Bassmaster Opens

[chris090981]

considering fishing a northern open this year. The only thing i'm skeptical about is my 1988 Basstracker . It sat in a garage for 20 years then i bought it 3 years ago .. The boat is sound! 18 foot though ! Anyone ever fish these ? Any rules about old boats ? It has 150 merc , and a kill switch ! Any help is greatly appreciated !

[Steve York]

I have fished them Two years now and you most definitively need to be prepared I practice hard all week long and burn 10 to 20 gallons of fuel a day for seven days. This is many hours on the boat. So my advice to you is bring back up equipment. Prop, trolling motors, you could be in some sketchy water quick. also not being familiar with a body of water like james river can be devastating to your boat in a hurry. for instance i took a huge chunk off my skag there last year running the flats. And was in 5-6 ft waves on erie thank goodness for extra bilge pumps. And remember there are very great anglers in this circuit. and average cost was $3000 for the week!

considering fishing a northern open this year. The only thing i'm skeptical about is my 1988 Basstracker . It sat in a garage for 20 years then i bought it 3 years ago .. The boat is sound! 18 foot though ! Anyone ever fish these ? Any rules about old boats ? It has 150 merc , and a kill switch ! Any help is greatly appreciated !

[chris090981]

Now are these opens setup to where you have to fish all 3 ?if you got lucky and snuck a 1st in and missed 1 outta the 3 would you be inelidgeable for the boat and classic seat ?

[SDoolittle]

Now are these opens setup to where you have to fish all 3 ?if you got lucky and snuck a 1st in and missed 1 outta the 3 would you be inelidgeable for the boat and classic seat ?

The prize for winning a Bassmaster Open is $5,000 cash and $45,000 in mechandise. You only have to fish one tournament to win, but I believe that anglers who register for all three have priority over those who only register for one. You have to fish all three in order to qualify for the classic. I suggest that you register as a co-angler for the first year.

[chris090981]

Yea I see where your coming from but I can't see spending around $1200 per tourney fishing co-angler and playing the beat the bank game . I did a lot of tourneys when I was younger as a co-angler and 9 outta 10 of them beat banks . And if you get on with someone good theirs not many leftovers . And when I out fished the pro , well that says everything , we weren't on fish ! I appreciate all the info though ! It's such a great sport !

[SDoolittle]

The entry fee for co-anglers is only $350, and it will let you get a good feel for how the whole thing operates before you start dropping $1250 to fish as a pro.

[chris090981]

Yea I was referring to gas , lodging time off work etc ... The 1250 entry isn't much of a difference from the 350 to me . It's the time outta work and all the rest that adds up to the majority . I've fished bfl's everstart series etc so I'm pretty familiar with how it goes . But I'll kick that co-angler thing around . Thanks for the advise

[J Francho]

You'll be lucky if you get a shot at three fish as a co-angler. If you're in it to learn, then try it out, but if you want to be competitive, you have to go pro. I know a few guys that have gone as co's, and most said it was anywhere from tough to not very pleasant.

[chris090981]

That's exactly what I'm getting at . I'm seeing 22 and 23 year olds winning these things and there's gonna come a time where I won't have it anymore . Its not rocket science . I've had days i couldn't figure it out and I've had days where no one could touch me . It's a right time right place thing and the more of these opens you fish the better your odds !

[Gotfishyfingers?]

I fished the southern opens last year as a co-angler and plan to do the same this year. From the 160-200 boats in each tournament, I saw less than a half dozen boats, with engines 200hp or less. The size of your live well could also be a factor, remember you have to keep your 5 fish as well as your co-anglers 3 fish alive. Don't let the age of some of those peeps fool ya either, they might be young but they know there sh%t . Also there is some serious competition in all of them, including the fact that a bunch of the elite guys fish them as well. One more thing, Yes you have to fish all 3 if you win in order to go to the classic.

[robdob]

considering fishing a northern open this year. The only thing i'm skeptical about is my 1988 Basstracker . It sat in a garage for 20 years then i bought it 3 years ago .. The boat is sound! 18 foot though ! Anyone ever fish these ? Any rules about old boats ? It has 150 merc , and a kill switch ! Any help is greatly appreciated !

you will be the only boat there with less than 175 hp.. and if its not on a river you'll be the only aluminum boat.. not being rude i'm just telling you the truth... i've been a co-angler a few times and its completly luck of the draw there are some great fishermen there and some who are there only because they have the money and the time so it depends who you draw.. in my opinion don't enter as a co-angler if you wish to do well because it depends almost totally on which pro you draw each day.

[BassinMikeIT]

I'm fishing my first open as a boater this year on the detroit river. gonna burn a ton of gas there lol. should be a lot of fun.

another thing is boat insurance. make sure youre "legal" as per the insurance requirements. check the rules on their site.

[TimJ]

I am confirmed as a co-angler for the BASS Northern Open on the Detroit River (as well as the FLW Open on same). I have fished 2-BASS Top 150s in the past and I think I am correct when I say that Lakes StClair and especially Erie are 2 great examples of places where you stand a very low chance of being back-boated. Open water smallmouth fishing has got to be the most co-angler friendly water...except for the possibility of 3-5 footers! I do not have a rig so this is the only way I can fish at this level. Good luck at whatever you choose to do. My experiences as a co-angler have been excellent.