Ridiculed from buddies for bass fishing???

[cyclops2]

Only another 6 weeks Until my opening day in N Y.     

[MN Fisher]

3 minutes ago, cyclops2 said:

Only another 6 weeks Until my opening day in N Y.     

(sighs) 9 weeks, 6 days here.

[Jaderose]

I can't imagine caring what other people think of me bass fishing.  Most around here (NOWEMO) catfish.  Not my thing but hey....it doesn't need to be!

[gim]

20 hours ago, IntroC said:

The only thing a walleye has going for it is it’s table fare.

I've always wondered that if walleye didn't taste as good as it does, would they still be as popular to fish for?  My theory is no.  There are going to be more and more restrictions on them in the future and as the waters warm and clear up, their populations are going to decline too.  Bad news if you are a die hard walleye angler.

[Dogface]

14 hours ago, gimruis said:

I've always wondered that if walleye didn't taste as good as it does, would they still be as popular to fish for?  My theory is no.  

 

Its a different type of fishing with different gear and techniques. Some guys enjoy it full time and others like me enjoy a change of pace.  

 

BTW they do taste good! 

[Cdn Angler]

Walleye preferred here if you are eating them, which is a fair number of people. 

 

Walleye fishing has suffered badly as a result and it's often easier to catch bigger and more bass as it's a c&r thing mainly.

 

Also cant get em through the ice unlike pike/walleye/perch.

[soflabasser]

On 3/6/2022 at 12:28 PM, IntroC said:

The only thing a walleye has going for it is it’s table fare. Probably the least exciting fish to fish for. They bite light, fight light and boring fishing methods to catch them.

I caught a nice walleye while on vacation up north and ate it the same day I caught it and I was not impressed on how it tasted. It tasted good, but nowhere near a decent saltwater fish. In fact I have eaten better freshwater fish I have caught in South Florida than walleye. The walleye I caught did give a decent fight for its size which was a surprise since so many people say they barely fight. They hit lures so they can be fun to catch.

[T-Billy]

Surprised this thread still has legs. My buddies ridicule me for any reason they can think of, real or imagined. It's what buddies do best. Suck it up buttercup, and hit'em back with both barrels.

[gim]

8 hours ago, soflabasser said:

I caught a nice walleye while on vacation up north and ate it the same day I caught it and I was not impressed on how it tasted. It tasted good, but nowhere near a decent saltwater fish.

I don't have a lot of saltwater fishing or eating under my belt, but I agree with this.  Its not as good.  The primary reason walleye are so popular as table fare is because they are easy to clean, there aren't any bones, and there's no "fishy" taste to them.  They basically taste like the batter or breading you prepare them with, which in my opinion, is kind of a moot point.

 

Yellow perch are even better.  The filet is firmer than a walleye filet.  The problem is that there's almost no jumbos left anymore.  Its just dink city all over.

[cyclops2]

Well restaurants and all the ice fishing people ate up everything.  Time to eat plant protein fish.

[soflabasser]

9 hours ago, gimruis said:

I don't have a lot of saltwater fishing or eating under my belt, but I agree with this.  Its not as good.  The primary reason walleye are so popular as table fare is because they are easy to clean, there aren't any bones, and there's no "fishy" taste to them.  They basically taste like the batter or breading you prepare them with, which in my opinion, is kind of a moot point.

 

Yellow perch are even better.  The filet is firmer than a walleye filet.  The problem is that there's almost no jumbos left anymore.  Its just dink city all over.

Walleye is a good tasting fish but I do feel it is overhyped. Mangrove snapper are far better tasting than walleye and they are a common saltwater fish where I live. Have caught yellow perch and heard from many people it taste as good as walleye if not better. Both walleye and yellow perch are in the Percidae family so it is not surprising that they taste similar. I would consider fishing for them again the next time I fish up north. Back to the main subject, the World would be a boring place if everyone liked the same things so it is ok if not everyone likes to fish for bass. Besides it seems more and more people are bass fishing these days where I live compared to 5 years ago so there will always be people that enjoy bass fishing.

[Bankbeater]

People hate what they don't understand.  Maybe the haters are frustrated because they can't catch any bass.

[The Maestro]

It seems like bass guys are the least "elitist" when it comes to our favorite species to target. As far as I'm concerned if you fish for anything, it's cool. In a lot of places it's guys who fly fish for trout that can be the most uppity.

[Yuddzy]

On 2/24/2022 at 7:00 PM, Mat_ski said:

No, nothing new, but walleye fishing appears to attract the highest amount of stupid. 
I even met few who claimed to have killed muskies because muskies eat walleyes… 

 

This is somewhat common in Minnesota it seems. A lot of people don't like pike and musky, claiming things like "they overpopulate" and "they kill all the good fish" and "you don't want them in your lakes." Where I live, they're a native species and a necessary part of the ecosystem. If all of those things were true, there wouldn't be bag limits and protections for them. I've had friends suggest throwing pike on the shoreline even, like you might be required to do with some invasive species with mandatory kill orders. 

 

(In some areas, pike may be an issue, but not here in my experience)*

[Zcoker]

Lotta my buddie are like, what the heck lol My fortee is tagging sharks for NOAA, big sharks, like over 14 feet, absolute monsters. So when they see me now banging in the Everglades for lil 'ol bass, they are very, very confused. And I try to explain to them, all the preparation and the sheer magnitude of the 'hunt', all of the exploring in endless waterways filled with total serenity, yet they still don't get it. Even when I classify bass as the "sharks of freshwater" lol they still shrug up their shoulders. Nothing I can do or say can make them see what I am seeing now. Sometimes I can't even describe it myself. There's a secret sort of mystery with any fish, really. 

[uglyasheck]

You are blessed to have friends like that. You get to have the bass fishing to yourself. Enjoy !!!!!

[gim]

On 4/20/2022 at 7:57 AM, Yuddzy said:

This is somewhat common in Minnesota it seems. A lot of people don't like pike and musky, claiming things like "they overpopulate" and "they kill all the good fish" and "you don't want them in your lakes." Where I live, they're a native species and a necessary part of the ecosystem. If all of those things were true, there wouldn't be bag limits and protections for them. I've had friends suggest throwing pike on the shoreline even, like you might be required to do with some invasive species with mandatory kill orders. 

 

(In some areas, pike may be an issue, but not here in my experience)*

 

Pike are a major issue here.  This isn't anything new either.  I would not advocate for tossing some on shore, but they are very overpopulated in many of our small to medium sized lakes in MN.  The primary reason for this is because there are very few large ones left that help keep the small, aggressive ones in check.  In most smaller systems, the top predator is a large pike.  They take a long time to grow that big here in the north.  Removing just ONE of those fish per season is extremely detrimental.  Now multiply that several times/season over the course of a decade and you can see why the small ones are out of control.  Then the DNR continues to stock these lakes with walleye fry which is going nowhere from a scientific basis because all it is doing is feeding the beast, which are an overpopulation of pike.

 

It is true that walleye is placed on a pedestal here and it gets really old.  Many of them think that bass are a junk species and there is absolutely no skill, finesse, or knowledge on how to fish for them or catch them.  I'm actually fine with not having bass as a super-popular target here though.  It reduces the pressure and very few people keep them.  On most small lakes I fish here during the season, I'm the only one targeting them almost every time I'm out there.

 

People that claim muskies are eating up all the walleyes and panfish are idiots.  They are uneducated and ignorant.  Those people are likely the problem themselves because they have kept too many fish for too long.  Stomach content studies have proven that muskies do not actively seek out walleye, bass, or panfish as a primary prey source.  Muskies prefer soft-rayed fish like suckers and ciscoes.  They will also eat perch when available.

[WVU-SCPA]

On 3/2/2022 at 7:41 PM, Dogface said:

BTW carp are great fighters. ?

Yes I'm 2 months late on this.  Grew up fly fishing in central PA so went through the fly fishing stigmas.  On a fly fishing forums it pops up every couple years if you could only fish for one species what would it be.  My answer is always carp, nothing like a good mulberry hatch.

 

As for the topic in general there was a point in my life I would have turned my nose up to the general bass fishing community.  Glad a grew up past it and now can enjoy all of it.

[Woody B]

I rip on my friends who fish for catfish and crappie, but I don't hate on them.  The crappie fishermen say they're fishing for food.  I tell them I have a friend who runs a restaurant.  He'll give me all the fish I want, already cooked, with hushpuppies and fries.  All I have to do it give him some money. 

 I took a kid (16) bass fishing a while back the lives to fish for catfish.  He caught a couple 3 pound bass, but it didn't excite him.  A few weeks later texted me a picture of a 10 pound flathead he caught right after I had gotten a 50+ pound flathead in the boat I caught bass fishing.  His Dad said he nearly passed out when I sent him a picture of my cat.  The cat was fat and full of eggs.  I turned her loose to "catfish" some other bass fisherman in the future.   

 

 

[soflabasser]

10 hours ago, WVU-SCPA said:

Yes I'm 2 months late on this.  Grew up fly fishing in central PA so went through the fly fishing stigmas.  On a fly fishing forums it pops up every couple years if you could only fish for one species what would it be.  My answer is always carp, nothing like a good mulberry hatch.

 

As for the topic in general there was a point in my life I would have turned my nose up to the general bass fishing community.  Glad a grew up past it and now can enjoy all of it.

I have met some fly fishermen that think too much of themselves to say the least. I do have to give fly fishermen credit since they are still catching the fish themselves, unlike those who use electric reels and brag about how hard a fish fought even though the electric reel did all the work. lol

On 4/21/2022 at 11:30 AM, Zcoker said:

Lotta my buddie are like, what the heck lol My fortee is tagging sharks for NOAA, big sharks, like over 14 feet, absolute monsters. So when they see me now banging in the Everglades for lil 'ol bass, they are very, very confused. And I try to explain to them, all the preparation and the sheer magnitude of the 'hunt', all of the exploring in endless waterways filled with total serenity, yet they still don't get it. Even when I classify bass as the "sharks of freshwater" lol they still shrug up their shoulders. Nothing I can do or say can make them see what I am seeing now. Sometimes I can't even describe it myself. There's a secret sort of mystery with any fish, really. 

Most saltwater fishermen will not understand why you enjoy bass fishing, I know from experience. In the end what matters is you like bass fishing and it makes you happy. Besides, you can always go shark fishing and catch a big shark if you want, you already developed that skillset and will have that knowledge for life.

[papajoe222]

On 2/24/2022 at 7:30 PM, Dan N said:

Around here , any fish you don’t keep to eat is looked down on, except maybe the musky.

A lot of folks that fish only for table fare think this way.  My neighbor's father once gave me a tongue lashing for releasing a small bass that I'd caught.  I bent down the barb on my worm hook, and, wouldn't you know it, all the fish I hooked never made it to the boat.