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Pro Bass Fishing and Co-Anglers: The Pros weigh In

July 3, 2008

In the top levels of professional bass fishing, should there be co-anglers in the back of the pro’s boats during competition?

This has been a hot topic for many years on both major tournament trails and one that never seems to go away. Everyone has there own opinions and there are good points to both sides of the story.

The Bassmaster Elite Series is currently in the middle of this debate and is seriously considering replacing the co-anglers and putting observers in the pros boats. This could happen as soon as next season. While this may be a good thing for the way ESPN and BASS does business, it may not be a smart move for FLW, who more heavily relies on the co-angler.

I have heard the question so many times from people who do not know anything about professional bass fishing, “Why do you have a co-angler?” My answer has always had something to do with the fact that we are randomly paired the night before each event with a co-angler to help police the sport and keep everything honest. Other than that I have no idea. Many fishing pros want to see co-anglers go away completely, while others view them as an important part of the industry as a whole, and of course there are those who could care less.

Other professional sports such as Football, baseball, golf, tennis and just about any other sport you can think of do not have “Co” participants. I know this is a touchy subject, especially with the many good people that fish on the co-angler side of our events, but I ask…Are the co-anglers who are casting from the back of the pros boats actually changing the outcome of big time professional bass tour events? And on the flip side; Could professional bass fishing survive without them on the back deck?

One of my favorite websites, Wired2Fish.com recently posted a radio segment with Terry Brown interviewing BASS Elite Series Pro, Marty Stone. The topic in this conversation of course…Co-Anglers. Stone has a very strong opinion that is shared by the majority of BASS Elite Series Pros. To listen to that interview click here.

I spoke with several FLW Tour pros and asked them “What do you think about having co-anglers involved in the sport of professional bass fishing?” I even talked to a couple very successful co-anglers currently competing on the FLW Tour. Here’s what they all had to say…

(Click a name to hear their comments)

Ranger Pro, Michael Murphy

OSI Pro Series Pro, Frank Scalish

Cheeze It Pro, Alvin Shaw

National Guard Pro, Scott Martin

Outdoor Channel Pro, Joe Thomas

Foldgers Pro, Anthony Gagliardi

Skeeter Pro, Matt Herren

Keebler Pro, Dave Lefebre

Ranger Co-Angler, Doug Caldwell

Berkley Co-Angler, Stetson Blaylock

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