Anyone look at you with a weird look like something is wrong when you say you bass fish?

[Ksam1234]

Sooo pretty much as topic says. Anytime I mention I fish and other fisherman around me are like “oh yeah I love fishing , I go for perch, crappie, walleye. Just troll and catch fish !” And I tell them I’m more into bass and occasional northerns or Muskie they look at me like.. “uhhh why bass .. so you just catch and release , don’t even eat..” and they just have this dumb look on there face.  I guess they have never experienced a frog blowup or crazy bite of a huge fish or the rush of a smallmouth jumping... poor guys. 

[EGbassing]

I get painfully bored fishing for any freshwater fish besides bass.

[N Florida Mike]

Yeah, but I dont get it from freshwater fisherman. Around here, you get that kind of attitude  from the saltwater anglers. My son is even like that. They dont understand why you would rather bass fish with all the saltwater fishing opportunities here.

I love saltwater fishing too, but If I had to choose one it would be bass fishing.

[Ksam1234]

Right ! I think trolling is kinda bleh, you just wait for a fish to bite .. no real casting or anything.  @N Florida Mike @EGbassing

[N Florida Mike]

I dont troll much for any fish but I have for spotted seatrout in the intercoastal and its fun , esp. when you catch em.

I love freshwater too, mainly for bream and catfish.

But bass are my favorite.

[Glaucus]

If I want to eat something, I go buy it. Bass fishing for me is a sport and a hobby. Most guys I know like to soak worms for anything that bites. A few of my buddies bass fish, and so those guys get it.

[nascar2428]

Being a bank Bass fisherman, I get that look all of the time. However I would describe it more as a disgusted or offended look. It's the same look I get when they see me release em. 

[NYWayfarer]

That look is definitely from the folks that like to eat their catch. I get it a lot in these parts with the follow up question "Do you eat them?"

 

When I answer, no, they usually ask why not?

 

Pick any of the following canned answers I give:

I wouldn't eat anything out of these waters, unless I want to glow in the dark.

I get my fish where God intended me to, the supermarket.

I just fish for sport and Bass are great sport fish.

I am not into the taste of Bass, if I am going to catch something to eat it would be Perch, Trout or Crappie.

I prefer the taste of saltwater catches like fluke or blackfish better.

[Jleebesaw]

No, can't say that I have. It seems like most people like catching bass. I get the weird looks if we start talking about fishing though. I find very few people in real life who take fishing serious at all. They are mostly fun fishing a few times a year. They think it's weird to know about seasonal movements, spawning habits of multiple species, and fish biology. Most folks dont take time to learn about fish as the people on here do. Dont get me wrong. I love getting limits of perch and crappie for the grease as much as anybody. Most people dont care about shad spawns, you know what I mean?

[CrankFate]

I get the look when I say most bass rods are too stiff.

[Mike L]

4 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

Yeah, but I dont get it from freshwater fisherman. Around here, you get that kind of attitude  from the saltwater anglers. My son is even like that. They dont understand why you would rather bass fish with all the saltwater fishing opportunities here.

I love saltwater fishing too, but If I had to choose one it would be bass fishing.

 

Yep

Must be a state side thing!

?

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Columbia Craw]

I live in slimer country.  Oh yeah.

[Hower08]

I try to only talk to people with the same interest as myself. It limits me pretending to be interested in something I'm not. Does it limit my friend selection yes and I like it that way!

     

    It really benefits me to like walleye fishing as much as pan fish and bass fishing. I for buddies that get ticked when I don't want to troll. I would rather catch my eyes jigging or casting. I apply alot of my bass fishing to fishing for walleyes and saugeyes on inland lakes. 

 

Yes I get weird looks but who cares when it works. You can tell within about one minute of talking to someone about hunting or fishing to know how they are with it

[Ksam1234]

2 hours ago, CrankFate said:

I get the look when I say most bass rods are too stiff.

Or when I talk about jerkbaits. And I have to jerk harder or faster depending on how they want it 

[Sam]

Only when I make that statement and I don't have any clothes on.

 

Otherwise, everyone seems to be neutral.

[Glaucus]

2 summers ago I was talking with a hunter at work. I don't hunt very much, and he's doesn't fish very much, but we still love the outdoors, so we get along. Anyways I was talking about a 5 pounder I got out of such and such pond, and he asked me if I kept it. I was appalled and said, no, of course not. He said it would be hanging on his wall. Bluntly I said, well that's barely 1/3 of the weight of the state record, and I won't be taking you fishing with me if that's what you're about because I'm not about it. Huge difference between sport fishermen and people who soak worms for anything that bites so they can take it and eat it - or worse, kill it for no reason as a "trophy" when it isn't close to being a trophy. Catch and release is still hard for a lot of people to grasp, and as a bass fisherman, it is all that I do.

[JustJames]

The only ppl that give me that weird look is my family members. All they wonder is why don’t I keep those fish.

[soflabasser]

8 hours ago, Ksam1234 said:

Sooo pretty much as topic says. Anytime I mention I fish and other fisherman around me are like “oh yeah I love fishing , I go for perch, crappie, walleye. Just troll and catch fish !” And I tell them I’m more into bass and occasional northerns or Muskie they look at me like.. “uhhh why bass .. so you just catch and release , don’t even eat..” and they just have this dumb look on there face.  I guess they have never experienced a frog blowup or crazy bite of a huge fish or the rush of a smallmouth jumping... poor guys. 

I have a couple of friends that strictly fish saltwater and they do not care much for bass fishing. They see it as a waste of time. Have had others judge my fishing gear I use even though I catch more quality fish than they do. Others do not understand why I release bass after putting in so much work to catch them. In the end I do not care much what others think of my bass fishing hobby and instead I focus on catching lots of big bass since it makes me happy and helps me fill up my fishing albums with big bass pictures.

8 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

 Around here, you get that kind of attitude  from the saltwater anglers. My son is even like that. They dont understand why you would rather bass fish with all the saltwater fishing opportunities here.

I love saltwater fishing too, but If I had to choose one it would be bass fishing.

Lots of saltwater fishermen look down on bass fishermen just rod/reel guys look down on spearfishing and fly fishermen look down on everybody. Not much you can do to change others opinion and best thing you can do is do what you feel brings you the most happiness. 

[Smokinal]

[JLindsey]

The trout guys in my area don’t get it at all. They hear the word “bass” and tilt their head like a puppy dog. Might as well tell them you’re trying to catch leprechauns.

[GreenPig]

My wife gave me a strange look the other day when I complained about it taking me four hours to cut the grass , weed eat , and blow the driveway off. So I ask why the look woman. She said you spent over 6 hours preparing your bass fishing tackle the other day for an 8 hour trip. I considered trying to explain the difference. But she would never understand. 

[813basstard]

‘Why do you need 9 rods?’

 

“why do you need 93 pairs of shoes..and candles that you don’t burn?”

 

Ill be, be at the ramp..

[Manly Studson]

I work in academia and no one is a fisherman. For me it is like living a double life. In some ways it adds variety to life, though coworkers look at me like I’m a country bumpkin, when they discover that I bass fish. Few believe that it’s what I do in my spare time.

[Black Hawk Basser]

A lot of guys here in the Midwest target mainly walleye and panfish.  I think most walleye guys see them as a nuisance.  Frankly, if you only would target walleye around here, you'd still catch more bass than walleye, so I understand the annoyance.

 

I chase all species available, but due to the sheer numbers of bass in this area, it just makes sense to fish for them frequently.  I rarely fish for a meal, so that's not a factor for me.

[FryDog62]

 ”Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fillets they are after...”