Tour Level Gold - Sak

[CatDaddy]

I know similar has been posted, but this video really struck a chord with me. Local dudes, big names, our lake. This is what this site was intended for, not the political BS that many threads turn into.

 

[701FishSlayer]

Go on....explain.

 

[Weekender]

Another great episode. I'm glad they highlighted how much the lake changed during the week leading up to the tournament. Fish locations changed drastically.
I'm looking forward to the next episode. I ran the camera boat following Max and Owen, curious to see how the footage turned out.

 

[CatDaddy]

Episode 8 - Sak again. No cull tourney, interesting strategies.....

 

[5575]

Co-angler=net man by the looks of it.
We have a group of 4 teams that always fish the DWC, we have a good time that week with everyone staying at the cabin eating good and having lots of laughs and drinks. After this years tourney we have decided we are still going to do all those things next year, we're just not going to fish the tourney. Just go out every day and fish for fun. With these pros showing up that are experts at FFS and knocking all of the almost 200 teams over the head without even prefishing I think the days of getting lucky and winning some money are over. We all have ffs as well but are definitely not nearly as good at it as these guys!

 

[Weekender]

I think if the bite would've been less strange, the co-anglers would have had more of an impact. As you could see in the episode Max and Owen's co-anglers ran chubs the entire two days, and if I remember right there wasn't a single walleye caught on them.

 

[scrotcaster]

I was thinking about signing up as a co-angler next year. Has anyone done this ? Cool experience or nah? Thanks for any insight.

 

[eyecatcher]

I was thinking about signing up as a co-angler next year. Has anyone done this ? Cool experience or nah? Thanks for any insight.

The chance of getting paired up with somebody like Max makes it a hard no for me.

 

[Rowdie]

So if a Co-Angler is the one catching the fish can the Pro weigh them in?

 

[white-eyes93]

I was thinking about signing up as a co-angler next year. Has anyone done this ? Cool experience or nah? Thanks for any insight.

I did the Sak event this year as a co. IMO, it depends on the water body (one that you fish a lot or not) and your skill level as a fisherman that determines that answer. For me, was it a cool experience? Yes, 90% of was really fun, from the rules meeting, to meeting your day 1 pro and talking about the next day's strategies to take off and weigh-ins were really cool. My pro on day 1 was a guy who has been doing all the events for quite a few years, so I was excited that I would learn new perspectives to use my skills on my "home lake" and make the entry fee worth the experience and maybe take home a check. The pro was super transparent and was relieved when he found I had experience on sak. He had a second livescope for me and gave me free rign in his boat to do whatever I wanted. He had chubs but wasn't super confident with his setup with them and asked if I had experience with them, so I was able to help him out with that and ended up having a great day. Day 2 was different. The random draw variable stung me. I was paired with a pro that this was his second-ever event. He did poorly on day 1 and didn't have a plan for day 2. I sat in the back of the boat for the entire day dragging/jigging a worm while he live-scoped, that's what he wanted me to do. He was a nice guy and we got along well, he just had his plan and wanted to stick to it even though he caught 1 fish the entire day. Funny thing was, we were on the same shore as Sprengel. That's how it goes sometimes. As a local and someone who just fished the Gov cup and DWC, that's when it gets tough on you because you have so many opinions on your home water that could help but ultimately it's up to the pro, it's his boat and his program. So you have to be prepared for a day like that or maybe even two, if you're really unlucky.
However, I probably won't do an event as a co again. I had my taste and thats good enough for me. I like to be in control and have a say in what we do during tournaments.

 

[Rowdie]

Thanks great Info! My buddy signed up to be a Co a few years ago. Not sure if COVID shut it down or if he was on the wait list and they would never let him know if he was in or out. He owns a business and needed to know to make plans.

 

[scrotcaster]

I did the Sak event this year as a co. IMO, it depends on the water body (one that you fish a lot or not) and your skill level as a fisherman that determines that answer. For me, was it a cool experience? Yes, 90% of was really fun, from the rules meeting, to meeting your day 1 pro and talking about the next day's strategies to take off and weigh-ins were really cool. My pro on day 1 was a guy who has been doing all the events for quite a few years, so I was excited that I would learn new perspectives to use my skills on my "home lake" and make the entry fee worth the experience and maybe take home a check. The pro was super transparent and was relieved when he found I had experience on sak. He had a second livescope for me and gave me free rign in his boat to do whatever I wanted. He had chubs but wasn't super confident with his setup with them and asked if I had experience with them, so I was able to help him out with that and ended up having a great day. Day 2 was different. The random draw variable stung me. I was paired with a pro that this was his second-ever event. He did poorly on day 1 and didn't have a plan for day 2. I sat in the back of the boat for the entire day dragging/jigging a worm while he live-scoped, that's what he wanted me to do. He was a nice guy and we got along well, he just had his plan and wanted to stick to it even though he caught 1 fish the entire day. Funny thing was, we were on the same shore as Sprengel. That's how it goes sometimes. As a local and someone who just fished the Gov cup and DWC, that's when it gets tough on you because you have so many opinions on your home water that could help but ultimately it's up to the pro, it's his boat and his program. So you have to be prepared for a day like that or maybe even two, if you're really unlucky.
However, I probably won't do an event as a co again. I had my taste and thats good enough for me. I like to be in control and have a say in what we do during tournaments.

Thank you for sharing your experience. One question i did have is, Are you allowed to bring your own rod/tackle or do you rely upon the pro for that too?

 

[white-eyes93]

Thank you for sharing your experience. One question i did have is, Are you allowed to bring your own rod/tackle or do you rely upon the pro for that too?

Day 1 pro told me I could bring rods/tackle if I wanted to once we got to talking after the rules meeting. I did end up bringing two rods and 2 baits that were working during the DWC. I was hesitant because I didn't want to be responsible if an equipment malfunction lost a fish. Day 2 pro told me he didn't have much for rods for me and advised me to bring my own. From what I saw on tourny days, vast majority of Co's were walking to the boats without any rods/tackle.

 

[Wall-eyes]

As Co with new forward facing you really just net hand bait to pro and hope he will talk and explain if you want to learn, very few pros have forward facing in rear which is nice to play with if they do. all fun it is fishing but not like ole days before Forward facing.

 

[701FishSlayer]

If I had the boat, and the event was on sakajawea I wouldn't fish it as a co. I'd go after the big money. Co anglers don't make shit. I'd rather luck out and win a new boat then just a few k.

 

[Wall-eyes]

Day 1 pro told me I could bring rods/tackle if I wanted to once we got to talking after the rules meeting. I did end up bringing two rods and 2 baits that were working during the DWC. I was hesitant because I didn't want to be responsible if an equipment malfunction lost a fish. Day 2 pro told me he didn't have much for rods for me and advised me to bring my own. From what I saw on tourny days, vast majority of Co's were walking to the boats without any rods/tackle.

Really they did not have enough christ sake most got 50 of bastards in boat

 

[tikkalover]

Me as a co-angler =s knock a 10lber off on a bad net job and get tossed over the side of the boat.

 

[Traxion]

I enjoyed watching the Sak episode. I do like Hjelm. The fishing style is different for tournaments. Not my style but best to see.

I have no desire to be a co angler. With this style of fishing you’re just a net bitch with a lot of weight on your shoulders. No thanks!