Why Bass?

[Buzzbait]

This has probably been hashed over a thousand times, but I'm curious as to why most of you fish Bass exclusively when there are so many game fish species out there....or do you?

[Greg_Cornish]

I'm addicted to the spending. I don't like minnow fishing - its boring to me. I like fishing in my back yard. If I lived in Minnesota again, trust me, LMB fishing would only be occasional.

[Terry Smith]

I fish for Striper, Halibut, Salmon, and Bass because of the compotition of tournaments.

[Phil Burgess]

i love to deep sea fish but only for RED SNAPPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Quantum_Kid]

I will fish for anything that bites, but I mainly bass fish. The reason being that I live by two of the best bass fisheries in the world. 15 miles from the Delta and only a few hours from Clear Lake .

Also, I don't know too many other freshwater species around here that are willing to hit topwater or an 8-10 inch bait (besides stripers).

Scott

[Terry Smith]

i love to deep sea fish but only for RED SNAPPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DOOP I forgot I dive for Clams too.

[Tom(fishfafun)]

it's all I can do to try to keep sharp for the tourneys. You miss a weekend or two and you'll be a month trying to catch up.

Plus, with all this expensive equipment that's pretty much designed for one type of fishing, just can't affford another species hobby.

Used to fish for a living (commercial) and fun fished for everthing, but tournament bass fishing, man, that "set the hook" if ya know what I mean.

Tom

[Tin Can]

I fish for everything.

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

I fish mostly for bass, unfortunately that is usually all I accomplish is fishing for them..Upon occasion I'll catch one that has suicidal tendencies..Actually I enjoy just about every kind of fishing..

mac

[Greg_Cornish]

Used to fish for a living (commercial)

Tom

Where'd you harbor?

[Tom(fishfafun)]

50' steel hull Salmon/Albacore troller (step father's boat) berthed in Sausalito and Richmond, my last year Moss Landing.....fished from 69-74, got married in 75...had to get a reel job,hehehe

That ocean was the tough life.

Tom

[Cooch]

It's all about puzzle solving!

They are the one species, ya can chase year round, just about anywhere in this state. You can catch em deep, shallow and on top. There are so many tools that we can use to fool them with. The challenge for me is not beating my fellow angling friends, but defeating the fish day in and day out! No other species can provide this level of challenge for me.

[bassindon69]

What Cooch said and also, The Head shaking, water thrashing, hart pumping, knee shaking, Pic taking, story telling, Dreams made, hart breaks, friend making and the Good time memories that go with it. And to just say out loud........ WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!
Now and then.

Don.

[Calistar]

I pitch my frog into a sparse set of tulles. Its quiet on the Delta. The rings settle around the bait...and I give it a little twitch...the anticipation is overwhelming...then another twitch...I can hear my heart beating....and then KABOOSH!!. I SET! and experience that heavy mooshy feeling when its FISH ON! That Delta largemouth dives for the tulles, rushes for the rocks, tries to find the weeds...but ends up thrashing in the net.

Man, what a great feeling.

With the exception of one or two trips for catfish a year, I am all about the Bass...

Greg.

[CN]

I fish the Ocean alot and love it.The fish in general are easy to catch and you dont know what you may bring up.

I fish Bass becouse it's way more rewarding to figure them out.It can be a you know what sometime's.The only downside is there really isnt much of a fight.

Tell the truth what fight's more a 5lb Bass or a 5lb Striper...5lb Halibut......5lb Rockcod......5lb Salmon......5lb Steelhead...5lb CARP.

Just an observation.

[Long Nguyen]

Bass fishing during the spring. Ocean and bay fishing in the summer. Fall is stripers. Winter is trout.

[bahlzar]

i was on the pier the other day and asked this lady to see her big red snapper and she punched me in the mouth..

[longshot]

Its a puzzle, a game if you will. Otherwise why do we 20k-100k on equipment to catch them look at them and throw them back?
we want to pattern them so we can do it over and over again (insanity?) My girlfriend thinks im crazy and i have stopped even talking to her about it cause it just does not make any sense to her at all. Maybe she is right? anyways im addicted and WONT stop.
LS

[R.Cook]

I grew up mainly trolling for stripers with my dad, and we'd throw in a few trout or catfish trips here and there. About three years ago I started bass fishing a few tournaments, and have been hooked ever since. In three years I have only been striper fishing twice, what does that tell you? I like the fact that the bass are always there, it's up to me to figure out how to catch 'em. With stripers being a migratory fish, if they aren't there, it's tough to catch 'em! And trout and other smaller game fish just don't do it for me, except for the occasional good crappie bite....it's all about the bass!!!

[CN]

I grew up mainly trolling for stripers with my dad, and we'd throw in a few trout or catfish trips here and there. About three years ago I started bass fishing a few tournaments, and have been hooked ever since. In three years I have only been striper fishing twice, what does that tell you? I like the fact that the bass are always there, it's up to me to figure out how to catch 'em. With stripers being a migratory fish, if they aren't there, it's tough to catch 'em! And trout and other smaller game fish just don't do it for me, except for the occasional good crappie bite....it's all about the bass!!!

Good observation.

[Alan]

Because theres no money in slimers. a.k.a.trout

[Ba-Ba-Bass]

It is the one thing I can do year in and year out with my 13 year old son at my side. I guess it wouldn't matter what species that we go for but the thrill of figuring out the bass once in a while is something that we can do together. Not too many dads have that thrill.

[photon]

.....Imagine if we had to do carp tournies with artificals only!?
We'd all be slinging fly rods in the spring, and.....



.......well.......be drinking heavily ALL the time!!


assuming we couldn't snag the SOBs!

[Marc]

I fish for anything and everything that I can. I love to go to new places and fish for any sportfish that is available. I love to fish with fly rods, deep sea tackle, drift gear, ultralight, surf gear, ice fishing, wading, float tubes, you get the idea...but overall nothing beats bass fishing.

No other species can be caught by so many different lures and methods, so bass fishing is always challenging and interesting.

Nothing beats skipping across a light chop in my Ranger with all my gear at the ready. Nothing is more fun than finding bass, baitfish or structure on my color sonar and gps units, and then getting a hookup. Or developing a game plan and executing it to perfection to take home first place in the tournament.

Nothing separates me from my daily stress more than a day on the water fishing.

Some wise man said...They say it takes a smart man to earn a PhD; but the real genius is the man who figures out how to get paid to go fishing!

[bassaddicted]

well said bassindon

[optichamp]

To me, it's much like hunting - the cruising around, trying to outsmart the game in its own environment, strategy, the marksmanship of trying to throw the lure in just the right way, and the pleasure of being outdoors. I can go fishing a lot more often than I can go hunting. As a bonus, you get occasional pleasant distractions, like drive by bikinis

I think there is a classic book entitled, "With a Gun in Good Country" - speaking about the pleasure of hunting with a favored gun in hand, and the promise of good memories to be made.

When you have the combo of fast boats, light rods, and hungry fish, the day always looks promising.

[lionkiller]

Tarpon jump higher.

Bonefish run farther, faster.

Tuna are much better eatin.

Heck, even a carp fights harder...

So I say, it's not so much the fight as it is the bite....getting that big mouth to gobble whatever it is you're throwing....fooling the fooler.

That & the oh-so-rare feeling when everything clicks, your bite is 'on', & it's quality fish. You'll need the mastercard for everything else...

[NaCl]

I believe the Squawfish if the hardest fighting freshwater fish.

.....NaCl

[dockboy]

I played baseball year round before I got into high school and loved it. I live less than a half an hour from a local snow resort and absolutely love to snowboard, cause there is not much like being on the mountain all day in crazy snow. But fishing always will be my favorite pastime.I bass fish because I love the challenge. I love feeling the satisfaction I get from fooling a creature honed to survive almost anywhere in the world. It would be much easier for me to go out and buy some worms or trap some craws and catch fish all day. But that isn't the point. Its feeling the rush when all my efforts do turn out. And.... bass are closer than the trout I love to fish for.
Shortly after I started fishing, my mom got me into flyfishing. We used to go to the Sierras all the time, but I always wanted more. Once you fish for wild trout, the hatchery variety don't seem so exciting anymore. After a few years, I began to bass fish, and by the time I got to middle school, I had it down better than when I first started. But for me, it all started with the fly. I love the technical aspects of both sports. I fish the Sierras a ton and tie flies constantly. I own god knows how much fly equipment and still need more, just like I do in bass fishing. When I'm not up fishing for the trout, I fish bass. I love fishing the salt too. There is nothing like an albie or yellowtail run, save some of the bigger bluewater species I got to fish for in my trip to Hawaii.If I lived a bit closer to the coast, I'd probably be a salt guy. I fish whatever I have. If I lived in Bishop or some where in the Sierras, I'd probably fish mostly for trout. If I lived on the coast or down in the valley, I'd probably be fishing the party boats and inshore a lot more than I would bass. But I fish because I love the challenge.. the species doesn't matter. If it was bluegill, I'd be the guy out there with flyfishing tippet and a noodle for a rod. There just nothing like fishing for me.

[bassenvy]

it's one of the few things I can do as an adult and still feel like I'm a kid going out for the first time.