Pairs of anglers who consistently finish high in their
clubs’ standings typically work together very well. They
complement one another with the strategies they select and have
zero concern for individual success.
By Jeff Samsel
Having spent what seems like half the day landing bass after
bass for his buddy, an angler could get eager to get in on the
action and opt to change his own approach. His partner’s lure
obviously is producing the bulk of the strikes, and he could be
catching fish in no time with a simple change of baits. He
knows, however that any fish that takes his lure is apt to be a
couple pounds larger than those that are already in the box and
that his buddy is fishing to cull ounces. He and his partner are
working together to target two different groups of fish. They
fish as a team, and it matters none who catches the fish.
Successful partners know how to work together for a common
goal, and they often use very specific two-man strategies. They
are intentional about teaming up on the fish and the rest of the
tournament field. Here’s a look at some of the strategies that
teams commonly use to gain much more of an advantage than just
having an extra lure in the water.
1) INSIDE-OUT
Often, while some bass bury themselves tight in specific tangles
of shoreline cover, others cruise the banks, chasing baitfish or
searching for crawfish. A pair of anglers can catch fish from
both groups and work a shore very efficiently by using an
inside-out approach. With the boat’s nose aimed at the bank, the
angler who is working the trolling motor pitches or flips
shoreline cover while his partner makes long casts parallel to
the bank in both directions with a lipless crankbait,
shallow-running crankbait or spinnerbait. The boat’s distance
from the bank, which is dictated mostly by water color and
bottom depth, largely determines whether the front fisherman
flips or pitches.
Even in strict casting situations, where the boat is positioned
a cast’s length out, anglers should always watch the graph for
suspended fish or break lines beneath the boat that call for
parallel casting by one fisherman.
2) LIMIT & LUNKER
Team competitors don’t necessarily have to make the decision of
whether to fish initially for a limit or go straight for the
quality bite. Unless the difference is strictly
location-related, team fishermen can have their cake and eat it
to. One partner can throw a finesse worm on a jighead while the
other casts a jig matched with a large trailer to the same
cover.
Even in “big fish” spots, one angler can stick with a diminutive
crankbait or other small, fast-moving offering to pick off
aggressive bass while his partner fishes for larger fish. After
a limit is in the boat, anglers can take this strategy a step
further, with one angler targeting better quality fish to cull
up and the other going for the gusto with a genuine big-fish
bait.
3) GO SEPARATE WAYS When partners spend practice days on the water before club
events, they are wise to fish completely different ways—even
working out of separate boats if that is an option. Fishing
separately allows them to look at twice as many areas and makes
it practical to look at two completely different types of areas
in different areas of a lake.
During summer, for an example, one angler might crank
lower-lake humps while the other runs way up a tributary arm and
fishes shallow. Even if partners have only one boat at their
disposal, it’s wise to vary approaches as much as possible on
practice days. That could mean fishing lures that work different
parts of the water column or lures that present very different
profiles.
4) PERFECT THE PATTERN
Whether in practice or during a tournament, team anglers enjoy
the unique opportunity to stick with something that is working
and experiment at the same time. One partner can hold steady
with whatever he has found that it is producing some strikes
while his partner makes subtle adaptations to see whether
something subtly different would work even better. Alterations
could be physical – a different color, a lighter jig, a trailer
added, etc.
Other times it’s a slightly faster retrieve or another variation
in presentations that triggers more strikes. As long as one
angler changes nothing and the other angler changes only one
thing at a time, it’s often easy to recognize if a certain tweak
makes a significant difference. By day’s end, partners often
have settled on a single best bait and presentation and are
fishing exactly the same way.
5) FOLLOW QUICKLY
When a bass misses a topwater lure or merely slaps at a
spinnerbait, the same lure rarely is the best offering to fire
back at that fish, and often an angler’s partner can get another
bait to the same spot more efficiently than he can. The partner
also can deliver an offering from a different angle, which
sometimes helps trigger a second strike. A key to successful
follow-up fishing is for each angler to have a follow-up bait
that fits the situation rigged, ready and handy. In addition,
partners need to be selfless, giving no thought to which one
puts the fish in the boat.
6) 4 EYES ARE BETTER THAN 2
Clues about likely bass behavior and locations surround anglers
all the time, and most fishermen probably assimilate far more
bits of information than they even realize over the course of a
day. Baitfish rippling on the surface, a second bass following a
hooked fish, a change in the water color, a shift in the wind
direction, a tendency for bass to strike a few feet out from the
cover… The list goes on an on.
What too many partners fail to do is to share their observations
with one another. Partners who are intentional about telling one
another about everything they notice—no matter how insignificant
a detail might seem—end up with twice as much information to
work with. A condition that one angler notices and passes on
might be the very clue that causes the pattern to click in the
mind of his partner.
7) MAKE SPACE
A very simple thing that a boat-owner can do for his partner,
which clearly will benefit the team by adding efficiency and
saving fishing time, is to empty back storage areas completely.
Easy access to well-organized gear saves time when bass start
running baitfish on the surface or an angler decides its time to
change plans.
Even if two anglers fish side by side on the front deck, as is
often the case, the non-boating partner can fish far more
efficiently if his gear is stowed in well-organized storable
boxes that are easy to access. Knowing storage areas will be
available also prevents him from having to carry a large, bulky
hard-sided box, which leaves more room to get around for both
team members.
8) CAPTAIN’S CHOICE
Tournament fishing creates dilemmas, and they can begin with,
which direction to run to first thing in the morning. Questions
include things like: how long to stay with fish that aren’t
cooperating or aren’t as big as a team expected; when to commit
to a long run; and when to switch gears completely and target a
different black bass species.
While two heads can be better than one, too many chefs really
can spoil the soup. The most effective game plan for many teams
is to choose a “captain” before the tournament begins and let
him make the calls any time the best course isn’t fully obvious.
Both partners still add input and decisions are discussed, but
the predetermined captain (which can switch every tournament)
makes the calls with expectations of his partner’s support.
9) COMPLEMENT & SACRIFICE
Often partners work most efficiently by throwing complementary
lures, like a spinnerbait and a shallow-running crankbait or a
plastic worm and a tube. If most fish are hitting worms, the
tube tosser is making a sacrifice for the sake of the team. The
one fish that does not want a worm and ends up nabbing the other
angler’s tube might be the very fish that makes the difference
any given day.
While at times it’s best to double-up with the primary bait,
fishing two lures that work the same zone effectively, but offer
a different look often will put more fish (or a better quality
limit) in the box. Partners also can complement each other with
angles. In other words, the back anglers intentionally angle
their casts backward and toward the bank to run baits parallel
to deadfalls, weedlines and other structures that get missed by
many bass fishermen.
10) GET THE NET
Club partners should operate as a well-oiled machine when it
becomes time to get a fish into the boat. Along with being
ever-ready to drop a rod in exchange for a net, partners need to
be on the same page about fish-landing procedures.
Communication is critical—and most talking should occur well
before an important fish gets on the line. The net man needs to
know whether the rod man prefers he go after the fish when it
gets close or wait for it to be led into the net—or under which
circumstances he prefers to hand-land fish or otherwise handle
them on his own.
During the fight, the angler battling the fish should make
the calls. He should provide clear instructions about the kind
of help he does or does not want.
Natural Pairings
Here’s a list of complementary baits for partners working the
same waters:
