Bassmasters opens 2018

[GGE]

Hi everyone, 

New to the forum. I’m a life long bass angler fished a ton of local tournaments. Taking it to the next level and I’ll be co-angling the bassmasters opens next year. I’m looking for advice/comments/suggestions on the practice days leading up to the tournaments. Is it worth it for a co-angler to get there before, for the 3 days of practice? Do I show up beginning of the week and hope to find a boater who wants a practice partner? Anyone have or not have any success doing this? Thanks in advance!

[RichF]

Welcome!

 

I fished a few Opens as a Co but never practiced with anyone.  I'm not sure how helpful it would be honestly.  It's good for the boaters to have someone with them because it will help them establish a pattern quicker but since you're likely not going to be paired with whoever you practice with, what you find out will be less helpful.  If you have the extra time and cash to get there early, go for it.  Another day on the water is another day on the water!  Good luck!

[Sam]

GGE, let me give you my two cents as I worked a few Northern  Bassmasters Opens and also had friends fish a coanglers.

 

First, you need to do some scouting and prefishing as your boater may not know the waters. In Richmond, we fish tidal rivers (Historic James, Appomattox and Chickahominy). Many times my coangler friends were paired with guys who had never fished tidal rivers and had no idea about how the tides affected the bite. So you need to hit the water to see what is there just in case your boater has never fished that body of water.

 

Second, you need to have an idea of water clarity, water temperature, structure, docks, ramps, piers, humps, laydowns, submerged structure, points, creeks, coves, current breaks, dams, pads, grass, rip-rap, streams, and the list goes on. You can only learn this data by actually being on the water.

 

Third, while practicing you will get an idea of the baits the bass are eating. Of course, those little green monsters change their appetites by the hour, but you will learn what works and what does not plus any patterns and at what hour and where are they feeding. You then use this data to formulate your plan of attack.

 

Fourth, while prefishing, use barbless hooks. You don't want to nail a nice one and not have her bite a few days later after finding where she is located.

 

Fifth, and just as important as the first four, you will learn how to get to the ramp. Yes, some ramps are easy to find while others take a Ph.D. in map reading to get to the ramp in the dark. And you will learn where to park your car and if you have to pay a parking fee in addition to finding out if there are any bathrooms or port-a-potties available at the blast off site.

 

Sixth, the pros are jerks in the Opens. Remember, they are working for a living and making it into the Classic. You are out there having fun and trying to win a boat. So you will be  back boated; ignored; yelled at for not netting the fish the way the pros want them netted; and you are actually a pain in the fanny during the tournament. After the tournament is over they will revert to the great guys they are. But Ike and Hackney, two I have been told about or seen upset at the weigh-in, are not your friend during the fishing time.

 

All the best for fishing in the Opens. You will meet a lot of nice people and hopefully do very well.

 

Please let us know how you do.

[Fishing Cowgirl]

Thank you for the tips.

 

[RichF]

I actually don't think nets can be used anymore, so you might not have to deal with that headache.  I've only fished 5 Opens but never had any real jerks.  Most boaters just treat you as if you're not there, which is fine by me.  As long as you don't cast in front of them or get too messy in their boat, they should be fine.  I got to fish with Ish on the final day of the 2011 Open on Oneida that he won.  He was a pretty cool dude.  Gave me a couple white frogs, which was awesome.  I also fished with John Murray.  Seriously, the nicest guy ever.  My dad fished with a lot of big names too...Ike, Gary Klein, Randall Tharp, David Fritz, and Randy Howell.  

 

I think the biggest piece of advise I can give is this:  don't have extraordinarily high expectations.  Fishing as a co-angler is uncomfortable and while skill is really important, "luck of the draw" is almost always the main factor that leads to the prize.  It's still a great learning experience and I wish you both, @Fishing Cowgirl & @GGE the best of luck!

[Fishing Cowgirl]

Thank you for any and all tips. I'm not a chatty person and know most pros are fully concentrating on getting their 5 like I am on getting my my lmit too. I'm also bringing extra money for the pro's to pitch in for gas and oil. What would be the suggested amount? I know it would depend if they run all the chain of lakes or just stayed on one lake. For each day would it be approximately $40? $50?  This will be my first and probably only time I fish an open, bucket list thing..I go in to win of course but realistic too about its a who  I draw and such. I'm lucky in that its on my home lakes where I tournament fish a lot, so I have that in my favor. Should I ask if they need help launching or loading the boat, wiping it down, things like that? I don't want to tick off someone unintentionally.

[roadwarrior]

Stay out of the way, relax and have some fun.

 

Good luck!

 

[RichF]

13 hours ago, Fishing Cowgirl said:

Thank you for any and all tips. I'm not a chatty person and know most pros are fully concentrating on getting their 5 like I am on getting my my lmit too. I'm also bringing extra money for the pro's to pitch in for gas and oil. What would be the suggested amount? I know it would depend if they run all the chain of lakes or just stayed on one lake. For each day would it be approximately $40? $50?  This will be my first and probably only time I fish an open, bucket list thing..I go in to win of course but realistic too about its a who  I draw and such. I'm lucky in that its on my home lakes where I tournament fish a lot, so I have that in my favor. Should I ask if they need help launching or loading the boat, wiping it down, things like that? I don't want to tick off someone unintentionally.

$40 is pretty average I'd say.  I did have one guy ask me to put $60 in his boat after he made the run to the Chickahominy on the James River.  I don't believe any of the big name guys my dad and I drew asked for anything (even though we offered).  I always try to get the money thing out of the way first thing in the morning (although boaters usually won't humor me that early).  The reason I do that is to hopefully avoid them "up-charging" you if you catch a big one or they have a bad day.  I don't think that happens often, but it's not unheard of.  As for offering to help launch and clean the boat...definitely never hurts to ask!  

[GGE]

Thanks everyone for the advice!! Tournament is drawing near and I will be arriving late Monday to hopefully find a boater for a Tuesday and part of Wednesday practice before check in!! If anyone knows a friend of a friend etc. who’s looking to split prefish costs let me know. Take care everyone and good luck @Fishing Cowgirl

[WRB]

Back to the op's original question; should I get there early to get a chance to be a co angler during practice? No, pro's like to establish a plan on there own. If you have a boat take and pre fish so you have some idea what to bring on tournament day. Don't get in the way of pro's pre fishing.

Use common sense! You are a back seater and if you start catching bass the pro isn't blind, let them ask, otherwise keep a low profile and enjoy your outing.

Tom

[RichF]

19 hours ago, WRB said:

Back to the op's original question; should I get there early to get a chance to be a co angler during practice? No, pro's like to establish a plan on there own. If you have a boat take and pre fish so you have some idea what to bring on tournament day. Don't get in the way of pro's pre fishing.

Use common sense! You are a back seater and if you start catching bass the pro isn't blind, let them ask, otherwise keep a low profile and enjoy your outing.

Tom

I don't think this is true of most boaters in the Opens.  Having another angler in their boat during practice can help them establish a pattern or find the "right" bait quicker.  I'm sure there are a few Pros that want to do it on their own (or just don't want a stranger in their boat more than they have to) but when that kind of money is on the line, having a second line in the water searching is advantageous.  

[GGE]

On 4/6/2018 at 8:25 AM, RichF said:

I don't think this is true of most boaters in the Opens.  Having another angler in their boat during practice can help them establish a pattern or find the "right" bait quicker.  I'm sure there are a few Pros that want to do it on their own (or just don't want a stranger in their boat more than they have to) but when that kind of money is on the line, having a second line in the water searching is advantageous.  

Thanks for the good advice Rich!! Arrived today and headed straight to the docks to ask around. I found two different boaters in under 30 minuets who were more than willing to share pre fishing and take me along.  Everyone is really nice and I’ll be out Tuesday and Wednesday fishing now.

[RichF]

16 hours ago, GGE said:

Thanks for the good advice Rich!! Arrived today and headed straight to the docks to ask around. I found two different boaters in under 30 minuets who were more than willing to share pre fishing and take me along.  Everyone is really nice and I’ll be out Tuesday and Wednesday fishing now.

That's great! Hope you crush'em this weekend!