How Accommodate the Guy in the Back?

[herbu]

I have a regular fishing partner.  It's my boat and usually I'm in front.  Sometimes I offer to swap places, but he rarely accepts as he's not experienced w/ the trolling motor.  We're both retired and fish just for fun.  No tournaments or competition.

Often I become aware that while I'm in a good position, he is too close or too far from the bank.  So I try to get the boat in a better position for him.  It's especially difficult in the wind, as it's a light weight aluminum boat.  Sometimes I'm fishing a swimbait and he's fishing a worm, so I find myself going too fast for him.  A lot of times if I'm catching and he's not, I'll back the boat into coves and good spots to give him first shot.  Those of you who fish with a guy in the back, how much effort and attention to you give to controlling his position?

[GetBent]

That's really nice of you. My friend has the boat and tries to accommodate me when he can. We are the type of friends who give each other a hard time, so naturally I am standing next to him up front when we are fishing small areas, like flipping reeds and little pockets. If we are fishing open areas I will fish the same type speed bait as him. Example he throws a crankbait I might throw a spinnerbait. My buddy gave me a hard time for being up front at first but when we fish team tournaments he doesn't care where I am. We do a good job of not tangling lines. Only downside is the close proximity of slaps to the back of the head when certain comments get to personal lol

[Nice_Bass]

back of the boat is usually up front with me...

or he knows what he's doing and no issues...

or I tell him where to cast and what I am leaving him.  I am pretty generous with leaving cover/structure for the back of the boat.  Good friend of mine I take fishing with me very often is 90% blind (cant tie knots, casts poorly, etc.) but we still catch fish. 

[S. Sass]

Like all the reply's so far my partner and I have a really good fishing/boating arrangement. Its my boat but we fish for fun and try to work together. Last trip out I gave him the front and it was actually nice to be in back not having to do anything but find a place to toss a lure. We dont attempt to be pros so there are no hard feelings if we have a communication error or someone gets hung up 2 times in a row we just go get the lure and talk a little smack about the one committing the bad casts at that moment. 

Consideration for the one in back is a nice thing but unless its just obvious your treating that one to a horrible experience I haven't seen it as that bad when I didn't really focus on him. He never hit me in the back of the head with a lure or talked crap I could hear. 

All in all if mt fishing partner wasn't very easy to get along with and work well with me I would have a different partner or none at all. I feel many of you might be the same way. 

[13TT5oh]

I have the wireless foot pedal on my trolling motor. So when my fishing partner complains he either takes over the tm in the front or I take the pedal to the back and fish back there. I really don't mind either way. I think he just likes the fish finder up front lol

[Jeffbrown763]

I am lucky and fish with a buddy of mine that offers to let me up front sometimes, he tells me what he's leaving me to cast to, etc.  In turn, if I see that he's throwing a crankbait or something fast moving, I throw something similar because we're covering water and I don't want to slow it down with a shakey head or something like that.

I do the same whenever I'm in my boat and have a backseater.

I have had some guys that don't give a rat's pitoot about the backseater.

[WRB]

When you are older your wiser. Some guys are so competitive they always want to out fish their partners and front seat them. I have never understood this type of logic when bass fishing and try to put my partner in position to catch bass, tournament or fun fishing. If we are both catching bass that's good, if one is the other can change lures or presentation and catch bass.

Moving around in most aluminum boats isn't easy for older folks, so if the partner is uncomfortable up front just go with what works for him.

Fishing 2 very different lures that require different pace isn't usually productive when the boat is moving too fast or too slow.

Tom

 

[scaleface]

I take turns with the guy in the back to get the first cast at good pieces of cover . Whoever get first cast better make it count because it then becomes fair game .Me and my partner have a lot of fun fishing this way especially when the buzzbait bite is hot . 

[Bass Turd]

My partner is happy with me doing everything from the front of the boat. I try to position us so he always has a casting lane etc.. I did hear of a pretty neat idea though.... put a hand operated trolling motor on the back of the boat. If the guy in the back of the boat isn't satisfied with positioning he has the ability to adjust it a bit. I thought that was a pretty neat idea.

[Catt]

I've never understood why 2 anglers who are supposedly friends do not understand the benefits of fishing as a "team".

What are your strengths?

What are his?

What are y'alls weaknesses?

How well y'all game plan strengths & weaknesses will determine how successful the team will be!

Y'all must fish together as a team not as two individuals out fishing!

While the angler in the front is working a shoreline the guy in the back should be targeting all isolated cover away from the shoreline.

When one catches a bass the other should immediately fire a follow up cast to the same spot.

When done in unison both anglers can cover water quickly & thoroughly, while allows a greater opportunity to establish patterns faster.

[bralexander]

Ha! Occasionally I will fish with my sort of father in law. I am often in the back of the boat, But I like it! I know that he is getting the better cast and opportunities, but I see it as a trade off. I do not enjoy running the trolling motor and fishing at the same time. Maybe your partner in the back actually likes it better and you could be worrying for no reason. I think communication is key here.

Bruce

[ethan-333]

me and my buddy that fish all the time always fish on the front deck together. we can communicate better and its easoer to control the boat. as for trolling we each troll equal amounts. and usually catch about same amount of fish.

[junyer357]

Ive been both, boater and bon boater. Normally i prefer to be up front in both cases, wether im running tm or not. Most of the folks i fish with prefer this as well. It has advantages, such as if one of you has a fish or gets hung up the other is right there to help take over tm and help out. You just have to be aware of your surroundings and watch what you do more. Dont want to hit/hook partner or step on rods. 

I have fished with some that prefer to sit, and i normally dont have a seat in front unless water is rough, so i try to keep boat positioned for them. One trick we have learned is if going parrelel down the bank, turn gas motor slightly to kick rear toward bank, and nose away. Rear person is then not casting right over you. 

As far as fishing diffrent speed lures, its a mixed bag for me. If my partner is using a crank i will often pick up a spinnerbait or vice versa. I have also fished a senko making short precise cast and one or two falls. Works well if going parrellel down a rip rap bank, if i throw shallower and inside partner fishing a crank. 

[r3825]

My little 14 footer that we fish out of only has a trolling motor on the back so I'm always in the back of my own boat.  Doesn't bother me one bit,  I just enjoy being out there and I'm just as happy if the other two buddies in my boat are catching them.

[gim]

I do not allow another angler to cast with me in the front deck of my bass boat anymore.  Its only an 18 foot boat and I took a crankbait to the back of the head last summer because of the close physical proximity one time.  It got so deeply embedded with a treble hook that I had to go to the hospital, get my head numbed up with lidocaine, have the hooks removed, get a tetanus shot, and then get stitches.  There is a back deck for a reason, and its for a second angler.  Hell, there's even a chair back there in case you wanna sit down and drink beer instead.  I run the trolling motor in my boat up front.  I have offered a couple people the chance to use the front deck and operate the TM, but they decline.  When I fish with someone else in their boat, I take the back deck and the roles are reversed.  You just have to accept the fact that you may not get the opportunities in the back deck that you get in the front because the boat is being controlled by the individual in the front.

[ww2farmer]

I fish shallow a lot during team tournaments, not much I can do  for the guy in the back. I WILL NOT leave targets intentionally in a tournament situation.............it's against every fiber of my being.

I have had partners who hit everything I hit, with the same thing I hit, or are trying to "beat" me to the target............I don't fish with people like that anymore.

I have had partners who understand what I am doing and offer a different presentation to the targets I hit, or keenly watch what I miss( I can't hit everything all the time) and hit it, or hit targets I have already fished from a different angle after I have moved to the next one. These are the kind of people I fish with.

And then there are the people who snag everything within 100 feet of the boat.........if it's not my lure/terminal tackle they are using. I will go in and get it for them up to 3 seperate times.............after that, they better know how to use scissors or learn how to cast accurately.

The way I look at is..............it's not up to me to accommodate the guy in the back, it's up to the guy in the back to be aware of the situation and to "get in where he fits in" behind me. If they are not capable of it...........well..........that's not my fault. I am hard to fish with. I am stubborn, and my way has worked for me, and worked well for so long, I refuse to change. And............I really don't care if I have a partner anyways.

Out of all the guys I have tournament fished with....there are exactly 3 whom I "play well" with...............the guy in my avatar ..Rick. Fellow bassresource member wnybassman, and another local kid/angler we call "weasel".