How to Win From the Back of the Boat
By: Justin
Lucas
Since the
last National Guard event on Clear Lake in October 2007, I have been asked
quite a few times how I win and finish in check range consistently as a
co-angler. The answer: simplicity, organization, and belief. I am going to
break down each one.
SIMPLICITY
I throw
plastics 95% of the time. I don’t even think I can count on one hand the amount
of tournaments that I know of that have been by co-anglers on something other
than plastics. That alone should tell you something. You have to remember that
most of the time any crank baits, spinner baits, swim baits and so on require
the perfect angles to get the right bites. Those angles are not going to be given
to you very often if at all from the back of the boat. I am not saying
eliminate those baits, but only use them when the perfect casts are available.
I never go
crazy on colors either. Normally you wont find me at
the tackle store trying to find that hot color plastic bait that everyone is
looking for. In my mind it doesn’t even exist. If you let that mess with your
head it will effect the way you fish. There are plenty
of colors that always work day in and day out. I could get away with five
colors for plastics and feel that I could catch fish with them anywhere. Having
all the confidence in the world in those five colors is worth much more than
some color you have never thrown. The same thing goes with hard baits as well.
I can easily get away with four or five colors of Lucky Craft,
ORGANIZATION
Organization
is so important and often completely overlooked or taken lightly. Being
organized is extremely valuable when you are playing against the clock. If all
your tackle is totally organized each day of a tournament, I guarantee you are
going to make more casts than a lot of your competitors. A perfect example of
this is when I fished the FLW Series Columbia River tournament. I threw a
Carolina-rig everyday of that tournament. I sat down every night and pre-rigged
all of my leaders. Normally it takes me a minute or two to tie back up a
Carolina-rig if I break off or my line is frayed, but I was doing it in 20-30
seconds. That really adds up after retying 7-10 times a day.
While
traveling to tournaments I pretty much bring every thing that I own. You never
know what you are going to need! I use plastic storage boxes to hold all of my
Once on the
water I have transferred the tackle that I think I will need for the day into a
duffel bag that is made for clothes. It has a lot of storage and fits into most
boats. I have one side pocket used only for culling bobbers, pliers, balance
beam, and scissors. I use another side for water and food. The main compartment
of the bag is used for all my tackle. I normally have two full boxes of
plastics, one hook and weight box, and one box that is
a random box. For instance if we are at Clear Lake the random box will have
only a couple of the following; swim baits, crank baits, frogs, etc. Since I
only have a few of these baits I make sure that I know the ones I put in that
box run true and have fresh hooks. It is important to have a random box,
because you don’t want to get caught in a situation where you are wishing you
had a certain bait. That certain bait should be in the box and ready for
tournament use.
BELIEF
Out of the
back of the boat it is sometimes very hard to have confidence that there are
winning fish in the areas that your boater is fishing. Confidence comes with
experience. Chances are you did not pre-fish the same area your pro is fishing.
That leaves him with the confidence that fish are there and it leaves you with
having to believe that fish are there. You will absolutely take yourself out of
the game as soon as you believe that you are not around winning fish. When I am
fishing during a tournament I try as hard as I can to picture myself getting
bit on every cast. Obviously that is not possible, but when I leave my boaters
spot and I don’t catch any, I want to feel like there were absolutely no fish
there. Thinking like this also keeps you on your toes and ready for the bite
when it does come. This mindset is tough, but it has helped me tremendously. It
is really hard to stay that focused all day, because we naturally start to wear
down as sun, wind, or rain beat down on us, but if you can keep yourself in
that zone, I promise you will see the rewards.
I honestly hopes this helps all you other co-anglers out there. Just
don’t beat me too bad this year! If you haven’t fished an FLW event as a
co-angler yet, you truly are missing out. Come out and fish a few this year. You will not be disappointed! Go to www.flwoutdoors.com or call (270)252-1000 to sign up.