Is bass gear overkill?

[Darren.]

I'd call myself a finesse fisherman, i.e., I tend to mostly use

lighter gear, specifically, 1000 size Stradics, which some

consider, wrongly IMO, that they're ultralight reels.

 

Anyhow, I love fishing for bass with a ML rod and 1000 reel.

Makes for lots of fun. I've never once felt my reels were not

up to the task.

 

In fact, I'm using them for inshore use now, hard fighting 

striper, red drum, etc.

 

Know how to play the fish, utilize drag, leverage the rod, etc.

[Dirt]

6 hours ago, RichF said:

Fishing for me is more about the techniques and actual art more than the fight itself.  I get more satisfaction from skipping a jig into a ridiculous spot and yanking out a 2 pounder with a heavy rod and 20lb fluoro over fighting a 4 pounder for 10 mins on ultralight gear.  So for me...yes, overkill every time!

Completely agree with you. The different techniques and styles is what keeps me interested. Put me on a fishing trip where it’s trolling for salmon etc and I’m bored out of my mind. 

[The Bassman]

I thoroughly enjoy my bass fishing being in control of the fish.  Like @CroakHunterit's more about figuring out what the fish want at a given time and place.  Doug Stange of In Fisherman wrote an article a while back addressing using light tackle to a point but not beyond that overstresses the fish to exhaustion.  That said, what are you gonna do when a giant cat hits?  I'm certainly not going to horse him to lose him on purpose.

[CroakHunter]

Also, if I'm punching hydrilla, a 7'6 ultralite isn't gonna handle a 1oz jig or tungsten weight well

[Crabcakes]

The heaviness of the gear is more about the conditions you are fishing (cover, current etc) and size of lure than the size of fish. That is why bass fishing gear is heavy. Also as others have said they don't fight particularly well anyway and the challenge is much more about enticing them to bite.

 

That being said I have fished for a very very wide variety of species in many conditions and in a lot of cases bass gear is still probably heavier than needed even given the above statements. It is not that important though, as again that is not really the point. 

[Fried Lemons]

1 hour ago, Dirt said:

Completely agree with you. The different techniques and styles is what keeps me interested. Put me on a fishing trip where it’s trolling for salmon etc and I’m bored out of my mind. 

I agree and think fishing enjoyment is a balance of enjoying the technique and enjoying playing the fish. Before this cat my biggest fish was a 35lb mahi mahi caught trolling out of Cancun. I could barely lift my arm after fighting that fish but the monotony of trolling combined with the 3 foot waves that day made it an overall unpleasant experience.

 

To me bass fishing is lacking in the opposite way. The techniques are a lot of fun but the fight can be very lack luster.

[soflabasser]

I agree with everyone that says you are fishing for the wrong species if you are targeting bass specifically for the fight they give. Bass don't fight much, but they make up for in other ways, such as providing a challenge to catch(big bass), the fact that they will hit a wide variety of lures, and that bass are a extremely common gamefish that can be targeted almost anywhere in the U.S.A. With that said, the heaviest line I fish for bass is 20-30 pound braid or 8-20 pound mono, which is overkill most of the time.