Non- boater needed!

Why are all these tournaments lacking non-boaters? Normally these tournaments have a waiting list for non-boaters…not boaters.

You’d think with the cost of running our boats there would be more non-boaters. Must be the vast selection of tournaments .

I would love to fish the Stren Series but I’ve got a zone tournament on my home body of water this year. Last year of the club stuff for me though. I just spent $450.00 in Winneconne to fish a club tournament to only win half of it back. Starting to be too many conflicts with everything else. Its hard to fish more than 1 trail anymore without running into some sort of conflict. This year I have the 4 man classic, 6 man team for BASS and big bucks classic all going on the same weekend. Talk about a dilemma!

Dave I am doing a boater in the Bassmaster Series and a no-boater in the BFL. Had I know in January what I know todayI believe in no uncertain terms I would have committed to being a boater in one and not do the other.

Even for the $100 no-boat fee for the BFL, I have an investment, i.e. motel, gas, no-boat fee, time off work etc. To hinge that investment on luck of the draw (on who my boater will be) is harsh. I would recommend to anyone to try going as a no-boater if you want to learn water, techniques etc., but go into it realizing you may draw someone that has a spot, not an area to fish and you may get nothing to throw at.

I cannot risk dragging the boat along and pre-fishing for a couple days, another possible $250.00 investment in gas and expenses to not have input or a say in the matter even if the boater has no place to fish.

In a nutshell, had I not committed to Bassman that I would link with him I would slide over to the boater side for the BFL. When I am a boater I can offer the respect and dignity due a person fishing with me – I am fishing against the fish and 150 plus boaters, he is fishing against the fish and 150 plus no-boaters. It is that simple.

kizew…….. thanks for putting in that explaination of what it’s like to be in the back of the boat. I know most, if not all boaters probably started out fishing from the back of someone else’s boat, but it’s nice to see the words of the tribulations in print.

Basically it’s a crap shoot come tournament day for the non-boater. It’s the luck of the draw, and you’re at the mercy of the boater. You get a good one, and you may cash a check, if not…. at least you got to spend the day out on the water doing what you love, whether you caught a fish or not.

I have all the respect in the world for the boaters, and understand the expenses they have. But like you said, we’ve got expenses too, and sometimes it’s hard to justify them if you don’t even weigh in a fish. Hell, if I hadn’t already paid for my room and my entry fee when I found out that my “guaranteed boater” was backing out on me at the last minute, I’d probably be staying home this weekend.

Ok, enough rambling.. just wanted to say thanks for seeing it from both sides, and good luck at Winneconne!

A crap shoot it is. A group of us used to drive down to Kentucky to fish the first Redman down there. Every year I drew someone who wasn’t a local and someone who hadn’t spent a day on the water.

The last year I went, I drew a guy and he had to send a friend to the meeting to meet me and get things set up. The guy I drew was still in Nashville and hadn’t spent any time fishing the lake. I was less than pleased.

The morning of the tourney I meet my ‘partner’ and put the boat in the water. The temp was just above freezing and my boater comes back to the boat after parking the truck wearing only a medium weight jacket some jeans and a pair of sneakers. No cold weather gear for him.

After a 40 minute ride, we pull into a bay and he is officially frozen. 40 min with no hat & gloves in those temps, I’m surprised he didn’t die of a brain freeze. All he could muster was the ability to kick the trolling motor into the water and hold us in place while I fish. He stood there for over 30 minutes with his hands between his legs shivering.

I had a hard time feeling sorry for him. You need to be prepared and put in some when it comes down to it.

Needless to say we didn’t boat a single fish, and that was my last trip south.

“Hell, if I hadn’t already paid for my room and my entry fee when I found out that my “guaranteed boater” was backing out on me at the last minute, I’d probably be staying home this weekend.”

I have fished 4 years in the BFL and have never missed a tournament until this year. Things happen or come up that sometimes are out of anyone’s control. Sh^$t happens – Last minute or not.