[Guest]

I would have to say to start off with: fish as often as you can be it from shore or tube or blow up boat either way FISH do not become a fair weather fisherman GO when it is at all possible . By
that I mean go when you know the bite will be tuff Go when it is windy Go when it rains just stay away from the lightning Go at night even if it to urban lakes and throw that baitcaster in the dark YOU WILL learn when to thumb it down just from practice and during tourney time in the wind you will not get as many professional overuns in your reel. I cannot say what to do with your partner thats why I asked the ? who would you fish with.
I know when me and my brother or my other tourney partner fish when we get a limit I start going to the bigger baits and hope to cull in a big way while at the same time they can continue to throw what they were catching fish with to begin with. If you start out fishing withsomeone for the first time like a draw tourney some of the small clubs have take a water bottle not sodapop most guys become upset when there co-angler spills sticky stuff on the carpet and dont take a mass of rods either unless you can make sure you can keep them inorder and out of the way nothing like your partner fighting a big fish then stepping on your rods. If you practice out of a boat like maybe going prefishing with your partner for the first time ( and this might sound silly to you ) IF you have not had the chance to NET ALOT of fish then by all means practice that YOUR PRO will LOVE you for that info. there is not a more sinking feeling than spearing a 4lb+ fish off the hook.
If you fish the smaller clubs keep in mind not all of them are serious some just want to play cards all night and use fishing as a excuse to get out of the house ( not a bad excuse at that ) but always look to the positive points during the day EVERYONE ON THIS BOARD at one point in time during a tourney ( should of, could of BUT DIDN'T ) we all have looked back and said the same thing I SHOULD HAVE kept to this method or that method it was or was not working but we didn't and as long as you keep your positive outlook and keep with it all day ( I myself HATE a back seatpedal I dont want it in the boat it will make me sit down and relax so I dont use it ) When I am using my boat I dont have a front pedal either. Pay attention to the first fish of the day on how it hit ( did it bite the lure or did it SMACK IT if it smacked that crank the chances are the bite will go on for a while longer. Enough of my rambling I am sure Darrly and Da and some others will give you better tips than mine but IF I could say the things that are of greatest concern is Have the best tackle that you can afford and KEEP A POSITIVE OUTLOOK if your tude drops so might your partners and then you both might snap at each other and thats not a TEAM.

 

[Young Gun]

Thanks Tinstar! I get out as much as I can. I usually fish once a week out of our boat with my Dad, I know it's not enough. When I am able to drive in a year I'll be out there hopefully atleast two or three days a week. When it's just my Dad and I, he lets me run the show, I run the trolling motor and I make the decisions throughout the day on where and how to fish.
Everyday I go out to my pool in our backyard and plip, pitch, cast off to the left, and right. I'm trying to learn to put my bait in the exact spot I want to from any angle, even at night. I net fish often, whenever my Dad catches one. If I could pick I'd obviously fish from the front, it's not going to be an option for me until I get good and I can be a boater.
Thanks very much for all of the info, that was really helpfull. Josh

 

[Brown Dog]

Here's my $.02. I spent the better part of 10 yrs fishing a bass club (Old Pueblo) as a non-boater. This gave me a chance to fish a variety of methods. We drew different boaters each day. I drew people that threw cranks exclusively, one guy had Rapala Fat Raps in every compartment on his boat. He threw them in heavy cover, rocky shorelines, where ever. I learned alot about jig fishing, spinnerbaits, cranks, rods/reels, etc. I tried to carry too much stuff because I never knew what type of fishing we would be doing. I finally learned to segregate my tackle to easily stuff a soft pack with the proper tackle based on who I drew. It is very important to talk to your partner/draw before heading out onto the water, to understand their gameplan. After learning alot through questions and observation, I gained enough respect that some of my draw partners would ask me where to fish, run the front, etc. Included in the strategy talk should be 'how you are going to work a piece of water'. By this I mean, both up front, overlapping casts while working parallel to a bank, different baits. Oh yeah, always keep a one ton jig tied on for the jerk that decides they are going to backseat you and prevent you from getting any clean casts to structure or banks. This experience also gave me the opportunity to test most bassboats available in Az and then some. Only thing is that when I finally bought my first bassboat in 98, I quit tourney fishing. Some folks just take themselves tooooo seriously. But you get a chance to meet some incredible people and make great friends. Kind of like this site.

 

[Bayou]

Good posts fellas.
Josh, if it works out maybe we can hit Canyon or Saguaro while you're on Christmas break. You can witness me violate all the "boater" rules of conduct!

 

[Franklin J]

Yeah man being a non-boater sucks sometimes, but you will learn alot, about fishing, and about people. You will meet good guys who will let you run the boat, fish your spots etc........and will also meet alot of jackasses that will backseat the hell out of you. I think the best advice I would give a fellow back-seater is to be prepared and do your homework, find out what baits are working, presentations, etc, and deceide a game plan with your boater, if he doesn't listen (because he thinks he's all knowing because it's his boat), just try to humilate :evil: him by fishing him into the ground, (boaters hate when they get outfished by their backseat) :lol: sometimes people will not respect your fishing ability, or knowledge, so you have to prove yourself, but it usually only takes once and those boaters will start to listen.................Franklin

 

[Darryl Mathews]

One of the most important things I expect out of the non-boater is a split of expences. I start with a full tank and refill the tank when done.You pay half at that point.Truck the same way.If I pick you up at your house I'll have a full tank I'll refuel at the closest gas station to your house and you pay half. It doesn't hurt when a new non boater is breaking in to the tourneys to bring extra soda and a sandwich the word spreads fast.even if the boater doesn't eat the thought is there and it developes a friendship. The better friends you become the less chance of a back boat. I have to be honest I have fished with non boaters who have rubbed me wrong and I have back boated them all day. Then again I have fished with non boaters in a pro/am tourney.Who were in a high place on the am side and I was in a near hopeless place on the pro side and have postioned the boat so they had a better advantage then me. It all depends on the way the non boater comes off.As in netting the fish,what I like to tell the non boater and I will do the exact same for him no more no less is I will place the net in the water and you guide the fish into it. NEVER SPEAR at a fish. The other person will talk you through it at the time if anything else is required. If you net a fish ASAP the fish goes into the BOTTOM of the boat (where your feet go when the big motor is running) NO EXCEPTIONS !!!!. ALso always lock the livewell when there are fish in it.Even if you are still using the trolling motor. (Make it a Habit) Purchase a livewell net for removing fish from livewell,Nightmares become real if you choose to use your thumb all the time.Take my advice it will happen. It seems your learning alot from these people on this board.I suggest that you get out a notebook and start making notes and filing them. Your getting free lessons in bassfishing that I would bet these people learned the hard way. I know I did, especially the spearing one. Man did I make a mistake netting a fish when I was a non boater. One more Thing!!!!! If you and your pro make a mess out of his boat.Waterline on the boat, crumbs all over the boat,it doesnt hurt a bit to say "Hey you want to pull into a car wash and clean her up a little" If you say that you will have made a new fishing friend.
See you on the fishing field,
Darryl

 

[Darryl Mathews]

Two more things

Bring your own life jacket. And never tell the boater how to drive his boat. Example: your driving too fast,trim down more on the corner, do you think your too close to the bank, You can have that chance when you have your own boat

 

[Franklin J]

Man I wish I drew some of you guys a couple of times.........I remember one club tourney at Lake Perris in Cal. I drew a guy that was a complete $%$#. Everytime he hooked up I rushed to get the net, never speared any of his fish, and was a genuine "partner". This guy everytime I hooked up I had to tell him to "get the net" he would reply with, aw that fish is only 2.5 pounds, you can jackpole him'em.........? Then I hook up with a crank fish that was close to 4 I'm guessing, the guys spears the fish, gets the trebles from crank stuck in then net, tries to lift the fish out the water by the trebles on the crank, and of course the fish came off.........................#$$#%...Hopefully your backseat experiences will be better than mine............Franklin

 

[Lone Ranger]

Well, since I'm retired from tournament fishing (except for the MMBC PD Classic last Feb 17 and that was a friendly, casual tourney and the Nov 2 Ranger boat owner's tourney), I don't mind it if the non-boater is catching fish and I'm not. It's a chance for me to learn what I'm doing wrong. I'm still learning these AZ lakes having moved from Okeechobee, so I'm open to suggestions from the non-boater. It pays off to work as a team. I remember the time Greg "the fishing machine" was catching fish pretty much dead sticking c-rigged worms or wacky worming and I was catching diddly. When I asked him what the difference was, he told me I was working my c-rig worm with too much action. So when I just ever so slowly dragged the worm, I caught fish too. I think he still out-fished me, but we both had fun catching fish. Team work is the name of the game.

 

[Guest]

Josh you seem to be doing pretty good already, so here's one more piece of advice, when you get your dl get out in the boat as often as you can, by yourself. There's nothing like time on the water being able to explore different methods and ways of fishing. No back seater to try and please, you can do your own thing an learn from mistakes. Most times take one or two rods with you and spend the time learning how to catch fish of them. Don't get disappointed on these Arizona lakes, there small and highly pressured, mostly spot fishing so you are not always going to catch a lot of fish. Start fishing the other lakes besides saguro, ie canyon, apache, and rosy. What you learn on them can be applied to most lakes. Also don't get hung up in all the new tackle the comes out every six months, ie spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and lord knows how many plastics. They will always catch more fisherman the fish. Fish with what you have confidence in, not what someone else tells you. Remember the plastics made 30 years ago will catch fish today. It's the fisherman behind the pole that makes the difference. You've been given some good advice from others so take it an gain all you can. You have had a great start and I hope it continues for you.

2Dogs

 

[Young Gun]

Thanks for all of that great info everyone. I'm learning so much just reading all of these posts. I hope I can remember all of that stuff. You guys are great to help out so much. I'm already making plans for the future in this. I think I'll be ready to compete and get into this as soon as I can find a partner. Thanks again everyone. I can't wait to start. Josh