First Tournament, Need Help!

[fishingprodigy]

Hey guys, I'm going to be fishing my first tournament on November 5th, on the North East River in Maryland. I don't own a boat, but luckily its a draw tournament, so I'll be fishing wherever the boater decides looks good.

The water temperature will be around 50 give or take 3 degrees, and the clarity will probably be 1-3 feet, depending if it rains friday night.

My plan is try a variety of tactics, to try to figure out a pattern, I was thinking of throwing a firetiger .5 ounce rattletrap varying retreives (mainly yo-yo-ing), a gold/black x-rap suspending jerkbait fished slow, and also a tube.

If you guys have any other ideas, please let me know, thanks.

Oh also, I know I'm supposed to offer to split the gas bill, how much would you estimate is usually used after 8 hours if were not going excessively far in a moderate sized motor.

[lilmule]

First of all limit your rods to say four and tackle you can carry easily,no doubt you will leave something you need or think you need.
Some formats also permit the non boater to fish his or her water,lastly the $20 dollar min fee wont cover it if they go far,give a tad more somewhat depending upon how much they actually run.
What works here wont there so ask someone like Captmikestarrett,to put you on possible baits and or patterns.
And if the boater uses something to catch fish with and you dont have it,never hurts to ask they may have another,most are decent guys who want you to weigh in.
Ps hang on and hope you draw a good driver and fisherman,and bring your own life jacket.

[MIbasser]

If you can, talk with your boater before you get all tied up. Some guys like to fish fast, and some slow. If you have a bunch of fast moving baits on and he is fishing a jig so slow watching paint dry might seem like a fun day. At which point you may need to slow down as well. On the other hand if you are trying to fish a t-rig and he has the TM on high, that won't be fun for you.

But the easiest thing to do is fish your strengths. If you aren't good with a jerkbait, don't use one. Use what you have confidence in and you should catch fish.

[AUFred]

Be prepared as best you can but limit what you carry. Boat sizes really vary. Be prepared for extra expense on gas especially if you end up running around much. Have fun. Great time to make a friend if you are paired with a good guy.

[carolina-rig-01]

Since it's your first tournament just focus on having fun first and catching fish second. Obviously you want to do well but there is so much to tournament fishing that doesn't come into play when fun fishing that it can be overwhelming if you let it. As for tackle, try to take a little of everything but not much of anything. As a boater I hate it when my co-angler brings everything he owns. It just clutters up my boat and is a pain to move around. I always have at least one compartment empty for him to put his stuff into and that helps. Just try and get some info on what type of patterns are going on right now and take some baits to cover whatever you think you will run into, as well as a small box that has some of your confidence lures that may not be part of the pattern but are sure valuable if your struggling. I would take no more than 5 rods, so try to take rods that will pull double duty for a few applications. As for gas, just be sure you offer to pay your fair share. If your not running all over the place and burning tons of gas I would offer around $30, this should cover your half of the gas and oil, plus a little extra. Treat his boat like it's your own. I made a thread on here a while back that gave some very good tips on this subject and I will see if I can dig it up. But basically just take care of his stuff like it's you that is making the payments on it. Don't step in his seats, don't bounce lures off his motor, don't spill drinks or dye on his carpet, and don't leave your trash in his boat. You might also offer to take lunch and drinks for both of you because a boater has a lot of stuff to get ready the night before and that would be one less thing he has to worry about, plus it would kind of break the ice for you as well and get you off on the right foot. Make sure your handy with the net when he needs it as well, boaters hate having big fish knocked off at the side of the boat with the net. When he says it's time to run make sure your ready before he is. If it takes you a little longer to get your stuff put up and get your life jacket on just ask for a few minutes notice before he is ready so you can get prepared. If your not comfortable backing his boat down the ramp just say so, he would rather ask a buddy to help him out than call a tow truck to pull his truck out of the lake lol. Have fun, your first tournament will be a trip I am sure.

[carolina-rig-01]

Here is the thread I started a while back that gives some helpful information on the subject.

http://www.bassfishin.com/bassfishin...ight=co-angler

[fishingprodigy]

Hey guys, thanks for the great responses. I'll be sure to offer the boater around $30 for gas money, I had no idea it would be that much.

I won't have any problems bringing too much gear, as I only plan to bring one baitcasting rod and one spinning rod (those are the only two I own). I also don't even plan to bring that much tackle, just my one fishing backpack that weighs 12 pounds including 32 oz of water.

I actually don't have a lifejacket here in my apartment, I live in PA now but I left all my pfd in Maryland.

The draw tournament is random, so I won't know my partner until we get paired up. Regardless of whether he wants to fish, slow or fast, I'm sure I can match him since I'm comfortable with a variety of techniques. My confidence lure is a jerkbait, followed by a lipless crankbait, both of which I can fish slow or fast, so hopefully I'll be able to figure out a good pattern with one of those and put some decent fish in the boat.