I'm fishing the Central opens as a co-angler this year for the first time. I know the written rules but I'm curious about the etiquette or unwritten rules. Has anyone fished it as a coangler and do you have any advice on what to do and not to do?

Hi.
First of all- HAVE FUN!!!!! :-)
2. Good draw or bad draw LEARN something!! Technique/approach/boat position
3. know how to back the boat(truck and trailer down the ramp!) or admit that you can't so it doesn't cause an issue later
4. keep your tackle simple! I think 6 rods is the max you can bring but even that can be too much as we all know boats aren't built for Cos!! Bring as much as you can with you to the hotel but talk to your day 1 boater and pare down your stuff to what's needed(but always bring at least 1 technique you have confidence in!)
5. always ask to donate something for gas/oil. some will say yes some will say no but make sure you ask. I usually base it off of how far we ran and also how much we ran.
6. be early to the ramp!! your boater will tell you what time he will be there but due to parking usually NOT being so great be there at least 15 mins before he wants you too. sort tackle/retie/take a s*&^, lol something to pass the time!
7. bring your own sunscreen/water/snacks. they usually have a cooler and you can dump it in there.
8. learn/ask how he is going to fish- running around or staying in 1 spot. keep your tackle ready to go and lifejacket to put on as once they pull that trolling motor up they are "ready" and you can tell if they are waiting on you!!

all I can think of for now. some boaters are great, some not so much, but most have been there a week prefishing so they have put in an effort to catch something for the tourney and you should be around fish.

Again, LEARN AND HAVE FUN!!!!! :-)

ever fish a BFL or Ram Truck series as a co or a boater. Same expectations.

I've only fished team tournaments with the same guy. Never fished anything as a co-angler. I know the pro can make you have a miserable day if he doesn't like you. I don't want that to happen because of ignorance to what my role is. Should I ask questions or just keep my mouth shut? The reason I'm going is to learn. I'm not really worried about winning I just want to be a better angler.

A few more things that haven't been touched on yet.
Don't step on the seats or spill anything, use a marker if you want to dye something.
No smoking unless the boater is ok with it.
Don't throw past the center of the boat.
DO NOT throw at a spot where the boater missed a fish while he is re-rigging to throw back to that area.

Do bring something to eat for both of you. He will probably have his own food and drink, but something like a hot breakfast taco is usually welcome.
Be able to back a boat in pitch dark using just the side mirrors.
Turn off your lights when backing down, so the other drivers can see. Fog lights only if possible.
Know your weigh in time, your boater should know it, but you should too just in case.
Have your own life jacket. He will probably have an extra but it may not fit you.
Make sure you can cast accurately so you're not hung up all the time.
Watch the graph on the console, it will let you know how deep your fishing, what depth the bait and fish are, or not, and may allow you to hit some structure your boater may have missed. (Tip...I've caught a lot of fish dragging a c-rig behind the boat off of structure we passed over the top of by watching the graph)
Pay attention to how your boater is fishing, his actions will tell you a lot more than his words as to how he's been catching fish in practice.
Get all your trash out of the back of the boat at the end of the day.
Know the proper way to net a fish, if you don't feel confident doing it, let your boater know.

Have fun!!! Learn something new, ask questions.

That's all I got for now! LOL!

Thanks for the tips! I really appreciate it

Congrats on getting signed up. I'm not sure if they've started confirming entries, but hopefully you make it in. I fished as a co-angler in 2015. It was a blast! Learned a lot and met a lot of guys that have the same passion for the sport. One of the guys I fished with that year qualified to be an Elite next year. Very nice guy.

I signed up to fish on the Pro side next year. If I get in, hopefully we'll have an opportunity to share a day on the water together!

That's awesome that you are gonna fish it on the pro side. I don't have the money to do that right now. They sent me an email yesterday before I posted this confirming my entry that's why I waited to post. Hope you get in and it would be cool to fish with someone from here

One thing not mentioned is attitude and mindset going into it. If you have the mindset you are going to learn something from this "pro" no matter what, it will help you through a long tough day of fishing. Don't let him have control over your "day being miserable". To me, my boater draw doesn't determine if my day is good or bad. I've had plenty of bad/miserable days on the water but my boater didn't dictate that. The weather and fishing conditions, and execution on my part determined my day. My day isn't based on what he does or doesn't do, I prefer to look at things like
Did I fish clean or miss bites?
Did I make good casts to give my self opportunities?
Did I make good decisions to change with conditions or what fish were telling me.
Was I efficient when re-tying, and bait selection to maximize my fishing time.
Did I learn something for another day?

Just make sure you have the right attitude before you start.

Drag a really light weighted C rig with a robo worm behind the boat the entire day. You'll be surprised what you come up with.

You're right. It's all about the attitude. I went into it just hoping to learn something, held my competitive drive back, and I had a great experience. The Pros have a lot more at stake in these events, and I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize their chances. I'm not saying everyone has to do what I did, but I didn't make casts towards the front of the boat, kept my stuff organized for quick moves, broke my line when I got hung without asking for them to go back for it, tried to throw something different or worked a different depth of the water column, contributed to the gas fund at the end of the day, and tried to take care to not damage any part of their boat. Again, I really enjoyed my experience.

You will rarely have good casting angles.

Get the best foul weather gear you can afford for days like this. Layer up, you can always take stuff off, but you can't fish well if you're freezing cold and wet.
Don't worry about catching a limit, a lot of times you can cash some pretty nice checks with 3-4 fish.
Have 1 rod set up for finess fishing, heavily pressured bass can be hard to catch. Have something rigged w/ 6-8 lbs test, to drop shot or wacky worm fish, may be able to put an extra fish or two in the boat that way. Light line and small lures put fish in the boat.
Put you watch/phone in your pocket and leave it there, checking the time constantly just adds more pressure you don't need.

I highly recommend these to keep your equipment organized on the back deck.

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Bac_Rac_Rod_Rac_Version_2/descpage-BCRCV2.html