(Steve Chaconas has been covering pro bass fishing for 20 years. Currently he writes for BoatUS Trailering, Woods & Waters USA, The Sportsman's Magazine, and other titles. He provides radio coverage of pro events, and is also the BoatUS.com "fishing expert.")
Last month FLW Outdoors announced rules changes that appeared to be headed in the right direction. They limited co-anglers to practicing only with pros – a change from cos having an unlimited practice with anyone. The new rule served to reduce fishing pressure before tournaments.
Not long after announcing those new rules for 2008, FLW discussed the changes with co-anglers and decided to relax the rule. Now, co-anglers can fish with just about anyone before an event, and can use their own boats, but are still prohibited from sharing info with their pro partners.
FLW had it right the first time. Keep co-anglers off the water.
Fisheries are not golf courses, racetracks, or ball fields. Boaters, jet skiers and other anglers are on the water during fishing competitions. In addition, pros will continue to fish around co-anglers who have no incentive to "save" fish they find during practice. Why make it harder for the pros? They're putting their livelihoods on the end of a line, hoping to reel in enough fish to land a living.
Removing the co-angler variable creates a more level playing field. Pro against pro. Not pro against "pro who didn't have a co-angler practicing in his spots(s)."
Pro tournaments are designed to reward the angler who can find fish, and catch them over a 4-day period against the best in the business, not "catch them in spite of co-anglers."
If cos have their own boats, sponsors and the time to prefish, then maybe they should step up and take on the pros.
Prior to the rule revisions, pros like Skeeter/Yamaha legend Jay Yelas applauded FLW, saying the changes minimized the impact of co-anglers on the outcome of an event. He also felt less pressure on fisheries would result in more fish coming to the scales. "It's better for the sport – getting the variables out – to get the pure competition between the pros," he told me.
Many co-anglers who prefish on their own either intentionally or inadvertently "burn-up" fish pros count on for their tournament sacks. Ranger/Yamaha pro Jacob Powroznik liked the rules change that kept cos off the water during the critical practice days. "(In) certain times of the year when there are 10 to 15 bass on a piece of structure and you're lucky to find it, and a co-angler finds it in practice, it could hurt your chances," he said.
Since the institution of the "co-angler," pros have looked over their shoulder while earning a living. Cos don't need practice. Pros identify patterns and control the boat. Cos compete by adapting to what is presented to them on a daily basis by pros with differing strategies, tactics, and locations.
Ranger/Evinrude pro Pete Gluszek told me, even if co-anglers couldn't practice, they "will still be able to learn and have the opportunity to test their casting skills – adapting and finding alternative baits and techniques to fish behind a pro."
If co-anglers fish tournaments to learn, then they should jump at the opportunity to practice with pros.
Tournaments are becoming "shakey-head" trails due to enormous pressure being placed on the venues, even before the first tournament cast is made. Required finesse presentations are putting the brakes on power-fishing.
FLW should reconsider its flip-flop on the changes, and co-anglers should reconsider their goals and their roles.
