I don't usually fish from this guy's boat but he wanted to use it for the first time this year and asked for me to go with him seeing as how I usually put us on fish. The lake fished I haven't fished much in the last 10 years I in order to take mental notes of the changes, I need to work areas slowly to discover potential spots. My partner with foot on the trolling motor doesn't get it that a very slow boat speed and stopping the boat when fish are found usually leads to catching more fish.

For example, we got into a bunch of white perch and rather than stay and keep catching them with hopes of other species hanging around, his foot on the trolling motor moves us further away making fan casting nearby areas impossible. Heck, when we fished from my boat that's exactly how we caught 160 fish on Sat. on a different heavily fished lake.
One last thing that really p'd me off was him getting into a school of very shallow panfish - he was able to cast to them with me stuck in the pads in the back of the boat, not being able to reach those areas.

Granted, some boaters I fished with in the past are like the above - clueless to the extreme, never realizing or caring someone else is fishing with them. How do I explain it to him like a tried to last year when the same thing happened or should I simply refuse to fish from his boat to avoid the feeling of wanting to sink it after being frustrated hour after hour? Some people just can't or won't learn.

I would just tell him how you want to fish.

Finding someone who you are compatible with is key to enjoyment and possibly success.

Did that the few times we fished from his boat last year. I think he focuses so much on he catching fish as fast as possible, he forgets:
1. there's other ways of finding and catching fish
2. having a partner in the boat means not being inconsiderate

Maybe he'll start asking me why I don't want to fish from his boat after considering the fact that we both do good once fish are found fishing from my boat.

What’s a “white perch”?

"white perch" is Texas slang for crappie

Keep score. It works.

...or just realize it ain’t your boat and you’re just along for the ride.

Just because he doesn't fish the way that you fish, doesn't make him a bad boater or bad fisherman. Everyone fishes differently and if you can't adapt to the boaters style, then you shouldn't be in his boat.
Clearly you aren't very good friends if you can't talk to him about these things.

Try riding along with a pro in a Open you will come to appreciate your buddy!! Lol

next time he is in your boat, run it like he did you and maybe he will get a clue.

Doubt it, besides, then I wouldn't catch fish! Run & gun is fine when fish are very active, but post-spawn fish midday are less so. Relearning a lake requires a methodical approach which means knowing the shallows and deeper water structure - something of which he is clueless (never watches the fish finder on the bow.)

He is a likable guy and gets excited like a little kid when he catches even small fish (guess I'm the same way when I feel the strike). I've trained him how to use light lures, how to retrieve them and search water - which helps both in locating fish. But we went fishless for long periods of time because of bad boating - not poor technique. I like fishing with him in my boat and will continue to do so, just not in his boat.


When I fished tournaments as a newbie to bass fishing I do remembering fishing with a boater like that, remembering what he did to make sure I lost the only decent bass caught that day. I found excuses not to fish future tournaments with him per luck-of-the-draw. Other non-boaters also did not like fishing from his boat nor with a buddy just like him who I also had the unfortunate experience of fishing with.

White perch

Very aggressive fish! The lake is overpopulated with them. Too bad the club won't have perch tournaments and get rid of some rather than bass tournaments on the lake where delayed mortality in summer is higher.

Oh, I thought you were literally meaning stinky, as body odor type. No problem without being clued in when running trolling motor. Do like I do....tell 'em to look out that you're coming up and doing the TM. All my partners know that I'm a control freak and understand. I can't fish with just anyone because of that. Olds and set in old's ways......

I tried that last year but had difficulty with the high foot pedal on his boat. When I had my bass boat, the bow-mount pm was hand-controlled. He doesn't have a problem me running his TM, but it makes my back ache trying to maintain balance and fish at the same time with one foot that high while standing.

Doubt it, besides, then I wouldn't catch fish! Run & gun is fine when fish are very active, but post-spawn fish midday are less so. Relearning a lake requires a methodical approach which means knowing the shallows and deeper water structure - something of which he is clueless (never watches the fish finder on the bow.)

He is a likable guy and gets excited like a little kid when he catches even small fish (guess I'm the same way when I feel the strike). I've trained him how to use light lures, how to retrieve them and search water - which helps both in locating fish. But we went fishless for long periods of time because of bad boating - not poor technique. I like fishing with him in my boat and will continue to do so, just not in his boat.


When I fished tournaments as a newbie to bass fishing I do remembering fishing with a boater like that, remembering what he did to make sure I lost the only decent bass caught that day. I found excuses not to fish future tournaments with him per luck-of-the-draw. Other non-boaters also did not like fishing from his boat nor with a buddy just like him who I also had the unfortunate experience of fishing wit

White perch

Very aggressive fish! The lake is overpopulated with them. Too bad the club won't have perch tournaments and get rid of some rather than bass tournaments on the lake where delayed mortality in summer is higher.

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You are referring to the Pic shown as a white perch ??

Buy him a spot lock trolling motor for Christmas. When you give it to him, say you get to keep the remote.