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Posts: 271
Location: davis,IL | I've been fishing for most of my life (50 yrs). From my early 20's I've been the guy in front running the trolling motor...gettin the first cast at a certain structure. Thinking about it though awhile, I have had my luck with some nice fish... the guy in the back (usually Dad) hasn't done too bad either. I like to set up a pattern where I fish the front 180* and the "clean up" guy fishes the back 180* so as not to cross lines. If one reads some of the popular fishing magazines/articles the first guy to put a shot across their nose has the best chance of hooking up.....well, I can tell you from experience.....not true!
Edited by muskydope 5/12/2012 9:42 PM
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Location: Eastern Ontario | I like fishing from the back of the boat and don't feel it's a disadvantage . I fish a lot alone being retired. When I fish the back of someone elses boat I no longer have to worry about boat controll I can fully concentrate on fishing or I can watch the other persons presentation and maybe learn if it is someone I have not fished a lot with. I have had good sucess fishing the deep open water side of the boat which is somthing I rarely do when in the bow of my own boat. I have caught enough fish in the last 25 plus years that if the person in the bow gets one more fish than me I'm happy for them.
PS every so often throw a cast directly behind the boat somelimes the guy in the bow will pull fish off structure which become available to the guy in the back
Edited by horsehunter 5/13/2012 6:32 AM
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Posts: 109
Location: Spencer, Wisconsin | Most of the time when I fish in my friends boats I feel i'm getting the sloppy seconds on fishing position. However, when I do ask to have the boat in a better position my partners will pivot the boat around so we both have an even chance on hitting the fish. This usually comes when I am being shut out on landing fish too:) |
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Posts: 8842
| I think the first bait through probably has the best chance at being eaten by an active fish, but sometimes the first fish to show itself isn't the only one there and isn't the biggest one, either. Might just be coincidence, but some days it seems like the guy in front gets the fish, other days it's the guy in back, some days it's the guy in the middle. If the guy in front leaves you something to cast at, and you're all throwing different lures? I've never kept track, but I'd bet it's pretty even. |
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| It really has to do with the skill of the angler and not position in the boat. BR |
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Posts: 556
| I fish both positions through out the year as I have a boat and so do my partners, so depends on who''s boat we fish from. While I guess I would have to say the front position has the best shot--I haven't really noticed a huge difference. In the back I try to fish a different bait or presentation than the front guy--I also fish the deeper edge and behind the boat. Really work to cover the unfished water and have found it to pay off many times. |
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Posts: 682
Location: Sycamore, IL | X2 on what esox911 said...if you are in the back you should be throwing something they haven't seen and focusing on secondary structure. There is more than one way to skin a cat!
Matt |
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Posts: 143
Location: La Crosse, WI | I mainly fish from the back of the boat and I actually prefer it. I like to switch baits a lot and it allows me to be able to fish many different varieties. Also, It allows you a great angle to see your partners follow ups which can be very exciting. There is a lot of water to cover with just two guys in the boat and like someone else had mentioned, its more about how you fish than where you fish. Plus, the back has a better chance of connecting on a fish that has followed up and stayed low. |
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Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | Sorry to disagree, it is very true in some of situations. I've seen days where the front man had up to nine fish hit to my one follow in the rear no matter what bait I used. The next day we switched and I had the action in the front while he had netting exercise. But that was Canadian water where there were a lot of fish to be had that may not have seen lures for a while.
In higher pressured water not so much true.
I've also seen it work in reverse where the man in back had a field day and I was screwed running the trolling motor in front. It had to do with the amount of time it took to line up casts, and present the lure in the way the fish wanted it. The wind was howling and I was working my butt off trying to keep the boat in play while he was sniping fish out little holes in thick weedbeds. All I got was weeds and net skills improvement reinforcement.
Same deal trolling. Rods in holders, same lures, random trolling passes in open water so each lure has as much time inside turning as outside and the lure run closest to the boat came through the spot first and pow, time after time. But I've also seen where the last lure through was the hot one, just depends on the conditions. |
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Posts: 1040
| Last year I moved to fishing out of the back of my boat. Got a new trolling motor with the smaller coaxial cable to allow that. My friends, and wife, are more pumped up to get out there knowing that they can be first on the water now. And my catches, last year, did not drop at all. I still had plenty of action in the back of the boat. What I like about fishing back there is that those people in the front are more excited to get out and stay excited and into the trip longer than if they were fishing beaten up water in the back. |
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Posts: 4343
Location: Smith Creek | In my experience the only way the odds are even for front and back is if the guy in the back is manning the sucker rod. Otherwise the guy in front outfishes the guy in back 2-1. Having a smaller boat I usually fish out of my buddy's boat and spend more time behind the camera. Last year my buddy's boat was in shop and I spent more time in front of the camera. |
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Posts: 416
Location: Madtown, WI | I have kept a detailed log of every fishing trip that I've been on for the last nine years and have stat tracked "boat position" for every active fish we've had. The ratio for active fish is 1.35:1 and for boated fish is 1.15:1, so there is not a significant difference imo but I'm sure it depends on the fisherman. If you're constantly feeling sorry for yourself for being the 2nd bait through you most likely won't have much success. The 2nd guy doesn't have to worry about running the boat and can focus more on presentation, that's where he has the advantage.
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Posts: 559
| The guy in the back should just shut up and fish and be happy I am running the boat. |
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| I tend to prefer to fish out of the back, seems to be the more productive area if you are skilled at throwing a bait. No different than being the 2nd or 5th boat through a spot. Lots of fish to catch. Most people miss most of the water and there is more to fishing than double 10s. BR |
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Posts: 636
Location: Bloomington, MN | Sloppy Seconds?????? No Princecraft for you!!!! |
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Posts: 897
| Four summers ago I started fishing with a buddy of mine. He bought a new boat that was nicer than mine so we always took his and I fished out of the back. I outfished him from the back of his boat 14 to 1 that summer. He was pretty annoyed, but learned a lot! Now it's pretty much a 1:1 ratio and we compliment each other well.
Quit whining about being in the back of the boat and look at it as an opportunity to try some different stuff/compliment the guy in front of you and you'll both catch more fish.
That said, if the guy in front is hitting every square inch of water or is hogging the only lure that is working the ratio will be skewed. If I were in a situation like that I probably wouldn't fish with that person much longer. Sharing is a good thing. So is teamwork. |
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Posts: 4080
Location: Elko - Lake Vermilion | bobbie - 5/14/2012 5:57 PM
The guy in the back should just shut up and fish and be happy I am running the boat.
No doubt ! Wisdom at it's Finest. |
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Posts: 496
Location: midwest | When fish are agressive and up tight on structure, it is ALMOST always first bait through that gets bit or gets the fish to move. The more nuetral the fish are and the the deeper farther off the edge of structure/break the more the ratios of fish equal out. |
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Posts: 897
| Slime King - 5/15/2012 6:01 AM
When fish are agressive and up tight on structure, it is ALMOST always first bait through that gets bit or gets the fish to move. The more nuetral the fish are and the the deeper farther off the edge of structure/break the more the ratios of fish equal out.
And how often are the fish that aggressive? Not often. If I had to choose between running the boat and fishing up front or fishing out of the back of someone else's boat (assuming they know what they are doing), I would pick the back of the boat all day long. I have way more fun focusing on lures and fish than constantly having to pay attention to what the boat is doing. |
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | bobbie - 5/14/2012 5:57 PM
The guy in the back should just shut up and fish and be happy I am running the boat.
If it weren't for the smell that comes with it... I'd agree  |
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Posts: 109
Location: Spencer, Wisconsin | Clark A my Lunge brother, it was not you...... it was my walleye fishng partner is the hog of the front of the boat...;-)
Edited by TET62 5/23/2012 8:39 PM
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Posts: 636
Location: Bloomington, MN | I thought you were referring to me! I'm an old time keister end of the boat drifter Pelican guide that points to where a person needs to cast. I keep the blue beast on the weedline, and since it drifts like a dog clipped by a Buick....you have your opportunities! I do repeat the same old stories of the yester years with occaisional breaks to make an old Stewart's coffee can "The Tyhphoid Mary" sing, but I have put you on "some" fish out of our blessed Pelican. That reminds me it IS definitely time to replace the not so sterile rusty can. I guess I can cork the handle opening of one of those new fangled plastic Folger's containers, but the splash back would make a trip much more enjoyable! |
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Posts: 64
| I have fished in the back of the boat and I usually concentrate on the breaks and throwing parallel to the structure the person in the front is casting and I am usually throwing something like a bulldawg or a glider and have usually outfished the guy in the front except for the time my buddy outfished me 4 fish to one, but I always told myself that was a fluke. |
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Posts: 2385
Location: Chisholm, MN | I think it depends on the lake and the fisherman. Before i bought my new boat i used my dads where i would drive from the back. My fishing partner also drives his boat from the back and we would switch off on who's boat switched took pretty evenly. Almost all the time the guy in the front caught the fish. My new boats trolling motor pedal will not reach the back so i will be driving from the front. I'm happy about that |
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