Who Says You Can't Catch Fish From the Back Seat of a Boat?

I have a good friend (and boat mechanic) who has owned a boat for a long time now and thus understandably enjoys being "in the driver's seat." More times than not, Wayne Hayes is a force to be reckoned with from that position, but the truth is that he also has demonstrated he can be equally formidable from the back seat.

In January 2003, for example, he finished first as a non-boater in a Bassmaster Tour event on Lake Okeechobee, weighing a total of 28 lbs. 2 ozs. and walking away with a $36,000 bass boat for his efforts. He backed that victory up just six months later, in July 2003, with another first-place finish as a non-boater in the Northern Open on the Potomac River. In that event, he weighed a total of 37 lbs. 10 ozs., and claimed ownership of a $24,000 bass rig.

When asked, he'll quickly tell you that he doesn't like fishing as a non-boater, but he certainly knows how to make the most of a day on the back seat.

Another angler with that ability is Walker Smith, who writes for Wired2Fish. I just read an article with his byline in which, for the first time in 10 years, he had accepted a buddy's offer to ride along as the co-angler for a day of fun fishing.

As a result of that one day return to his roots, Smith came away wanting to share some tips to help others catch more bass from the back of their buddy's boat. As he explained, "I won a state championship as a co-angler more than a decade ago, and this day brought back a lot of helpful lessons I've learned along the way." Following is his five-step primer for success as a co-angler:

Always watch which rod your boater picks up. Differentiating your offering from your boater's choice is probably the most important thing a co-angler can do. Essentially, you want to "train" your peripheral vision to notice the second your boater bends over to pick up a rod from the front deck. Always pay attention to what your boater is using. Don't zone out when it comes to this, especially early in the day when you're both trying to establish a pattern or prevailing bite together.

If your buddy is tossing a frog around shallow cover, don't throw a frog behind him. Instead, consider something subsurface, such as a soft jerkbait. By doing something different, both of you might quickly learn that the bass won't come to the top that particular day, but they'll crush a Fluke twitched a few inches below the surface. Those little adjustments can pay enormous dividends for both you and your buddy throughout the day.

Pay attention to what your boater is throwing, and unless he's knocking their lights out with a particular bait, try to keep changing up. One day, this will pay off in a huge way for you.

Don't wait for the boater to call for the net. It's always better to have the net ready and not need it, than the other way around. Grab the net as soon as your buddy sets the hook. If the fish turns out to be one not worth netting, you always can scramble back to the rear deck.

Speak up. This can be a touchy subject for some people. In most cases, the boater is the one who leads the decision-making process in a random-draw event. If the boater and non-boater are friends, they may come to an agreement to the contrary, especially if the action slows down. An alternative viewpoint in those cases often can be helpful. Instead of saying something, though, like "I think we need to do thus and such," perhaps offer a suggestion along this line, "Since what we've been doing seems to have slowed down (or stopped working), why don't we try something different?" Your tone and the words you choose can make a big difference.

Pay close attention to where your boater casts. Bass fishing can be a game of inches. A slightly inaccurate cast can be the difference between a 6-pounder and nothing at all. When you're on the back deck, this is even more magnified. Smith mentioned an experience he had had while fishing from the back deck for a full college season.

"I quickly learned that I would never get bit flipping or pitching my bug into the same areas the front-seater was hitting. He was a very accurate caster, and once his bait hit the water, he was very patient and thorough throughout the retrieve... . I couldn't buy a bite behind this dude. It was making me crazy.

"But as we fished more together, and as I matured as an angler, I quickly learned to watch him like a hawk. I'd start noticing that each one of his pitches was targeting an indentation within a grass bed. So, I started pitching my bait to small points in the grass bed. And what do you know? I started catching a bunch of fish and contributing to our limits. If he was skipping underneath boat docks, I'd start skirting the edges of the docks with a squarebill. It yielded a bunch of big fish for me over the years."

Etiquette matters. To be safe, it's always a good idea for non-boaters to bring some cash with them anytime they're invited to fish from the back of someone's boat. After all, there are a lot of hidden costs to owning a boat. Boaters often won't accept offers to pay, but the thought and gesture nevertheless matters. It also doesn't hurt to offer to clean up the boat afterward. Any offer at all is better than leaving the boater high and dry. Doing so very well may earn you another invitation down the road...and another chance of catching the bass of a lifetime.