't need a hotel I still needed to pay half of his room. Also he had the mentality that if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be able to fish so I should cover half the gas in his vehicle since he drove 7 hours to fish the event.

and his steak dinner he shares with 2 forks with his co. I don't understand, he probably would have got less for that expectation. I always give $40 unless i'm in the money then more. 

On 1/8/2019 at 4:54 PM, Chance_Taker4 said:

When I co I always offer $60 whether we were on the trolling motor all day or spot hopping. Believe it or not I had a boater once expect me to pay half of EVERYTHING. Literally wanted me to pay half of his hotel room half of his gas in his vehicle driving from his house and back and half of the gas used in the boat. His thinking was that normally he and his co share a hotel room and since I was more local and didn't need a hotel I still needed to pay half of his room. Also he had the mentality that if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be able to fish so I should cover half the gas in his vehicle since he drove 7 hours to fish the event.

and his steak dinner he shares with 2 forks with his co. I don't understand, he probably would have got less for that expectation. I always give $40 unless i'm in the money then more. 

[Rip_lipz]

Buy me lunch and some cold beers on ice afterwards. That'll keep me happy.

[Junk Fisherman]

If I am taking a nonboater fishing friend out, I think the least he can do is pay the launch fee which can be $20 around here.  Sure, I was probably going out regardless but he wasn't going out at all unless he jumped in my boat.  I never worry about boat gas or my gas to get to the lake.  In my club I always undercharge the nonboaters.  Some guys add in every toll and their oil and fuel additives.  I am just happy to share most of the expenses since I wouldn't be going away for so many weekends if it wasn't for the nonboater.    

 

 

[Jleebesaw]

So are we talking about tournaments where the guy with the boat has to take someone he doesn't know with him? I looked into my local B.A.S.S club but they only have a team tournament schedule but it's the same guys fishing together all year. I dont think I would fish if I knew I had to bring a stranger out with me. I'm sure the guys fishing the team tournaments in my area know each other and work out the costs before the season starts.

    It seems to me that knowing ahead of time that you would be bringing someone else into your boat, you would either accept that they dont owe you money or opt to not fish that style of event.