by Bruce Middleton, November 04, 2008

How to fish from the back seat and still catch bass…


Bass boats are a truly well thought out platforms that offers space for two or more people to fish from. Today’s new bass boats are dedicated to comfort, covenants, power, workability, reliability, efficiency, safety, ease of use and cost return to the owners and users. They also offer a raised platform that is stable enough to stand up on and fish from, raising you well above the surface of the water so you can see farther than if you were setting just about level with the water. Just about every bass boat built today whether aluminum or fiberglass is a two seaters. That is to say there is a fishing platform in both the front and back of the boat. How long the boat is determines how large these platforms are. If you don’t own a bass boat you still are faced with the same situation and that is usually only two fishermen are in the boat at the same time.

Now to be honest we all like to fish from the front deck more than we do fishing from the back seat. That’s because we are all are a little bit of a control freak and we all want to run the boat at a curtain speed, a curtain distance from objects and we want to get our baits or lures into the fresh unfished water first. Now the person in the back seat would seem to have to fish in used water as it were for the whole time he’s back there. Well this doesn’t have to limit how you fish and it certainly doesn’t limit how many fish you can catch. It can also actually help you catch more fish.

In order to show you the back seat fisherman can catch just as many fish as the person in front I like to show this example. When my folks lived on Kitsap Lake they had a long medium high dock that went quite a ways out into the water. I had thrown many cinder blocks, old tires and Christmas trees under the dock to make it more appealing to bass as a place to live. Next-door where a friend lived, he had a on the top of the water type dock. You couldn’t cast a lure under it as it floated right on the surface. Now between the two docks is a huge old hollowed out stump that almost always has a bass setting on or around it. Now when fishing from the front of the boat I would cast to any dock on the far side, in front of the dock and in-between the docks. The person in back would fish the approaching dockside and then fish the front of the dock as we passed it as well as fishing in-between the docks.

Now say I was using a long minnow crank bait and threw to the back of the far side of my folks dock as I cam up on it. This would usually pull that bass on the stump over to my folks dock to investigate the lure. Now the back seat fisherman throws his spinner bait to the back of the approaching dock (to him), my folks dock, and then again to the front of the dock as we have passed it. This gives that angler two chances to catch that bass after it moved to under the dock. Now if the bass didn’t move, the front seater got another cast in-between the docks and a second try at that bass. And then again as he cast and fished the front of the neighbors dock where he would then cast to the far side while the back seat angler cast to in-between the docks. The back seat fisherman then cast to the front of the neighbors dock, which is again close to the stump. So you see they both can have several chances to catch this bass. The real determining factor is what the back seat fisherman is using for a lure as opposed to the front seat fisherman. You should always use two different lures or baits so as to improve your chances of taking a bass on and what that bass decides is what he wants for dinner on that day.

This is an important factor when fishing with a friend. Never use the same style of lure as the person in front of the boat. If he is throwing a jig, you use a crank bait. If he is using a crank bait, then you use a spinner bait and so on and so forth. Bass like different lures on different days for different reasons. If you both use the same lure you will definitely catch less fish from the back. Also too it is helpful to use a lure or bait that has a completely different cadence. The reasons why is to give the bass a wider selection and completely different look to the lures or baits you use. It doesn’t hurt either to fish different depths of the water column. Say the front seat angler is using a crank bait, an obvious lure for the back seat angler is to throw a jig or a surface lure. This way you cover two separate parts of the water column and these two different lures are presented with entirely different cadences. If one is fast the other should be slow and so on. The whole idea is to have two lures or baits in the water that vary enough to give the bass a real choice as to which one he might strike.

Since we all have a pretty wide array of lures to choose from when fishing with a partner it is important vital even to have these two different lures or baits. Also too I find that the back seat fisherman will more often than not try a lot more different types of lures than does the front seat angler. This is because being in the back seat you have time to tie different lures on since your not steering the boat. Eventually in a lot of cases the back seat angler will find the lure or bait that attracts the most bass and catches them.

A good example of this is say you two are fishing a weedy bank of a lake. The front angler is using a plastic frog and the back seater is using a buzz bait. These two lures have a completely different look and cadence even though they are both surface lures. If the bass are not active enough to take a lazy frog swam start and stop fashion, maybe the buzz bait will excite them enough to strike. Or say it is the other way around and the front angler is using a buzz bait and the back seater is using a split shot worm. The buzz bait may alert the bass to the surface food but when they see a juicy worm go by they just can’t resist it. The back seat fisherman can opt for a frog or other lure or bait that finally appeals to the most bass at that time on that lake.

So while it may look like the front seat fisherman may have the advantage, you are really pretty much equal in your ability to catch fish. It all depends on what you choose for a lure, how you present it and your timing.

Now say you are fishing out in the middle of a huge lily pad or cow lily field. You both have the ability to cast just about any direction you choose just as long as you don’t cross lines. This is a situation where you could get away with using similar lures.

Also too if you are out searching for bass there is no rule that says you both have to cast to the shore. The back seater can cast over the other side of the boat looking for deeper places the bass might be or suspended bass. This is especially true if you are in a shallow bay where you can cover both sides of the bay if you position the boat right in the middle. You fish one side going in and the other side going out so you put your different lures over the entire bay while staying completely out of each others way. Again this gives you the best possibility to fish unused water and to find that one lure or presentation that really hauls them in that day. When using search lures it is important to cover large areas of the body of water you are fishing. This includes fishing various depths in an effort to locate the level the bass are in at that time.

I think all to often the angler in the back starts out the day thinking he is going to take less fish than the angler in the front. This is a negative attitude and that runs down your arm, up the rod and right down the line to the lure you are using. You have to start out positive and stay that way all day long. You really have a lot of options on how to fish, where to fish and what lures or baits to use no matter if you are in the front or the back of the boat. So don’t think that one is better than the other because they aren’t.

Communication is a very important factor when fishing with a partner too. You can alert the other person to a bass you see near him or ask to stop the boat while you work a curtain area over really well especially if you are using a slower approach than the front seater. You may also want to refish an area that you just pulled a big one out of in hopes there are a group of bass there. These and other examples are reasons to talk with each other, other than about current events, sports, the news, politics etc. You can point out that the other person has a follower behind his lure. This also alerts the back seat angler to the fact that you now know where the bass are and exactly where to cast so you can have an equal or better chance to catch them. Again, this makes the back seat and advantage not a disadvantage.

Communications also comes in the form of asking what the front seat person is using for a lure or bait. If he is fishing fast and moving rapidly along banks and docks, it may pay you to think about a follow up type lure of bait. Often times a fast moving lure can get the interest of the bass but they may not bite all the time. This is the time when the back seat angler should be throwing a jig or worm and moving it as slowly as time allows. If the front seat angler is using a 4-inch worm it may pay you to use a 10-inch worm or other big creature bait. You need to be observant and try to formulate a strategy that compliments or is totally opposite of what the front seat angler is doing in order to take just as many or more or bigger bass than what the front seat person.

Another thing that resembles fishing from the back seat is when you are out by yourself heading for your favorite shallow bay in a lake you fish for spawning bass. When you arrive there you find a bass angler is already there or is just leaving. This means you will likely be fishing used water. So what do you do? Actually, nothing different at all. You fish the area like you would normally but avoiding the other fisherman. It may also help to ask what the other fisherman is using and how he did so you can use this information to formulate a strategy to fish the bay using a totally different approach in hopes of finding bass that want a different lure or bait.

Now there are several tricks of the trade you can use when fishing from the back of the boat or in used water. A slit shot rig is a real weapon when it comes to this type of scenario. Soft plastics used, as a swim bait is one mighty good way to approach used water. I like a 3 to 4-inch thin tubes or swim baits for this type of fishing. The bait is swam at a constant speed or with a stop and go action. It is a versitle rig that can catch a lot of bass no matter what the water conditions may be. Rigged weedless they can be used just about anywhere even the weediest parts of a lake. If you use a stop and go action it is important to remember to pull the bait about 6-inches or so and then let it fall on a slack line for a second or two and then jerk it again and so on until you are back to the boat. If you are using a chunk and reel approach, then simply concentrate on casting precisely. This will improve you overall casting and is just good practice. Work at limiting the splash and getting the bait within a foot or less of where you want it. It can also be used as a poor mans Carolina rig and fished on the bottom for a completely different look as you move along looking for that just right presentation.

To get a little more specific about a split shot rig, I like to use pan fish colors. Crappie, sunfish, brim, perch and other like colors are perfect. I like thin tubes again, and by this I mean thin like a pencil. Swim baits include just about any fish shaped plastic, worms and tubes as long as it is small. Single tail, spit tail it doesn’t matter as long as it appears small in the water. On hard bite days I will down size to a 2 to 3 inch size tube or other plastic shape. Remember that these are not left to fall on the bottom, very close yes but not on the bottom.

Another great used water approach is to use a drop shot rig that is cast out and retrieved very slowly. This method again is great for a new look and cadence that differs from that of the person in the front of the boat. While I don’t personally use this method a lot it certainly has its place and can be extremely effective if fished right. It is also a great rig when you fish over the other side of the boat from your partner. You do remember you can fish that side, right?

One last trick of the trade I do use a lot is to use a jig or other bottom-rigged plastic and cast it out and just let it set there. This do nothing approach can land you some really huge bass. My thinking behind this approach comes from years of fishing. I have found out that the very biggest bass never hurry when it comes to feeding. They want or rather insist that the bait not move for quite a while before they will inhale it. They are very smart and spooky of anything that moves too fast. These bass are usually only caught on live bait but by letting the bait set for long periods of time, these bass will eventually grab it and then the fight is on. Slowing down can and does make a real difference when bass fishing. And on those tough bite days this ‘do nothing’ approach will land you a lot more bass than just about anything else. Remember too that a bas will often strike this type of presentation just as you move the bait for the first time so ensure you move just and inch or two the first time you move it after a long pause. And don’t forget about scent, as this type of approach requires good smells.

One other measure you can use from the back seat is to down size your lure or bait. Smaller meals appeal to a lot more bass than big meals. You can also size up and go for the really big bass that like the full deal meal. Either way you are presenting something different than the person in the front of the boat and that is important. So no matter if you up size or down size this is just another way for you to attract bass to your lure or bait. This is also an effective way to fish the other side of the boat. Going deeper with a larger or smaller lure or bait can often locate groups of bass as opposed to fishing in close to shore. A lot of really big bass are on the outside of grass and vegetation lines or in deeper than normal water from smaller bass.

There are just so many ways to fish from the back seat and catch bass, it’s hard to count them all. Just remember to stay positive and work hard to make your presentation just a real as you can. This is what catches fish. I hope this helps all you back seaters in the world. Enjoy!


Bruce Middleton
bpmiddleton @peoplepc.com