draw tournaments from the back deck: who pays for gas, who fishes what water, and other things nobody tells a co-angler
Started by co_angler_ritaNov 14, 2025in On the water6 posts
co_angler_ritaOPFront deckEmory, TX66 posts, joined Nov 2025#1
Rig back deck of whoever drew me, home boat a 2009 Bass Cat Pantera II
i have fished the back of somebody else's boat in draw tournaments for eleven years, mostly on Fork and Tawakoni, and i still get surprised. so i am writing down the questions i get asked by new co-anglers and the ones i still argue about myself, and the boaters here can tell me where i am wrong.
gas. our club says the co-angler offers 40 dollars, cash, at the ramp, before launch. some boaters wave it off and some count it. what does your club do and does anybody split it by the mile.
water. the boater controls the boat and the trolling motor and gets first look. fine. but when he is running the Ultrex at full speed down a bank throwing a spinnerbait, what am i supposed to be fishing back there except where he already was.
livewell. who gets which side, and who culls first when it is getting full.
and a reminder i give every new co-angler: you need your own fishing license for that state, the boater's license does not cover you. Texas is a fishing license with a freshwater endorsement, and it is all on tpwd.texas.gov. i watched a game warden write a co-angler at the weigh in at Fork once and i do not want to watch it again.
sunday_draw_guyFront deckMany, LA74 posts, joined Nov 2025#2
Rig 2013 Skeeter FX20, Yamaha VMAX SHO 250
boater side. our Sunday draw on Toledo Bend is 40 dollars too, and i take it, because a Skeeter with a 250 burns 18 to 25 gallons on a tournament day if i run to the south end. that is real money and it is how it works.
water: if i am running the trolling motor fast down a bank, that is on me to give you an angle. i will turn the boat out a little at the points so you can throw ahead of the bow on the other side. a lot of boaters do not think about it. say something polite and most of them will.
livewell: boater gets the front well, co-angler gets the back, and nobody touches the other one's fish without asking. that rule has saved friendships.
mod_curtis_hModeratorRussellville, AR212 posts, joined Nov 2025#3
Rig 2018 Phoenix 819 Pro, Mercury 250 Pro XS
the thing i tell every new co-angler in our club: bring your own net and your own cull clips and know how to tie a knot fast. if your line breaks on a hook set and you need ten minutes to retie, that is ten minutes the boater spends waiting on you.
and do not stand up on the back deck while he is running the big motor. somebody does it every year.
trailer_lights_againBank beaterSpartanburg, SC19 posts, joined Nov 2025#4
Rig 2011 Triton 20 XS, Mercury OptiMax 225
i have done both and the one thing nobody says out loud: the co-angler sees what the boater does all day. every bait, every spot. there is an unwritten rule that you do not go back and fish his water the next weekend. some people do it anyway. those people stop getting drawn with the good boaters, funny how that works.
skeeter_zxr_kentuckyBack deckPaducah, KY33 posts, joined Nov 2025#5
Rig 2021 Skeeter ZXR 20, Yamaha SHO 250
Kentucky Lake club here, two cents. our club has the boater and the co-angler swap ends for the last hour if the co-angler does not have a limit. the boater can say no. hardly anybody does. it makes for a better day and the next draw is friendlier.
also put your phone in a dry bag. i have seen two iPhones go off the back deck this year.
co_angler_ritaOPFront deckEmory, TX66 posts, joined Nov 2025#6
Rig back deck of whoever drew me, home boat a 2009 Bass Cat Pantera II
i read the swap idea to our club president and he looked at me like i asked to drive his truck. we will see in January.
and sunday_draw_guy, the turning the boat thing is exactly it. the boater i fished with last weekend did it at every point without me asking, and i had 13 pounds off the back for the first time this year. i put an extra 20 in his cup holder.
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