How to fish two people out of a boat

[livemusic]

10 hours ago, K1500 said:

On a more serious note, have the guy in the back fish a Ned rig behind the boat. They will likely out fish the front angler. 

 

That would be seriously cool if it happened, lol!

[geo g]

If you are truly providing an equal opportunity for both people to fish the weed line.  It is the responsibility of the guy up front to keep the boat at a 45* angle  so both can cast to the target.  If I have a wind from my back, I put out a drift bag and cleat off to the rear cleat, away from the target  This automatically keeps the boat at a 45* and in stealth mode off the T/M.  I love fishing weed lines this way, and I often fish with others in the boat.

[J._Bricker]

On 4/23/2021 at 9:54 AM, WRB said:

Be aware you have a partner and control the boat accordingly. You are simply working the outside edge and passing up all the bass inside the tules. Your partner can pitch or flip the inside pockets and a different lure along the outside break if you slow down a little.

Tom

 

 

16 hours ago, WRB said:

I haven’t fished a reed wall that was straight and dense like a rock wall. No reason for the boat to be up against the reeds unless you are flipping inside the reed wall. 

Move the boat about 8’-10’ away from the wall, this opens up a casting corridor. When you look forward cast to a target area. After you cast the partner has a corridor between where you are fishing and can fish. There will be targets about every 10’ or so, small pockets or flipping into the reeds. The partner can also fish behind the boat hitting targets with a different lure passed by, lots of choices.

Tom

These two posts by @WRB are excellent examples of solving your problem @livemusic. The fisherman in the front of the boat operates the trolling motor and casts moving/reaction baits of his choice ahead of the boat. The second angler can cast follow up baits at missed blow-ups (if both anglers are amenable to it), pitch t-rigs, jigs, wacky worms and the like into the tules (reeds), the trough in between the grass, and through the grass itself. This allows the anglers to effectively and efficiently cover water while they pattern fish on that particular day. 

[Columbia Craw]

Communication before you launch.  I’ve been a back seater and had to fish prop wash all day.  Not fun.  If my co angler is skilled at pitching I tell him to watch where I cast because I will leave spots open to give him a decent opportunity to stick a fish.  I also fish a bait with a faster sink rate and encourage the CO to fish a slow falling bait.  I get just as excited to see my CO catch them as me.  Obviously fish big open water does not present this issue.

[Indiana Bass Angler]

My girlfriend and I fish together almost every weekend. When we are out on the lake we are in a aluminum Jon boat. I sit up front to even out the weight of the boat (battery and trolling motor in the back). I fish sitting down always while she stands most of the time. We try to keep the boat parallel to the bank so we both have opportunities to fish. She cast over my head when she's standing (with a warning of course lol). Obviously this isn't something to trust to anyone. I wouldn't let most of my fishing buddies cast over my head. Thats just how we do it and it works out great!

[TnRiver46]

I rarely fish alone and therefore rarely cast parallel to the bank. If you’ve got someone in the back of the boat, you need to position it away from the reed line so the person in the back has a chance to fish. If you get in close and parallel, the person in the back is basically screwed and probably won’t want to fish with you much anymore. I fished a tournament as a co angler once....... keyword once.......... 8 hours of being 3 feet from shoreline and I had to pay $100........... nightmare 

[Boomstick]

What kind of boat is this? Is this a bass boat, or a 14 ft jon boat?

 

I have rented 14 ft row boats with my kids. Whoever is in front and back can generally cast freely and the person in the middle is usually who has it hard. If the person in the middle was gently rowing us around while the others look for fish, then not a problem but if we're all trying to cast, we all kind of have to pick a spot and call it before casting.

 

In a bass boat, you should be able to put one in the back and one up front without getting in the way. Try to keep the trolling motor on low to keep the prop wash down.

 

I would also setup the boat at least 10' away so the person in front can cast or flip/pitch to the left and the person in the  back can cast to the right side and being 10' away if possible will give a fair amount of area away from the boat that each person can cover as opposed to being right up in it, unless you're in some cover that is so thick where you have to flip in it.

[the reel ess]

On 4/23/2021 at 3:52 AM, Sam said:

The guy at the front of the boat has a tremendous advantage over the guy at the back of the boat.

 

This is called "back boating" when the guy up front hits all targets first, leaving very few targets for the guy in the back of the boat.

 

Solution: As you mentioned above, change positions every 30 minutes. 

 

This gives each of you time at the front of the boat to hit the best targets without getting feelings hurt or making the guy in the back of the boat angry.

 

And yes, if you can have both of the guys on the front fishing deck that could work, too, but you will still be in each other's way and both will want to cast to the same targets at the same time.

If working a shoreline, the back seater can cast or pitch in a backwards angle. They may pick some fish off the front guy misses. I've been successful in my buddy's back seat by fishing out of the other side of the boat or using lures he won't or doesn't use. Gotta do some different things sometimes.