Use of a GPS as a back seater?

[flyboy]

This is a bit off topic but related.  A number of years ago, before GPS, I fished a BASS tournament on Toledo Bend.  I went there a few weeks prior with my brand new Ranger 350V and tried to learn the lake.  I fished with, Johnny Slack, one of the greatest guides I have ever fished with.  I met several of the up and coming pros to include Tommy Martin, Bo Dowden and Larry Nixon.  To my surprise on the first day of the tournament I drew Larry Nixon.  I chose to go as a non boater that day.  I enjoyed the day and learned a lot; even placed well in the standings.  The next day I drew Forrest Woods and again chose to go as a non boater.  Right off the bat Forrest went to the best spot Larry Nixon had fished on the previous day.  I told Forrest about that and he basically ignored me, stating that another angler had told him about this spot and that it was Okay.  I really did not know any better and I proceeded to have the best day of my tournament life and ended up on the leader board ahead of big names like Roland Martin, Jimmy Houston and others.  Forrest camped out on the spot all day long and at one point Larry showed up and fished the spot for a while.  When he was ready to leave he made a point to come over to Forrest's boat and look me in the eye and say, "I have no respect for a man who comes in on another man's fish." 

It has been more than thirty years since that happened and I have never been able to explain to Larry how it happened and that I really did not do it.  Forrest Woods boat was almost exactly the same as mine and I can understand how Larry could have thought that I came there on my own.

I recently learned that Larry will be one of the featured Pros at a class in Louisiana this year and I plan to drive all the way up there and attend just to talk with Larry and explain what happened that day.  I don't know if it will make any difference;  Larry finished second to Roland Martin in the Louisiana invitational  during that tournament by less than a pound if my memory serves me correctly.  I don't feel I was at fault, but I have carried the memories of that tournament for more than three decades.

My point; use the GPS if you like, but don't apply what you have learned to the tournament you are currently fishing--it will haunt you. 

[J Francho]

The other questions I would have for the secret spot crowd would be if any of them have ever fished a spot where they have seen others fishing. Almost any place is a spot that was discovered by someone else at some point in time.

So that's the question, have you ever drove by a point, sunken island, or some other spot where you've seen someone fishing, only to return to that place at some other time to check it out?

Are the only sacred spots the ones you have found?

What do you do if someone beats you to your private spot before you, and they've never fished with you before?

Finally, do you fish with your super secret lures when you have a backseater on board, or do you just toss flying lures all day to throw them off what works?

Phhht! You're over complicating it. As a boater, just put the console graph in demo mode.

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[NorcalBassin]

Sounds like some of you guys arent a pleasure to be in the boat with anyway.

The original question is about a back seater in a tournament potentially sneaking GPS coordinates on a hot spot that the boater took him to. That's just dirty. It would be completely different if you were just taking a buddy or someone else out fishing for fun.

Flyboy that is a heck of a story... hopefully he'll listen to your end of the story and you guys will be able to laugh at it now.

[SDoolittle]

The original question said nothing about sneaking anything. He's asking how he can use the GPS ethically. The only answer is to ask permission. Some of you are making too much of this.

[NorcalBassin]

i don't think its a big deal you could just use your cell phone to do it and they would never know.

I was referring to this... I mentally merged it with the original post but it was a few replies down the page.

[11InchBeard]

The original question said nothing about sneaking anything. He's asking how he can use the GPS ethically. The only answer is to ask permission. Some of you are making too much of this.

Thank you!

[11InchBeard]

The original question said nothing about sneaking anything. He's asking how he can use the GPS ethically. The only answer is to ask permission. Some of you are making too much of this.

Thank you!!!

[Big Fish Rice]

If you're worried about your waypoints, then you should focus on fishing a little more. It's a form of scouting; which is never a private matter in the first place, no matter the sport.

I would be worried less about the co-angler, and worry about the lookie-loo's spoiling your hole more than anything.

[gobig]

If you're worried about your waypoints, then you

should focus on fishing a little more. It's a form of scouting; which is never a private matter in the first place, no matter the sport.

I would be worried less about the co-angler, and worry about the lookie-loo's spoiling your hole more than anything.

Well said

[fishfordollars]

The only boat i ever protested in a tournament was sitting on one of my locations that a coangler showed him the second day of a tournament. My first day coangler went out in the first flight, I was in the second flight the second day. They were sitting on a hump I found in practice exactly where we put over 25lbs. in the boat day one. It held up and they lost their weight for that day.

sounds bush league to me that you would do that. who is to say that the other boater didnt find that spot himself in the same manner you did? and once again, once you show someone a spot, youve voluntarily shared that spot. its a bit hipocritical that you would complain about something thats of your own making. if you dont have other spots to fish, then you obviously didnt put in the time you claim to have put in. and the time and money you do put in, well that was your own choice and is not something you should be holding against anyone else for whatever reasons...

Bush, why is it written in the rules? Co angler broke the written rules when he lead the boater in on this area the second day. First place was 25,000.00, that ain't bush. FYi, I had plenty of other spots. Enough to finish in the top five. Boater admited that the co-angler showed him the spot. Immediate loss of days weight.

[SharkHat]

Pretty sure it wasn't the tournament that he was calling bush league...

[salmicropterus]

Lots of interesting viewpoints here. Let's remove the tournament aspect here.

A buddy takes you to his "secret spot." You bang a bunch of really good fish. Later, you are fishing with another buddy. Do you take him to the secret spot? Not without permission from your buddy that showed you the spot. I have many places that I will not fish or take others to without asking the person that showed me the spot.

The bottom line here, is ASK. Be prepared for "no" as an answer.

Now, put this in a tournament perspective. You really need to check the rules, as in some points series I've fished, sharing info gleaned from the back of the boat may be verboten, if you are fishing with different boaters each day.

In most cases, the boater already has a plan anyway, and as a non boater, your job is to adapt to the boater's style, and fish what water you get.

Now, dropping way points into a portable GPS....ehh, I think you should ask the boater if they mind you bringing one at all, before leaving the launch.

As with everything that has to do with fishing etiquette, level headed communication is a must.

Totally agree with this post and it was better said than I would have said it. You have to remember that as a co-angler, you are something of a guest on that boat. Maybe  it's public water but the back seat of the boat is the boater's property and has to be respected as such. The comments to the effect that if a boater doesn't like it then they shouldn't take people out has the negative impact to the non-boater that fewer will go out to pre-fish. I'm kinda amazed there is this much controversy and debate about this. It's pretty simple: boater's boat/boater's rules. If you violate this, you will get a bad rep and you will sit a lot of pre-fish days, whether at the club level or the regional level. Of course, in the upper echelons like the BM Opens or FLW it's absolutely forbidden to share info as a non-boater-that should tell you something right there. The idea of doing it secretly-well that kinda tells you something right there too

[gobig]

If I fish a spot and do well I am not going to forget it. Weather I have a GPS or not, it will not matter. I learned years ago how to use land marks and I will find it again. This is before every Tom, Dick and Hairy had a GPS and you had to find stuff the old way using compass headings and land marks. Besides most stuff can be found using the multitude of tools available today. Where I see there being a problem in where your in a tournament situation someone puts you fish and then you tell your new partner the next day and fish it with out permission. But if you fish as a co-angler and go back to a spot a week later more power to ya. That is why you join as a co-angler. To learn. If you ask effective questions about a location you may be able to replicate it down the road. This BS argument about "my water" always seems to pop up. If you want to have "your water" and do not want other guys to fish it buy a faster boat. This argument is almost as valid as the guy who whines about people fishing his dock that sits over or on public water.

[Catt]

Sounds to me like some of y'all can't find fish on your own

Under the Center Bass Fishing section I have an ongoing topic titled So y'all want to learn Toledo Bend? it is 83 pages with 1,243 replies and has been viewed 105,352 times. Found within these 83 pages are GPS coordinates of the overall structure but what is not found are my sweet spots on those structures.

In my opinion y'all may as well follow a guide a GPS his locations, it's no different!

[hitchhiker]

Sounds to me like some of y'all can't find fish on your own

In my opinion y'all may as well follow a guide a GPS his locations, it's no different!

You are absolutely correct!  Why is it wrong to not allow a non boater to gps your spots?  Granted they are on public waters, where no one owns the lake, but how about doing your own legwork and research to find your own hotspot?

With all the tools that are available to fishermen in this day and age people have gotten so lazy that good fishing and being able to push a button and call it their own has blurred the fact that someone took you there.  No need for them to mark a dotted line and X marks the spot far anyone.

Fishing points and bank beating aside, if you can relocate offshore structure by memory and land ranges, then more power to you.  Leave the gps at home and get back to it by memory alone, graph it out, then record all the waypoints you want.  Figure it out for yourself and become a better angler.  In that way you have made the spot yours. 

[Grey Wolf]

Sounds to me like some of y'all can't find fish on your own

Under the Center Bass Fishing section I have an ongoing topic titled So y'all want to learn Toledo Bend? it is 83 pages with 1,243 replies and has been viewed 105,352 times. Found within these 83 pages are GPS coordinates of the overall structure but what is not found are my sweet spots on those structures.

In my opinion y'all may as well follow a guide a GPS his locations, it's no different!

Bravo !!!!!!!!!