Super User Dwight Hottle Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 8 hours ago, TnRiver46 said: Cuz trout suck Yea I get it but Great Lakes trout like big browns & Steelhead don't. They will light you up! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Brown Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 4 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said: Yea I get it but Great Lakes trout like big browns & Steelhead don't. They will light you up! Yeah, there's a big difference between a stream trout that was stocked and a lake trout wild caught on Lake Huron. A lake trout is more like a salmon from the Pacific Ocean lol. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzbaiter Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 In the days of old, trout used to be America’s freshwater gamefish. This was back in the 19th century, when there was a lot more wilderness, and native trout were much larger and more accessible. James Henshall predicted that bass fishing would become the new standard for a popular fishery, considering how much the land was changing. Turns out he was right. The mid-Atlantic east coast is littered with great native gamefish. Pickerel, redbreast, perch, fallfish, and brook trout, to name a few. Originally, you wouldn’t find bass in places on the east slope of the Appalachians. Putting modern biases aside, bass really aren’t very superior to these original gamefish, except that they grow larger, fight harder, and can live in degraded waters (catfish and carp have these qualities over bass, and they aren’t considered as “sporting” as bass). The argument about bass being more apt to chase is questionable too, since I imagine many, maybe most, who targeted bass would have done so with live bait. If you look outside the US, bass-like predators aren’t the most popular gamefish in most places. It wasn’t until tournaments became popular that the fishery became the commercial, cultural entity that it is today. The popularity of the black bass as America’s most popular gamefish probably has to do with increasingly degraded water and coincidence. Once bass became well established outside of their native range, I think the ability for a bass fishery to sustain tournament pressure is what cemented bass fishing as a popular fishery. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 I will say, that even though the walleye is still number 1 here, bass fishing has gained popularity. And that is mostly because walleye numbers have dipped, while bass populations have flourished. Warmer water, mild winters, and the popular C & R while bass fishing has definitely buoyed it the past 10 years or so. Additionally, bass fishing is now a sanctioned HS sport. That didn't exist when I was in school. Mille Lacs Lake is a prime example of a traditional walleye stronghold that has made a gradual transition into a bass (smallmouth) destination. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zcoker Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Location and convenience certainly has a lot to do with it. I know here in Florida there's bass to be had at every street corner, backyards, lakes, golf courses, ponds, canals....and endless array of places that are not only loaded with tons of bass but are very, very convenient. Easy pickings. The key words here being convenience and ease of catching. Those two combined along with great weather adds up to a LOT of bass fishing popularity! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Phil Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 12 hours ago, gimruis said: Bass aren’t the king here. Walleyes are. Bass aren’t even second or third. Almost every regulation that governs bass is in place to protect the sacred walleye. There’s statues of giant walleyes around the state. There’s even a completely closed season for bass that’s designed to protect people from accidentally catching walleyes. People spend a lot more time and money targeting walleye here. If you think a $50,000 bass boat is expensive, you should see some of the deep v fiberglass walleye boats and deluxe ice castles people are using. Walleyes are stocked in a lot of lakes here by the DNR and there isn’t any stocking of bass I’m aware of. A lot of walleye anglers here look down at people targeting bass. They are considered a lesser gamefish not worthy of specifically being targeted. I have fished for both bass and walleye. Generally, walleye fishermen are people who like to eat their fish. Cold water walleyes are great eating. In my opinion, walleye fight like a wet dish rag. Bass are much stronger fighters. Here in Florida, bass are the kings of fresh water fishing. Down south, they have Peacock bass and some exotics that are fun to catch. At lot of people like me grew up fishing for bass and it's in our blood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 1 minute ago, Captain Phil said: Generally, walleye fishermen are people who like to eat their fish. Cold water walleyes are great eating. In my opinion, walleye fight like a wet dish rag. Bass are stronger fighters. All true. Most walleye anglers are meat hunters. Walleyes may arguably be the least-fighting fish in freshwater. Even a sizable one feels more like dead weight on the end of the line. When I am smallmouth fishing and hook one, its easy to tell almost instantly that its not a smallmouth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king fisher Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 On a warm summer evening when the sun starts to set, everything gets quite except for the blurp blurp blurp of a jitterbug. When out of nowhere a bass interrupts the peaceful solitude with a viscous strike. If you have been there, you don't have to ask the question. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User scaleface Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 Cool lures. When I was a kid and never bass fished, I would go to the sporting good stores and departments and just stare at the bass lures . They fascinated me. The first one I bought was a jointed Mirro lure. Second Storm Thin Fin. Dont know if i ever caught a fish with the Mirro lure but caught a lot on that Thin Fin. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Bird Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 On some of the bigger clear water lakes around here, Strippers are actually more popular than LM. When I crossover into WV, it's all about trout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan S Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Trout, walleye, pike/musky, striped bass - Not as universally available. Catfish and carp are large and widely available, but the fishing style is not as active or diverse. Panfish are widely available, but are smaller and in general not as much of a challenge. Bass are widely available, get large enough to be exciting, aren't too easy or too hard to catch, and have very diverse methods of fishing for them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 20 minutes ago, Bird said: Strippers are actually more popular than LM. I'm not going to pretend to know what LM stands for in the same sentence as stripper. 1 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User MIbassyaker Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 35 minutes ago, scaleface said: Cool lures. When I was a kid and never bass fished, I would go to the sporting good stores and departments and just stare at the bass lures . They fascinated me. The first one I bought was a jointed Mirro lure. Second Storm Thin Fin. Dont know if i ever caught a fish with the Mirro lure but caught a lot on that Thin Fin. When I was a kid, there were no bass in the river back home (that we knew of), but Bill Dance and Al Lindner were on my TV catching bass, so I would get the Bass Pro catalog. I spent hours flipping through it looking at all the lures, dreaming of one day having a tackle box with every color of worm and every Rapala. 17 minutes ago, Logan S said: Bass are widely available, get large enough to be exciting, aren't too easy or too hard to catch, and have very diverse methods of fishing for them. The Goldilocks Fish: "Just Right" 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steveo-1969 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 58 minutes ago, Bird said: On some of the bigger clear water lakes around here, Strippers are actually more popular than LM. When I crossover into WV, it's all about trout. WV does seem to be all about trout, but strippers are very popular here in WV as well. Totally different kind of fishing though… 😁😁😁😁 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zcoker Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 1 hour ago, king fisher said: On a warm summer evening when the sun starts to set, everything gets quite except for the blurp blurp blurp of a jitterbug. When out of nowhere a bass interrupts the peaceful solitude with a viscous strike. If you have been there, you don't have to ask the question. Those jitter bug hits are awesome! Just the other night got this gal on one. That solitude of which you speak about vanished instantly! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User WRB Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 Interesting topic considering this is a bass fishing forum. Most bass anglers are multi species fisherman but spend more time and money dedicated catching Black Bass that include Largemouth #1, Smallmouth#2 and Spotted bass#3 based regional preference. The reason isn’t simple Black bass are not generally sought after as a food fish but more as a sport fish. The fact bass are distributed in the lower 48 States and several other countries and can thrive in ponds, natural lakes, reservoirs and rivers makes readily available to all who live thier. The fact bass react to a very wide range of lures and techniques is the reason imo bass fishing is so popular. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User TOXIC Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 Easy answer is that it’s born into our DNA we are a species of hunters. Even though we don’t always eat our catch, it satisfies the primal instinct we have to hunt. Doesn’t matter the species. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happybeerbuzz Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Personally, it is the right combination of 90% getting away to reset myself and 10% catching. Oh, and all the hot chicks of course. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User flyfisher Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 Availability. In areas where bass aren't as readily available people don't fish for them as often. Many places bass can even be considered invasive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User roadwarrior Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 26 minutes ago, Happybeerbuzz said: Personally, it is the right combination of 90% getting away to reset myself and 10% catching. Oh, and all the hot chicks of course. Of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass Junke Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Because the site isn't called muskieresource.com. Because the store isn't called Walleye pro shop. Because it's not the salmonmasters. Because in 76 on SNL it wasn't called Trout-O-Matic. Okay the last one sort of dated myself and might have been uncalled for. Sorry folks. 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLHSS Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 For the youngsters on the forum. "Wow ... that's terrific bass!" This is exactly why I bass fish. 2 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Bird Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 Ok it's Striped bass NOT " Strippers " ........I know the difference unfortunately 😂 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Bankc Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 Easy to get into. Hard to get good at. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Columbia Craw Posted March 22 Super User Share Posted March 22 The rapid reduction in bowling alleys. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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