What Motivates You To Fish For Bass?

[Thad]

What motivates you to fish for bass?

If you fish for multiple species, why do you choose to fish for bass that day over something else?

[jbsoonerfan]

For me, it is time of year and amount of energy I want to put out. During late April/May I love to sit on the boat with a few dozen minnows and try to slay the Crappie. During the summer I like to night fish for big ol cats while drinking a few cold ones. However, if I want to go out for a challenge, I target bass. It can be frustrating, but rewarding at the same time. For me, I think it is more fun to try to figure out how to catch bass, while in the other case of Crappie/Catfish, it is pretty much sit and wait.

[mjseverson24]

because it is the premier sport fish throughout the entire US. Bass and bass tournaments are in almost every state in the country, walleye/muskie/pike/crappie dont compare especially in competitive sport fishing at least not in my book...

 

Mitch

[Hyrule Bass]

it depends where i fish. and time of day. im a multispecies guy.

 

if i hit up a pond, im using artificial baits for bass 99% of the time. every now and then i will tie on a small bait or have a box of nightcrawlers and catch some nice bluegill for fun if the bass arent cooperating. the night crawlers usually get the bass going too.

 

at the river its 50/50 night crawlers and artificial. usually dont have much luck there to be honest. its loaded with fish though.

 

if im at smith mtn lake for the weekend i will bass fish in the morning and various times throughout the day with various lures. and then ill toss a few more lures around while the sun is setting. after awhile of that i will start tying up my catfish/live bait rigs for the night on 5 or 6 rods and reels. then i will tie up a couple of lures i want to try that night if the live bait fishing is slow, usually a noisy top water and a shallow diving crank. ill toss them around shallow if i get bored or something gets my attention. but usually ill be focused on my nightcrawlers, chicken livers, shrimp, minnows or cut bait i may have out on the live bait rods. while drinking on a cooler full of beer and classic rock on the radio. just sitting back watching my rods, taking everything in. the moon, stars, mountains, trees and water and nature sounds. yeah thats why i fish, its just relaxing for me. it clears my mind for awhile and its like the rest of the world disappears. doesnt matter if im bass fishing, catfishing, pan fishing, whatever, its just great for the mental state of mind...

[Catt]

I like to hunt...bassing fishing is the eltimate hunt...you can not see what you are hunting!

[FD.]

I love puzzles.  I always have.  Bass fishing is the ultimate puzzle.

[BassThumbAddict]

I love all the techniques you can catch bass on. Where other species have successful but limited ways to catch them. I also find it interesting that I can throw a bait for 3 hours and not get bites, but I throw in a different bait and get bit in 5 casts.

[Crappiebasser]

Why choose? I throw a couple minnows on the rods in my rod holders for crappie while I bass fish.

[macmichael]

I fish for and eat crappie and  blue gill. I fish for  big blues and only keep some under 10 pounds for eating.

 

 Bass. Oh my. 

 

The bass is the biggest challenge, the premier fresh water fish. The tournaments are excellent, the pros are well worth watching. I just love the fight and the thrill. It's like deer hunting. You've got to  figure out their feeding patterns, what they hit on, their cover, deep or shallow water, retrieve speed, color of bait, and of course I just love telling people I have a bass boat. One other reason is that you can catch and release so someone else can have a chance to catch one. I absolutely love it.

[AK-Jax86]

That my trophy bass could be caught on the next cast!!!

Happened to me TWICE today on a KVD 1.5. Hooked two big females within 10 mins of eachother, think they were guarding their young, both fish shook hook on the jump and only got half their body out the water!! Would have been the best 15min span of my life, fishing wise because the birth of my son would be #1

[lmbfisherman]

That feeling you get when a bass tugs on your line. 

[NathanW]

Great question. Around my parts Salmon, Steelheading and Sturgeon fishing previals and I find myslef trying to explain myself constantly. Most people dont get it.

 

I fish for bass. Thats it. I will even go as far as saying that I do not enjoy fishing for those other fish. Beats a day in the office right? Not really because I would be wasting time away from the office that I could be tracking down schools of bass.

 

I think its a lot to do with the casting and reeling as opposed to sitting there anchored or trolling. I also love the search and finding new spots, and I love finding fish that nobody else know about. The idea that I can get better and better every year drives me, and the idea of fishing the same crowded waters year after year for salmon/steelhead wouldn't.

 

I also love fishing around cover and structure, especially grass.

[WIGuide]

The fact that every day is different and it's always a challenge. Sure there are times you can just go out and catch without putting much effort in, but in most cases they challenge you. It's also the most rewarding in my opinion. 

[NEjitterbugger]

I want my career to be intertwined with the bass fishing world, going pro is my dream and always will. But a job in marketing or managing some of these companies or even creating my own is a dream of mine. I have people who believe I can do it and others who think otherwise, and yes it'll be tough but I'm extremely motivated. I'm a Junior in High School and play 4 varsity sports, bass fishing, soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. I started the bass fishing team when I was a sophomore and finished 3rd and 6th in the tournaments last fall. I take Honors classes and some A level classes in school, I plan on challenging myself my senior year with AP We the People class (learn about the Constitution, founding fathers, and compete with other schools. My school has gone to nationals in D.C the past few years) and AP Statistics, along with my required English class and other academic electives. 

 

Everything I do in school and out is driven by my love of bass fishing, it's truly more than a hobby...

 

P.S. - I'm on Bassresource at midnight on a school night (homework is all done), gotta have the Bassresource time or the day is not complete! 

[flyingmonkie]

Growing up, our family spent every summer weekend at the lake.  We fished a lot for white bass and catfish, but LMB were foreign to me.  I knew what they were (thanks to all the old fishing mags my uncle would give to me), but catching them was a mystery.  I remember being mind-blown the first time I saw a bass tournament boat takeoff... all these grown-ass men trying so hard to catch these silly fish with big mouths.  There was an immediate aura!

 

I was in awe the first time I ever purposely caught a bass, and felt so accomplished.  To this day, I'll catch myself driving by a piece of water and thinking innocently childlike "I wonder if that has any bass in it?!", or lifting one out of the water and saying to myself "wow, that's a largemouth bass!"

 

It's wierd.  I hold these silly green fish with big mouths in such high regard.  Now I'm just obsessed with trying to figure out how they think.

[flyingmonkie]

I want my career to be intertwined with the bass fishing world, going pro is my dream and always will. But a job in marketing or managing some of these companies or even creating my own is a dream of mine. I have people who believe I can do it and others who think otherwise, and yes it'll be tough but I'm extremely motivated. I'm a Junior in High School and play 4 varsity sports, bass fishing, soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. I started the bass fishing team when I was a sophomore and finished 3rd and 6th in the tournaments last fall. I take Honors classes and some A level classes in school, I plan on challenging myself my senior year with AP We the People class (learn about the Constitution, founding fathers, and compete with other schools. My school has gone to nationals in D.C the past few years) and AP Statistics, along with my required English class and other academic electives. 

 

Everything I do in school and out is driven by my love of bass fishing, it's truly more than a hobby...

 

P.S. - I'm on Bassresource at midnight on a school night (homework is all done), gotta have the Bassresource time or the day is not complete! 

 

Keep up the hard work!  It'll assuredly pay off in one way or another.

[SirSnookalot]

because it is the premier sport fish throughout the entire US. Bass and bass tournaments are in almost every state in the country, walleye/muskie/pike/crappie dont compare especially in competitive sport fishing at least not in my book...

 

Mitch

My book is a little different.  I bass fish for 2 reasons, 1 because I like to fish and 2 because it gets me out of the house in the afternoon.  I do enjoy bass fishing but it never comes before or instead of saltwater fishing.  I do understand people fish what's regionally available to them, where I'm at other than me I don't know any bass fishermen.  I fish about 340 days a year.

[fishva]

Because it's fun and better for my health than going to the bar each time I get bored at home...

[J Francho]

Competition, the hunt, a new place with promise of a trophy. Last year I all but abandoned chasing green fish to figure out the south shore of Lake Ontario. Had quite a few slow days, but also had some great success locating smallmouth that are supposedly "not there anymore."

[jeremyryanwebb]

Depends on if the reds are biting.  Bass fishing is more fun as far as being a puzzle tho.  But I love catchin a bunch of redfish and havin a good dinner too, just usually have to spend so much on gas to hit all the spots in a day.

[bigbill]

My mentor was my older brother he took me first fishing in the pouring rain. I was just 6yo and In my yellow rain coat. This was 1956. Since then we fished together all the time. Then at 14yo he took me bird hunting. This was 1964. Then we were trout fishing every spring. But as the trout season ran down by the time the hotter weather hit we fished for anything that would bite. My cousin who is also an avid fisherman took me to a lake here and we went bass fishing. The average was three pounds on split shot rigged black worms. This was 1973. My cousin also introduced me to Vermont and bear hunting. I purchased seven acres up there in 1986. I took my mentor with me bass fishing, deer and bear hunting. We had a very tight bond. After all we were brothers. Sorry he passed away on April 1st he will be gone for 20 years. I will never forget him. I lost two older brothers at a young age. God does pick his angels first. They were two great guys. My mentor could press 175lb barbell set with one arm. He was awesome to have for a big brother if trouble started. My other older brother was just as strong too. Trust me I lost my two best friends. But bass fishing with my mentor started it all.

My mentor taught me to stay fishing and sooner or later they will turn on. One night at a crowded local spot they turned on for me only. I caught around ten nice bass. The people were staring at me. I looked up and told my mentor to knock it off these people were going to throw me in the water. No one else was catching anything. I know my brother had something to do with it.

I was hooked on bass fishing. I fished for three months straight 24/7 every spring till I got burned out. Up at 3:30am everyday.

In bed by 7pm every night. After a few years of this I caught my PB 10#. Now it's the carrot that's held in front of me. I lost two bigger bass and seen bigger swim by me. My mentor is teasing me.

I still fish for the fun of it wether it's a school of drinks to a few decent sized bass. There is no pleasure than watching the night turn to day as the sun comes up. What an awesome world we live in. I love bass fishing.

My older brother was a saltwater fisherman too. He showed up one morning with two 60" strippers. He fished from shore but found a hole near the train station in the river. It was very productive. God bless, bigbill

[Master Bait'r]

I wouldn't say so much Bass specifically, but I fish because I love being outside and it gives me something I can relax AND concentrate on all at the same time.  It just gives me that space I need from humanity in general, that connection to the outdoors I crave and of course the tug is a drug- once you start reeling in big'uns there's no going back.  It's just such an awesome usage of the beautiful summer times- nothing quite like paddling around on a beautiful lake, fishing or no fishing!  

[5dollarsplash]

Because pike and muskie get expensive lol.  Walleye are really popular up here for eating, but I'm not one to troll with 3 lines out and drive around the lake.

 

Bass fishing is more engaging to me than any other type.  Your actively seeking out the fish, and its your skill in casting and presentation that put them on the line(not saying this doesn't apply to other fish).  I enjoy the chucking and winding, pausing when you think your close, feeling the strike, and of course the retrieve as you say to your self "Hang on baby, stay stuck"

 

Now if the ice would just melt....

[Ratherbfishing]

Bass are my "go to" fish probably 75 percent of the time however at certain times or in certain conditions I am not at all opposed to fish for other species.  Ice fishing being one good example.  In the spring when the crappie move shallow I HAVE to tie on a marabou jig and float it under a bobber.  There is nothing more beautiful than a black crappie glistening like an emerald in the sunlight.  Likewise, when the bluegill are spawning, I have to break out my fly rod and pursue those big brutes.  Sometimes, when the bass aren't biting but something else is, I will change tactics.  I'd rather catch 20 or 30 small(er) bluegill or crappie than get skunked or (maybe) one bass.  It may not make me a better bass fisherman but so what.

 

But to actually answer your question, during the 75 percent of the time when I'm not fishing for other species, bass are just so much fun.  You can (often) use so many tactics to catch them and they are (often) such willing participants.  I like the challenge of finding and tricking them and, of course, fighting them once I have tricked them.  Although I'm still somewhat "suspicious" of tournaments (life is already too complicated for my taste), I otherwise like the culture and the paraphanalia that goes with it.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

The hunt, learning new pieces of the puzzlee. Relaxing, peace and quite the outdoors.