Casting Reaction Baits Behind The Boat?

[clh121787]

a non Boater would have to have an inflated sense of self importance to believe he/she is entitled to the same potential oppurtunities IN A TOURNAMENT as the boater. A day of fun fishing in my boat is the polar opposite.If i do have a guest ill pretend im a guide and  let my guest fish the prime stuff. its all situational

[Glaucus]

41 minutes ago, clh121787 said:

a non Boater would have to have an inflated sense of self importance to believe he/she is entitled to the same potential oppurtunities IN A TOURNAMENT as the boater. A day of fun fishing in my boat is the polar opposite.If i do have a guest ill pretend im a guide and  let my guest fish the prime stuff. its all situational

That's not what I said, but we are on different wave lengths.

 

"Great victory today, Jeff! How'd you do it?"

 

"You see, we eliminated half the crowd right away with terrible boat positioning. I made especially sure that the guy in my boat had no opportunities. He's probably better, so I had to screw 'im." 

 

Not into it. If you are, cool.

[scaleface]

In club tournaments  the non-boater should be given sufficient opportunity  to  cast and catch fish . Its only a trophy .

[WRB]

Bass fishing tournaments have evolved. Back when Ray Scott started B.A.S.S. with the All American events the rule was partners were blind drawn, the boat owner had the option to be up front 1/2 the time and could choose which half he wanted. Both anglers shared the operating the boat or could waive it.

The blind draw for partners was a effort to reduce cheating, the split operating time was to even the competition between the anglers. That concept lasted a long time until B.A.S.S. gave up the 2 anglers fishing together concept. 

The next level of competition was Opens where the Pro runs the boat and AAA is a back seater and both anglers share the 5 bass limit weight. This Pro-Am concept helps to promote a team effort. The club events are usually a Team events with 2 anglers fishing together and sharing a 5 bass limit. The events where 2 anglers fish together and have separate  5 bass limits creates competition between the front and back seater and isn't to anyone's best interest, most tournaments have eliminated head to head events.

Tom

[5by3]

As a coangler I’ve had both experiences. I’ve had boaters who parallel the bank to the point that I can touch the shoreline with my rod tip or put the nose of the boat towards the dock and the back end out towards the middle of the lake. Sure it’s frustrating, but it’s their boat so I don’t feel I have any justification to speak up. When this happens I usually just cast off the other side of the boat parallel to the bank.

 

On the flip side, I’ve also had boaters who are absolutely great to fish with and always make sure to position the boat fairly so I can reach targets too. Sometimes they’ll even let me have first cast to a target or completely bypass it altogether and tell me to put a cast in there.

 

That being said, I find team format tournaments that share a 5 fish limit to be much more enjoyable. There are no hostile feelings, nobody cares where the other person casts, and I don’t have to feel uncomfortable asking permission to cast to a particular spot or worry that I am ticking off my boater by casting towards the front half of the boat. 

[EWREX]

21 hours ago, clh121787 said:

a non Boater would have to have an inflated sense of self importance to believe he/she is entitled to the same potential oppurtunities IN A TOURNAMENT as the boater.

 

thats an awful take, but to each there own?

[5/0]

Thank you all for your responses! There were many interesting takes on the situation! However the intent of my original post was not to debate the ethics (for lack of a better word) of the boater/non boater relationship. I believe there is no real answer to that one, too many variables come into play. I fish small club events, not "money" tournaments. And I understand that competitiveness can exist no matter what the level. I was just trying to see if there were alternative methods of fishing when put in a position, as one responder mentioned, where I can touch the bank with my rod tip as the boater was cruising down the bank. I thought that maybe I could match his presentation, say throwing a crank bait or SB behind the boat and retrieving, not trolling, it back to the boat.

I have come to approach our club events this way:

I never throw beyond the 50 yard line unless I'm told it would be okay. 

When asked to share the front, I usually decline. I'm not as skilled as most of the boaters and I'm not about to mess up their presentation.

If given the opportunity to run the trolling motor, I usually decline this also. Another experience thing. I will take it to hold the boat if the boater needs to retie or adjust their equipment.

These are just things that I feel will make for a more comfortable day on the water for all involved. Are there times when I'm just along for the ride, yes. But there are also times when I'm allowed to break the rules I set for myself and made to feel comfortable with doing it. I just want to get out and have fun without starting WW III.

 

Joe 

 

  

[Cheetahsneverprosper]

I've been in that situation before, and usually they're going too fast to drag something like a carolina rig or drop shot out of the back of the boat.  Any bottom contact bait, whether it's a ned rig or texas rig, is guaranteed to hang up and your boater isn't going to want to go back 100 feet to unsnag you.  So you'll be doing nothing but breaking off and retying all day long.

 

A good solution I've found is a 3.8 Keitech Fat Impact swimbait on an exposed hook like a Strike King Squadron jighead.  I personally like the Owner Flashy Swimmer because it's weedless, but expect that you're going to lose a few baits to snags, so a more inexpensive jighead may be the way to go.

 

Cast it out a good ways and run it as close to shore as you can.  You'll be targeting fish hidden in the nooks and crannies that the boater may have missed.  If the boat is going too fast for it to swim properly, give it some slack and let it glide for a second or two.  Even click open the bail and let it go to the bottom before closing the bail and pulling it forward again.  Sometimes there will be a fish on it when they hit it right as it dies.

Eventually as you work it, your bait will end up so far in back of the boat that you'll need to reel in and start over.

 

Use a longer rod, like 7'6" or so, to give you a good amount of slack to work the bait with.  You'll also be fighting line stretch, so I highly recommend 20lb braid tied to a 2 or 3 foot fluorocarbon leader of 15 or 17 lbs.  I wouldn't go less than 15lbs because when you do catch one, you'll be fighting the fish as well as the forward movement of the boat.

 

As for it being called trolling, if you're holding the rod and physically working the bait, you can credibly claim that you're working the shoreline exactly like the boater is doing at the front.  And if that's all he's giving you to work with, then you really have no choice.