Suggestions on How to Be a Great Partner

(Note: this was recently updated to better reflect the higher fuel prices. Aug 31, 2006)

The American Bass Anglers Tournament Trail is somewhat tailored to the novice tournament angler so I thought it important to include some hints on how to get started and how to get along with the partner. While all of this is really geared to the non-boater, boaters will probably get something out of it as well.

The director of district # 46 Jeremiah Bagwell wrote a great article for ProBass.com that covered this very well. Then I added a few comments below to illustrate one of the most common problems. Read through his article and then come back to finish up with mine below. Don’t hesitate to give me a call to discuss it further if you want.

Don’t Be the Co-Angler Everybody Dreads!

This article is very good. One of the biggest complaints that I hear from boaters is the lack of payment from the non-boaters. This is the quickest way for word to get around that a non-boater is a bad partner. It is a shame because often I think it is not bad character but the non-boater simply does not understand the costs involved with running a hi-performance bass boat. It is not expected for a non-boater to pay for expenses like the boat payment, insurance, maintenance, electronics, or the tow-vehicle expenses (unless you traveled with the boater). It is however expected that the non-boater pay for some of the daily expenses.

Gas is an obvious one. I think a good deal of non-boaters think of a boat as having the gas mileage of a car. In reality, an outboard on one of today’s bass boats gets about 3-4 miles per gallon. If we run the numbers to convert this to dollars I think you might be surprised. First let’s assume the boat runs at 50MPH. Most are faster but this seems like a good average. 50MPH / 3MPg = 16.7 gal/hr or about 0.3 gal/minute. This correlates to $0.81 per minute at today’s gas price of $2.70 per gallon. Then there is oil, which is probably another $0.18 per minute.

I would not be surprised if during an average tournament that 40 to 60 minutes or more is spent on plane in a good size body of water. Which would mean it costs between $40 and $60 just for gas and oil. This is just attempt to illustrate the issue. This would vary greatly depending on the size of the water and how often a team moved. I know it is rare that I spend under $60 per day for gas.

Now the non-boater can see how his contribution is spent on gas but before you pay the boater, did you enjoy any of his food or drinks? Did he give you any tackle? Not everyone does it, but I always bring enough for my non-boater. This way he can travel lighter. Sharing tackle is a two way street I realize, but the boater’s tackle box is the boat so he carries more and is more often the giver than the receiver.

With all of this now brought up, I hope you see that $30 to $40 per day is a good amount unless the day was unusual and you agreed to run 50 miles to the hotspot. The even more is appropriate, however, this is still very cheap. If you were to try to get a guide he would charge $300 per day or more.

This is usually a hard topic for people to bring up and for that reason I hope this was helpful. One last thing, I have once or twice forgot to pay my partner. It just slipped my mind. If that happens please try to get it to him via mail or catch him at the next tournament. He has no way of knowing if it was an honest mistake or if he got stiffed so the boater’s feelings get hurt. Whether this is a team tournament or a draw you are still a team for the day and must cooperate with the expenses. Offer the boater at least $30. He may or may not take, but it is great good will. The boater will take care of the boat cost, maintenance, tow vehicle gas (10mpg pulling boat), electronics, boat license, trailer license, and try his best to put you on fish. Remember if a boater decides not to come back that is one less non-boater that fishes as well.

Now that that is behind us let’s go fishing.

Ken Warren
Tournament Director