Mines short. Had a dude smoking dope in the back of the boat, every time I turned around to look at what he was doing, he’d also turn towards the back.
Few weeks later, we were scheduled to fish at Amistad, which has a border Patrol check point that you have to go through. This clown asked if he could fish with me again...obviously that was not going to happen.
Originally Posted by ECobb91
My worst by far was Basil Bacon I had 3 fish needed at least one more he was skunked he decided to pull the boat two hours early to go home , I ended 1lb out of a check.
BULLET 21XRS 250 SHO
Worst one for me was the co decided it was OK to smoke on my boat without asking me, pretty frigid conversation the rest of the day. Then stiffed me on the mandatory non-boater gas money, said would pay at the meeting next week and never showed up again.
Now as a CO I've have some bad days due to @$$hole boaters, even had to report 2 of them for rules violations to the TD and had no problem doing it.
Havent been on the boater side of it yet. Always try to be the least pain in the ass I can be as a co. Treat every bodies boat like its my own. Definitely makes the day more fun when the boater sees your trying not to trash his boat.
You guys always have interesting stories.
Thats pretty low. I had a Costa a couple years back where I was a co and was in 15th after day 1 and my boater skunked. Tells me while we’re waiting to take off on day two that he’s going to focus on getting me five fish since he was definitely out of check range ( I did not ask him to worry about my finish because I’m a boater and co depending on the series and don’t want to be that guy, he offered). Go fish for 20 minutes throwing jerkbaits and while we’re fishing he sees one on bed and catches it. The rest of the day I was backboated and being at table rock he was fishing a bed with the back of the boat in 40’ clear water. He spent all day to catch a pretty solid limit and wasn’t pissed at him until 15 minutes before weigh in I blind casted behind the boat and caught a 3 pounder that thankfully got me in check range by a few ounces. The guy got about half hateful because he didn’t get a shot at catching it even though he didn’t see it and had already passed the bed. Then to top it off he expected me to give him info on ky lake since it’s my home lake.My worst by far was Basil Bacon I had 3 fish needed at least one more he was skunked he decided to pull the boat two hours early to go home , I ended 1lb out of a check.
Took a run from smallwood to the Washington channel, dod let off even through Marbury. Sat down at the channe, channel no wake, non boat pulled his wallet out and showed me his kids and wife an asked that I slow down. Boat only did 65.
I had "Cheech" several times, pink overalls, and head shaved like a fish with a tiger eye stone for the fishes eye glued on! He is awsome, such a character. They had him on Bassmasters, when he was a non-boat. I think I drew him 3 times over the years. Not a Horror story but ine of those unforgettable guys, but great to spend the day with.
Damm sounds fimilar , I been boated out like that , I had a guy fishing docks he went head on to the dock and stayed far back so I was in deep water catching zippo ... I didn't get a bite all day he was culling ,about an hour left he wanted a kicker and was using a big Rapala Jerk so he hooks up with a 5lb plus and starts yelling "grab the net" I told him get it yourself I turned my back a minute later he was hanging over the boat trying to lip it and it came unbuttonedI laughed for ten minutes
Next day I fished with Chad Brauer set him straight with a bunch of f-bombs "I ain't getting fn-ed boated out today" he ended up being a great guy didn't dare boating me out
BULLET 21XRS 250 SHO
Let's just say I've my fair share of dud boaters. One that sticks out is basically seeing the whole top 1/3rd of Champlain in 8 hours.
Oh, I remembered one. KY Lake with a "pro" in a vintage ranger/GT150 with no GPS (this is 8-10 years ago). WE caught nothing in his sercret bay, ran back up by Moors and floated the flats by the main channel. I drug a jig around for the last 2 hours and caught a 5lber. Dude was totally stabbin at it with the net trying to knock it off. only fish I caught that day and kept me in check range. he blanked. that was a brutal day. just floating with the breeze for 2 hours. not even trying to stay on a breakline or anything. Unreal!
Last edited by Bassbuster95; 09-12-2019 at 07:41 PM.
Hooked a nice 8-10 lber at the delta at the bass invitational in 97, got it on a 1oz red rattle trap, fish comes up on top, I shove my rod down, the " pro" turned on the trolling motor on high and ran it right over.
Fished as a co in a draw tourney and my boater went to the back of a creek to throw a buzz bait shallow. I was fishing a hard jerkbait on the other side of the boat in the creek channel and started catching them. I had 4 good keepers and he never caught a fish. I offered him one of my jerkbaits and he refused. Next spot and I caught another on the jerkbait. I swear he tried to knock it off with the net as he was landing it as the rim of the net wasn't even in the water. I finally had to swing the fish in the boat. Got back to the ramp for weigh in and had 5 good fish to his 1 small keeper that he caught on a c-rig. They asked him how he did at the weigh-in and he blamed me for casting too fast before he could get started. Mind you I caught all my fish on the opposite side of the boat he was fishing on. (eye roll emoji here)
Stupid club story here, but I drew a new member for a tournament on Black Lake, NY. I'd never seen the place and get there late Friday night with nothing but a map of the place and no chance to pre-fish. We bounce from spot to spot and find a bay with a lot of fish but not that many over the 14" minimum - and that lake has some chunky 13 7/8" fish that will break your heart. Between us we catch 45 freaking fish on the day, I have a limit of about 12 lbs. and he has like 3 keepers and all he does is moan about what an awful day of fishing it was and how we should of been doing this or that instead. All about a club tournament with a $25 entry fee. I thought 45 fish over the gunnels on a lake I'd never seen was a darned good day of fishing! Another club member later drew him for a tournament on the Potomac and at the end of the day told him to never set foot in his boat again! And this co-angler's nickname was "Happy Jack"
2018 Ranger RT188 SC Black/115 hp Yamaha SHO 4-stroke; Garmin LVS34 - north
2018 Ranger RT188 DC Black/115 hp Merc Pro XS 4-stroke; Garmin LVS34 - south
14' Mirrorcraft tin boat (ancient) with a 9.9 Mercury 4-stroke, no electronics; catches fish anyway
Boater from Hell!
You guys are going to think I am making this up, but I swear that everything below is true.
2006 fishing my first BFL as a co-angler on Grand Lake, St. Mary's in Ohio. I rode to the lake and practiced with a guy that my boat dealer hooked me up with. Great guy and at the end of last practice day we found a pile of fish. An area of the lake had been marked off with a boom for some construction work. But, the end of the boom had blown loose and drifted across the mouth of a cut, making it almost inaccessible. Right at the end of the last practice day, we found a way in through a very shallow area using the trolling motor and the fish were stacked in there in the bushes. He told me that there was plenty of room for two boats, so if the boater I drew wasn't on anything, I was welcome to bring him here.
We go to the meeting and I hear my name and Boat #1! On fish and I draw out with the local guy who is 1st boat out! I talk to my boater and even though he is a local, he hasn't found much. I tell him about the fish we found and he agrees to go to them. He asked what we were catching them on and I told him the truth...motor oil orange tail Jelly Waggler. I get his phone number and we agree where to meet.
Next morning he's late and eventually gets there. He's driving an old beaten-up station wagon pulling a 18 foot Nitro that's in even worse shape than his station wagon. I back him in and park. He picks me up and we idle out to the front of the pack. We talk a few minutes and see the TD's boat coming out. He then runs up to the front deck, open a compartment, and pulls out a pack or worms. He says that the tackle shop didn't have any motor oil with orange tails and didn't have any orange dye, so he bought some pink dye. The TD's boat is now playing the national anthem, I stand and remove my hat, while the guy is sitting dying worm tails...OK.
We take off for my spot and when he sees it he says that there's no way to get in. I show him the way in, which required lifting the trolling motor to get through the shallow spot leading in. He starts bitching. Eventually we get in and my practice buddy also comes in. We start at one end and my practice buddy at the other end. I am flipping with a 7'6" flipping rod and 15 pound line. This guy says he doesn't have a flipping rod and hates casting tackle. He pulls out a 5 1/2 foot spinning rod with what he tells me is 6 pound line, ties on a 3/8 ounce sinker and one of his motor oil, pink tail worms. He repeatedly slams the lids of his boat compartments and when he pitches, his sinker hits the water like a cannonball! Immediately, he starts bitching again. He says that fish never get this shallow (about 2-3 feet deep in the willow bushes). I assure him that they do get this shallow and that it's best to be as quiet as possible when fishing this shallow. He gives me the "stink eye!" He repeatedly gets hung up and blows right into the cover. Frequently is blowing water into the cover with the trolling motor, etc. And, he hasn't stopped complaining. We go down the bank and talk to my practice buddy. No one has had a bite yet. Well, at least I know the lack of bites is not due to the idiot I drew as a boater.
After getting out of the shallow area, we head to the other side of the lake, where there are a series of cuts and creeks coming into the lake. He idles past several, then turns around, and idles back past them. I ask what he's looking for. He tells me that (remember, this is in the spring time!), two weeks ago, he had a buddy who was crappie fishing and his buddy told him that he saw some guys catch a couple bass in one of these cuts! Freakin' awesome!Eventually, he picks a creek and idles back in. There is a low bridge that we idle under and the creek opens up into a small pond. There are already 3 tournament boats back there. He cuts the big motor, drops the trolling motor, and we head back into the pond. He immediately, hollers, "Hi guys! Is anybody catching anything back in here?" All of the guys in the other boats give him the "stink eye!" We fish around a while, get no bites and don't see anybody else catch any, so we head out. All of these cuts and creeks on the lake are No Wake, and he's idling with the big motor. So, he asks me to sit on the front deck so he can speed up but throw a small wake. I sit on the edge of the front deck and retie a couple baits. Unbeknownst to me, we are approaching the low bridge. He never tells me we are approaching the bridge and I smack my head on the bridge!!! Intentional? Maybe, but given how ignorant this guys is, it may not have been.
We crank the mouth of the creek and my boater catches a small keeper, which I quickly net. We hit a number of other points of creeks and pockets and don't get another bite. It's almost check-in time. So, we head to the area of the ramp and crank the mouth of a marina. I get a bite and call for the net. He eventually gets the net and when he sees my fish, he starts cussing that my fish is larger than his. He throws the net on the floor of the boat and goes back up to the front deck! I grab the net, net my own fish, and we head to the weigh-in.
He gives me his keys and drops me off on a dock. I head up to his ratty station wagon and get in line to pull him out. I finally get to the front of the line as I wait for an open spot, a guy I have never seen approaches me and makes a motion to roll down the window. I roll the window down and the guy starts raising heck with me. I ask him what the heck is the matter. he says "You don't know?" I tell him, "Heck no, I don’t know." He says, "well, when your buddy dropped you off at the dock he turned around, hit his throttle and ran up onto the back deck of my new boat!" "He slide off and then idled away." "I idled over to him and ask him if he was going to pay for the damage to my boat and he refuses to talk to me about it." I tell the stranger. "My boater is no buddy of mine! In fact, he's an a-hole, which you already know!" I have his phone number and here it is." I give the stranger my boaters phone number and he says, "I really appreciate it. The county sheriff is friend of mine and if your boater doesn't give me his info, I am going to call the sheriff and have him arrested." That's fine with me!!!
I back the trailer in, my idiot boater loads his boat, and hollers "OK!" I begin pulling out and almost have to floor the gas to get the trailer to come out of the water. Just as I get the trailer clear of the water, my idiot boater starts hollering "STOP! STOP! STOP!" I stop the station wagon and realize that this idiot never trimmed his big motor up and I am dragging the skeg up the ramp. He trims, up, I find a parking spot. I offer him $20 for gas. This is a small inland lake and we didn't burn $10.00 in gas all day. But, I want to give him the $20 out of courtesy. He says to me, "Well, usually the guys on this lake give $50 for gas, but if that is all you have, I'll take it." I wanted to ask if the other $30 were for the fishing lessons he gave me
I found my practice buddy and we watch the weigh-in. It turns out, my practice buddy returned to our hot area and fished it the last two hours of the day...the same time of day that we found it. As is typical in the spring, those fish only moved into the shallow bushes once the sun had beaten on them most of the day. My practice buddy told me that he lost more than enough fish to win the tournament. But, that's the way it goes.
I continued to fish BFL and a co-angler for a couple more years and then as a boater for several years. When I was fishing as a co-angler, I promised myself that I would never get in a boat with this idiot guy again. If I got paired with him, I would forfeit my entry fee before fishing with him again or allowing him to fish with me. This is by far the worst draw I ever had. But, there were three other boaters that I drew who I'd rather not fish with again.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
Fished a BFL type tourney as a co on my home body of water. Pro doesn’t know that and goes to a big lily pad field on a point and puts the nose of the boat facing the pads, poles down in about 5 feet of water, and leaves me sitting in the back with no way to cast to the pads. Doesn't say a word and climbs up front and starts fishing.
I don't say anything - just cut off my frog and tied on a deep diving crank. What he didn’t know was that that there is an awesome creek channel drop on that point that the fish stack up on. They really don’t hang in the pads much. I had my three fish limit in 10 minutes and made the 10 man cut for the last day. He was too embarrassed about blocking me out to turn the boat around and fish. He zeroed for the day. It was extremely satisfying.
I had a Bfl on Rayburn one year, college kid gets paired with me. The kid shows up with nothing to eat or drink so I offer him waters and food throughout the day . Fishing was so so that day I had maybe 11# he might have had about 7# , at the end of the day we weigh or fish in then he goes and gets my truck and we load up, after we park he tells me that he was going to put some things in his girlfriends car and would be right back. So as I put everything away enough time passes and I realize he is not coming back. Not even a thank you for giving him food and drink all day. Then to top it off a week later I get five certified letters in the mail from Corp of engineers as he parked my truck in a no parking zone and obviously they would of had a sticker on the windshield that he must have thrown away when he went and got my truck. Needless to say I could have strangled this kid. Definitely makes me wiser of who gets in my boat.
That’s not cool, should have got the net.Damm sounds fimilar , I been boated out like that , I had a guy fishing docks he went head on to the dock and stayed far back so I was in deep water catching zippo ... I didn't get a bite all day he was culling ,about an hour left he wanted a kicker and was using a big Rapala Jerk so he hooks up with a 5lb plus and starts yelling "grab the net" I told him get it yourself I turned my back a minute later he was hanging over the boat trying to lip it and it came unbuttoned
Next day I fished with Chad Brauer set him straight with a bunch of f-bombs "I ain't getting fn-ed boated out today" he ended up being a great guy didn't dare boating me out
Bass Cat Caracal STS / Mercury 300 ProXS
Jayco Northpoint 377 RLBH
GMC Denali Ultimate DRW
#ChargeOn #HereWeGo
Fishing as a non-boater in the late 80s, I drew a guy who:
1) After a short run to a cove, he realized he forgot to gas up the boat the night before, so we were stuck fishing that area for the rest of the day. OK
2) Immediately asks me for a pork frog because he ran out the day before. umm OK
3) I catch the only keeper of the day on a nearly invisible little stickup that he had already passed up.... and then he bitches because I caught "his" fish. NOT OK
Another guy didn't want me to smoke in his boat, which I fully understand. After a few hours, I told him I would stop fishing and hang my head over the side of the boat to have a cigarette and he wouldn't even let me do that.
And then there was the fella who fished the entire day purely off of a map. "Oh that looks like a good spot, let's go there."
When my son turned 16, he fished his first Redman tournament. The weather was terrible and the fishing was even worse. That's when we decided we would only fish buddy tournaments. Good, bad or otherwise, at least we'd be in control of our own fishing and our own fate.
Never had a bad co-angler thank the good lord. I have fished co angler with Shaw Grigsby, Paul Elias, Lonnie Stanley, Denny Brauer, Stanley Mitchell, Roland Martin(twice), KVD, Tom Mann jr and more guys trying to make the classic than I can count. This was in the Top 100, Top 150 days. Never had a bad experience, I showed up each time with 3 rods, a jacket with my tackle in the pockets and a small cooler full of homemade granola, peanut butter and honey sandwiches and drinks for both of us. Listened and learned, stayed out of their way. We could share info back then, put a few on places that helped their total. None of the pros would take gas money, I left it in their truck while I was pulling them out. Fished with a guy who after weigh in the last day missed the classic by one spot, 41st, he traveled with Denny and was from Missouri, great guy. Good times
15 rods tipped with aluminum foil. 3 large tackle boxes, a cooler that could fit a case of 12 ounce cans, change of clothes and that’s all.
Also drew a guy in a little club tournament that was pushing 400 pounds and not the most stable guy either. Almost told him when I saw him that morning I didn’t want him in my boat but didn’t want to be an ass. Started catching them that morning on spooks and he doesn’t have any so I give him some. While later he just gets stupid and bombs it way up into the woods. Tell him break it off no worries, it’s a $10 bait and I’ve got 30 of them in the boat. Well he somehow falls into the water trying to break it off. Luckily the water wasn’t deep so I have to stop fishing (didn’t want to at all hence wanting him to break it off) and let him walk all the way to the bank so he can get his fat butt in the boat. Then by doing so he grabbed a week old solix 12 on my bow to use as a grab handle. I still don’t know how he didn’t rip it off the mount. And to top it off I didn’t get a thank you, kiss my butt, or my entry fee paid for (rule for that certain club and then cos don’t worry about gas money)
I can always tell what co’s have a boat because they respect yours a helluva lot more.
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