Fishing in a derby - what rules do you play by?

[Dave S]

How we do it is take turns on the rods. Guy on the rods has 1 hour max or fish ON (whichever comes first) Crew then rotates to the next position. Guy on the rods can change gear or depths. Guy driving can change his tack if wanted. If there are 3 of us on the boat, the positions are 1 driver, 1 net guy/rod guys helper, and 1 guy on the rods. Big prizes are split, smaller hidden weight or draw prizes are kept for the lucky winner. Some luck involved in winning the hidden or draw prizes. Guy who owns boat gets gas money obviously.

IMO, guys that choose to do one rod per person are maybe limiting their chances. What if everyone wants to fish 44' and chovy, not really the most productive method for fishing.

 

[seadna]

The way we work it in my boat (derby or not) is that the BOAT catches the fish. Whoever is closest to the rod or spots it going off first, grabs it. The key here is to make sure those first few critical seconds of taking up slack and setting the hook are handled in the most efficient way prior to any handoff. If that person who grabs the rod has already caught a fish or reeled in more than someone else, he/she hands it off. Whoever actually is on the reel when the fish is landed, caught the fish and marks it on their license and (if entered in a derby) "owns" that fish (as per most derby rules. Everything on the boat is split equally, costs, catch and derby winnings. Life's too short to worry about which fish belongs to who when we hit the dock. Also, since we can fillet and vacuum pack on the US side, it's WAY too hard to worry about which piece belongs to who.

 

[Tips Up]

My boat rules are:
That rod is mine and that one is yours until the first fish is caught (or lost).
After that.. the next fish goes to guy who did not get the last one.
We take turns from there.

Derby rules are the same but all booty is split.

Raffle tickets, random draws and 50/50 goes is every man for themselves.

Big prizes such as Langara trips for 2 are discussed in advance and both guys go. (I don't fish 3 guys in a derby as there are only 2 rods on my boat)

Main thing is to discuss in advance.

Tips

 

[SpringVelocity]

same as tips.

 

[Angelina_Summer]

On my boat, I fish the Port side, you fish the other and run what ever gear you want (BYO rod and gear if you got em BTW). First person with the canon ball down gets dibs on the depth, next down should be +/- 15 feet (unwritten rule, it just happens). Play your own rod all day unless one side gets hotter than the other (4 fish or more) then it's round robin for the next fish on. Tack and speed are usually just agreed upon quite easily.

Split the gas, split the beer, split the fish in the end.

For derby's cash gets split 50/50 and prizes (related to fish caught) are shared when possible. Prizes won via a draw from a hat, go to the ticket owner.

Jeff.

 

[Gear'n'beer!]

I always split the catch, but being a lefty I prefer to fish my own gear. I do run right handed gear of course, and can use it....but I'm better on my left handed stuff. So usually with my partners they can play fish off my gear but it's usually too awkward.

 

[Discus]

My boat rules are:
That rod is mine and that one is yours until the first fish is caught (or lost).
After that.. the next fish goes to guy who did not get the last one.
We take turns from there.

Derby rules are the same but all booty is split.

Raffle tickets, random draws and 50/50 goes is every man for themselves.

Big prizes such as Langara trips for 2 are discussed in advance and both guys go. (I don't fish 3 guys in a derby as there are only 2 rods on my boat)

Main thing is to discuss in advance.

Tips

I agreed with Tips! and Jeff.

 

[fish stalker]

Im so surprised everyone splits the pot. Thats very nice. I had no idea and Ive only been in one derby and I suggested and he agreed that who every catches the fish gets the prize. Of course some money would be shared and beers and dinner but its wasn't going to half. It would be hard because I would want to choice what is being run and what depth. If you alternated who's turn if fishing 3 or more guys then you would know who's next and could put down your choice of gear.

 

[Chum Bucket]

Ours... port side is owned by by son, and he out-fished me is the last derby we entered and won more prize money. Wont let me forget it either.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[seadna]

I always split the catch, but being a lefty I prefer to fish my own gear. I do run right handed gear of course, and can use it....but I'm better on my left handed stuff. So usually with my partners they can play fish off my gear but it's usually too awkward.

I'm a lefty too and I feel your pain. However, at awhile of running left handed gear for myself and finding that the righties couldn't deal with it, I gave up and just run all right handed gear. I fish a lot and have no problem with either, other people on the boat were the issue. Now that I have several years on the ocean and many fish under my belt, I get more pleasure from helping others catch fish than catching them myself (which I still love). As a result, I am usually the last one to catch my limit as I let everyone else get their fish first. In that scenario, left handed reels just didn't fit into the program.