Coangler techniques

[Gr8wall]

Hey everyone.  I competed in my first official tournament ever, the Walmart BFL series, in lake Toho.  I would like to thank my boater, Joe (not to sure if im allowed to post full name)  but he was great and very informative.  if it werent for the competition he would have taught me even more.  The day was a little difficult to fish since the bass were easily spooked.  water conditions were clear to very lightly stained and 70 degrees with mostly sunshine very few clouds and winds from 10-15 mph.  my boater filled his limit and i caught 2 fish for a total of 2 lbs. 9 oz.  I placed 98th but my friends told me jsut as long as i get points and be consistent than im good to go.  But anyhow, I wanted to ask all you coanglers,  when your boater is bed fishing, and concentrating on one place, what do you do?  the only thing i could without disturbing him is randomly fan cast around.  i tried casting in places that has similar conditions as where my boater found fish that were locked on, but sometimes i coudlnt cast out there.  any type of advice on techniques for coanglers would be awesome.  Thanks a bunch guys

[Guest avid]

Fishing from the back of the boat can have it's drawbacks.  When your boater is bed fishing it can become old fast.

The best technique I find is to work the bottom real slow.  Your boater is parked, so you need to c-rig or dead stick.  Try to find the staging area for the spawners and work your plastic through the deeper water really slow.  

There's bound to be some fish that are still pre-spawn.

Good luck and have fun.

avid

[Gr8wall]

thanks.  yeah, apparently he found some pretty big ones staging.  the area we were fishing didnt really have deep areas per say.  but if deep area you mean open areas, then great.  i tried to cast in areas that resembled his but it was difficult.  would areas of hydrila where fries were swimming count for anything?  

[flyhatch]

i cant tell you how many times i caught a fish by just throwing a senko in the middle of nowhere.

uasually i have a target.. a log a rock  ect ect... but if my partner has me blocked out with no target i will just cast to nowhere with a senko and let that sucker sink.

ive seen fish come outta nowhere to check a senko out.

other than that i would just try to find a bedding fish of my own or just fan cast the kitchen sink

keeping your line wet keeps you in the game

[Guest avid]

I second the blind casting with the senko.

I have caught several nice back boat fish with rattletraps when the boater is on the move, but when he stops to flip or work beds, dead stick a senko.

[George Welcome]

I would be curious to know if "Joe" came in first place or did he also come in 98th?

[Gr8wall]

they paid out to 40th place for each side (boater and coangler)  he came in 31st.  but oh well at least i got points.  by the looks of things, seems like a little under half didnt catch anything.  any chance of doing the same casting to nowhere technique with an ika?  i just bought them and i have alot of fun with them even though i have not caught anything with them yet.  and also, for next time, should i texas rig or wachy rig those senko suckers lol.  

[squid]

TRY IT BOTH WAYS....JUST TO SEE WHAT THEY ARE AFTER.  ALSO TRY THROWING A TUBE AND PLAY AROUND WITH THAT....EITHER DRAG IT OR SWIM IT.   DON'T USE A HEAVY WEIGHTED TUBE JIG EITHER...SOMETHING LIGHT OR JUST T-RIG IT WITHOUT WEIGHT.  

TRUST ME....BACK OF THE BOAT BED FISHING SUCKS...BUT YOU HAVE PLENTY OF WATER TO THROW AT WHEN THEY ARE TARGETING BEDS.... 8-)

[Okeechobee_Cracker]

i cant tell you how many times i caught a fish by just throwing a senko in the middle of nowhere.

uasually i have a target.. a log a rock ect ect... but if my partner has me blocked out with no target i will just cast to nowhere with a senko and let that sucker sink.

ive seen fish come outta nowhere to check a senko out.

other than that i would just try to find a bedding fish of my own or just fan cast the kitchen sink

keeping your line wet keeps you in the game

I second that.......luckly in my last tournament we didnt go for beddign fish so I didnt have to do that but I already planed out if he did I was going to just dead stick a senko

[Gr8wall]

when you dead stick a senko you are basically letting it sit there as long as you can and then some right? how does this attract fish? i mean do slight changes in water direction cause the ends to flutter a bit or something? just curious. but i will try this out next time on harris if it affords the opportunity. thanks for everyones help. i wish i would have done that but with a bit more patience.

[flyhatch]

Dead Sticking is mentioned with jerk baits but i guess you could do it with a lot of other things too.

as for the senko i dont think you need to much more than cast it out let it hit bottom lift your rod tip and repeat.

most strikes will be on the initinal cast. i havet tried wacky rigging one yet.

[Zel]

I know where you are coming from being in the back of a boat when the owner is sight fishing. It can really frustrate you.

I second the blind casting a Senko technique, and I switch off with Texas and Wacky rigs.  I also blind cast Jerkbaits with some success.  

One other thing I have found that works is when the owner can't get a bedding bass to bite.  When he gives up on a fish, I ask him if he is done with it.  If he says yes, I pull out my rig I came up with - shown below (also, I use 12 lb fluorocarbon).  I tell the owner not to worry about waiting for me, and to just move on.  I throw the rig beyond the bedding bass and quickly work the rig back to where the Senko is directly above the bed. The ½ ounce Jig'n'Pig is heavy enough to keep the Senko in a stationary position as we move. I free spool (because we are moving), and lift the tip of the rod slightly (including occasional shakes of the rod tip) up and down which causes a lift and fall action (and shaking action) of the Senko in a stationary but vertical direction. If the Senko fails to catch the bass, slowly bring the rig back, working the Jig'n'Pig through the bed, thereby giving another look to the bass. I think this works at times because the boat is no longer visibly around the bed.  I've caught the bedding bass from quite some long distances using this technique.  Makes the owner crazy!

[Gr8wall]

wow thanks for the advice.  that is a crazy looking rig but interesting none the less.

[MidBuckeyeCircuit]

Thanks guys alot of great information.  I almost always fish the front of the boat but i will also be giving the BFL Buckeye Division a try this year as a co angler and will find it interesting and challenging iam sure to fish with someone i do not know in the back of there boat.  I have heard it can be a pain or it can be a wind fall depending on your boater.

[flyhatch]

i read a trick for bedding bass

slide a  heavy sinker on your line a then tie on a floating crank like a wiggle wart?

cast out past the bed and work it to the bed by moving the weight close then giving the crank slack

up and down until you trigger a strike

i gave it a try but no sucess yet

[dink]

I have been fishing as a co-angler for many years. If there is one thing I have learned in order to be successful, it is to be a sniper when casting. Most guys are pretty decent at hitting areas with their baits. Yet, if you can hit exact targets with your bait, you stand a much better chance at catching fish "behind" someone. Practice, practice, practice!

[Craw]

I don't fish tournaments, but one very popular technique that co-anglers use I keep reading about is a shakey head worm. I have used this technique with excellent results. Between a senko and a shakey head, I'd say you could really frustrate the guy up front.

[Steve-O]

What would be a standard entrance fee as a co-angler?  Sounds pretty interesting, I never knew you could enter tournaments this way...

[Gr8wall]

for the bfl, its 100 per tournament.