The Wormist:

if as co-angler you mean someone who otherwise doesn’t have a boat, check with the boat owner and see just how much storage space you will have for rods and gear. the gear you have seems to be perfectly fine and on a par with most anglers, pro or otherwise.
l just have mixed feelings on loading down a stranger’s boat when the reason l’m going with him is the fact that he must take someone along that has none.
be sure to add some goby imitations to your stockpile of lures. with the introduction of this invasive species, the smallmouth bass have found a ready and tasty source of forage.
and good luck in the tournament. get back to us on how you did!

fireman:

I fish as a co angler in the walmart BFLs and I wondered the same thing when I first started.What I do is ask the boater what style of fishing he will be doing and what type of water we will be fishing.So far every boater I,ve been paired with has been happy to share the information with me and thats how you narrow down what tackle you need to bring.I try to limit my selections to 6 rods,usually encorporating 4 baitcasters and 2 spinning outfits.Some co anglers bring as many as 10 but I would suggest no more than 8.Since you are new to this format I would like to introduce you to an unwritten rule that will help you.Give your boater some gas money.He has allready spent countless dollars on fuel prefishing and is sharing his spot with you.At least $20 is the accepted norm.I usually give $30 if we are making a long run sometimes more.Alot of the time they will go out of their way to help you get your limit(sharing lures,not front ending you etc) if you are thoughtfull this way.They are not competing against you anyway but the outher boaters.The equipment you have is fine so long as the line is fresh.Alot of boaters don,t have stuff that good.I can,t help you with Lake Erie so far as a good bait or presentation as I am in the South but it sounds like you have a handle on that anyway.I will be fishing at Ross Barnett Reservour in Mississippi in September trying to stay in the top 40 to make it to the regionals at Barkley Lake in Kentucky.Good luck I hope you win

Fisher_King:

Fireman is totally accurate, (thumbs UP). He gets my vote for best answer.

When I fish as a co-angler, (which is rare), it’s common courtesy to not bring more than 6-7 rods. You don’t want to clutter someones boat with 10 rods and reels.

Here’s what I would bring “rod-wise”-

1. A medium action BaitCast Spinnerbait/Crankbait outfit

2. A medium action BC Topwater outfit

3. A medium heavy action BC for Wormin’ or Jiggin’

4. A heavy action Flippin stick

5. A medium heavy Spinning outfit (for skippin’ docks and fishing lighter stuff)

6. A spare medium action BC/spinning outfit ( a “just in case” outfit)

Six rods should be fine for most situations. I usually only carry 6 on the deck on my boat and might have 3 more stowed. It’s extremely rare for me to take out the “stowed” outfit’s. Come tournament day, I’ve already pre-fished and have a general idea of what will and won’t work.

Here are a couple other good tips-

1. Tackle- DON’T bring a Plano Magnum tackle-box on someones boat. Again, it’s important not to clutter up your partners boat with 500 lures when you will probably ONLY use 10. Talk to your co-angler and ask him what style of fishing you will probably do; dock fishing; deep crankin’ ; Carolina rigging; Etc. It’s VERY rare that you will EVER need EVERY lure you own. “Cherry-pick” your favorite lures and carry something like this on the boat- http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10201481_100011010_100000000_100011000?cmCat=CROSSSELL_PRODUCT

Anything bigger than the above tackle-bag and you will look like a total jack@ss. (I once had a guy go fishing with me and he brought EVERY single lure he owned. He proceeded to pack my boat down with 2 Magnums and 6 X-large Tackle Totes. It was just plain embarrassing!

The irony? He only fished with a Texas-rigged worm and a Jig all day!!!!!!! After “maneuvering” around his gear all day I was reluctant to ask him to go fishing again………)

2. Gas money- Fireman is totally correct. $20-$30 is the standard pay-out for gas. More if your partner has to drive over 40 miles in a day.

3. Loosing lures- Do NOT make your Co-angler lose fish, (and ultimately the T), because you decide to go “tree/dock” fishing all day. Loosing lures is a part of the game. Don’t expect to get snagged/hung and get immediate “retrieval”. An occasional mistake is fine- but constant snags is a professional “no-no”. Don’t “ruin” a good dock or spot because of a snag- CUT your line! A $6 lure is NOT worth it!

4. Be prepared to help your co-angler boat fish- If nets are allowed, you should DROP EVERYTHING and man the net if your Co wants that assistance. Don’t “lolly-gag” or “slow-poke” to the net. Have it within arms reach at all times READY TO GO.

5. Lake maps and “homework”- Years ago it was the “non-boaters” job to supply maps and research any info about the lake. Your partner may already have a map or know the lake like the back of his hand- it’s STILL important to have in YOUR possesion a copy of the lake map.

Why?

#1. it’s easier to tell your Co-A where YOU want to fish if you can show them on a map.(Sometimes, “up around the corner” just doesn’t cut it! lol)

6. Rise above it- Sometimes, (it’s rare), you will draw a total @-hole as a partner. He will either make you pay a lot more than half for his portion of the gas Etc- or he will totally ignore you. In either case it’s best to rise above any infraction. RISE ABOVE IT!

Hope these extra tips helps ya? Good luck!

UPDATE: I forgot to give you some lure ideas for Lake Erie.

If I was fishing Erie I would stock up on 4-5″ Tubes, vertical Jigs & Blades, and suspending deep diving Cranks.

king of fishing:

are you fishing for smallmouth or largemouth.
i would have rods that can throw crankbaits, jigs, spoons, weighted soft plastics(tubes,goby’s,flukes), and deep diving rapalas. most of the fish will be within 5-8ft of the bottom unless you are right up against the shore. i’ve fished as a co-angler in bassmasters and talk to the guy you are fishing with. he may let you use his stuff.