I like the fight? Do you?

[Swamp Girl]

I've shared several times how my PB, caught this past spring, felt like a great gob of weeds or a water-soaked log. I've also shared the story of how I also caught my PB-fighter this year. She was barely 18 inches and skinny. I hooked her in a narrow stream and she immediately came at my canoe and kept going downstream, my drag whining. Then she came back at me, ricocheting from the brush on each side of the screen. Then she went deep and I could feel her plowing through the weeds on the bottom. I could feel her cutting them off, a scythe through grass. Of course, she pulled and turned my canoe and dragged me into weeds when it came to netting her and in the net, she was still berserk. 

 

She.

 

was.

 

magnificent. 

 

And yet, she was the most ordinary bass by looks and size. Skinny even. I caught half a dozen that evening heavier than her, but none greater.

 

 

I think about her a lot, wondering why she was so loaded with grit, starch, and fury. You can see the stream to the right of her. I hooked her at the top of it and she came roaring past me. 

 

Clearly I like the fight. Do you too, valuing it almost as much as size, and if so, do you have a story of a mighty fight to tell?

[Catt]

Catt & Pat are sitting on a little ridge just south of Indian Mounds; full moon is barely on the horizon, slight southerly breeze. I make a long cast towards deep water and start the count down to the bottom. The Texas rigged worm settles down when there's that classic "Thump", drops the rod, reel the slack, and set the hook. Nothing gives, then in a microsecond on my knees, rod half under water.

Catt: Yells get the net!

Pat: For what!

Catt: I think he's heading for the Louisiana side

Pat: You gonna land em or what

Catt: Aint you suppose to play em first?

Finally back to my feet, line singing again, drag slipping, rod all bowed up.

Catt: He's headed for Six Mile, if you start the big motor we can head em off.

Pat now standing behind me: Want me to pour some water on your reel?

Catt: No! just get the gun!

Look a swirl just under the surface, a sudden dive for freedom, your mine sucker.

Pat with quick move and it's in the net: Took you long enough.

Catt falls back into the seat drops his rods on the deck: Dude let's see it.

Pat turn on the interior lights: Shoot it's only a stripper!

Catt sits up, lips it and grabs the tail, gotta be at least 36"

Pat digs around in the console for the scales 16 LB 5 OZ.

Catt: Slipping it back in, that's a hawg right there.

Pat: Don't count it's a stripper!

Catt: Still a hawg

Pat: You're still down 7 to 4, shut up & fish.

[Jar11591]

When bass fishing, I usually only appreciate the fight after I’ve landed the fish. I don’t fish bass because of the fight, but it can be a nice bonus to a safely landed bass. If I lose the fish, I would rather it didn’t fight at all if it means landing it. 
 

If it’s not bass, I’m all for a fight. Some years ago, I caught a 20lb chinook salmon from Lake Ontario. It took about 20 minutes to land that thing, and that fight was a blast. Having a fish pull drag as if the bail is open, having zero control, numb forearms, cramped hands…so much fun. 

[Pat Brown]

Yeah for me it's more about the bite but if I land it and I get a good fight out of it also I'll take it.  😎🤙🏼

 

The fight is often what kills fish more so than catching them around beds or on forward facing sonar or anything like that.  They aren't meant to fight a line and rod and reel and hook for long periods of time.  And they will kill themselves trying to get off. 

 

My goal is to get them in and off and back in the water quickly and safely and I consider outsmarting the smartest and biggest the reward.

 

I will say I've had some epic fights with some big largemouth bass but nearly had heart attacks every time because it's usually inside of a tree or around a bunch of rocks and I've lost more than I care to count!

[A-Jay]

I enjoy 'the fight' of any plus sized fish, including bass,

as long as they end up in the net. 

Otherwise, it's not nearly as fun.

Capturing the event on video allows me to relive the fun over and over.

https://youtu.be/sITpRNLz_04?feature=shared&t=196

https://youtu.be/k3Z48BqFWuw?feature=shared&t=106

A-Jay

[J Francho]

Bass fishing is more about the puzzle. Fishing for a fight is satisfied with northerns, salmonids, and in the past carp even. If carp jumped, I'd only target them. The last decade or so, it's northerns for me. They are miserable and I love them. 

[Swamp Girl]

19 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I've lost more than I care to count!

 

Me too, my friend. As far as your assertion that the fight can kill them, I agree that that's a possibility. However, in the half century I've caught bass, I only saw one bass that I killed, i.e. one bass struggling on the surface. And that one bass was taken by an eagle about a minute into its struggling. I have killed a few pickerel.

 

When I was younger, I'd go to an area, focus on it, catch 25 bass, and then return a few hours later and there were no bass floating like is reported at the release sites of some tournaments, which suggests to me that it's time out of water that's harder on them. This is why I release them ASAP. 

 

8 minutes ago, J Francho said:

If carp jumped, I'd only target them.

 

I hear ya. I just wish they weren't so ugly!

 

Catt, I loved reading your account and especially liked the line about swimming to Louisiana. 

[F14A-B]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Catt & Pat are sitting on a little ridge just south of Indian Mounds; full moon is barely on the horizon, slight southerly breeze. I make a long cast towards deep water and start the count down to the bottom. The Texas rigged worm settles down when there's that classic "Thump", drops the rod, reel the slack, and set the hook. Nothing gives, then in a microsecond on my knees, rod half under water.

Catt: Yells get the net!

Pat: For what!

Catt: I think he's heading for the Louisiana side

Pat: You gonna land em or what

Catt: Aint you suppose to play em first?

Finally back to my feet, line singing again, drag slipping, rod all bowed up.

Catt: He's headed for Six Mile, if you start the big motor we can head em off.

Pat now standing behind me: Want me to pour some water on your reel?

Catt: No! just get the gun!

Look a swirl just under the surface, a sudden dive for freedom, your mine sucker.

Pat with quick move and it's in the net: Took you long enough.

Catt falls back into the seat drops his rods on the deck: Dude let's see it.

Pat turn on the interior lights: Shoot it's only a stripper!

Catt sits up, lips it and grabs the tail, gotta be at least 36"

Pat digs around in the console for the scales 16 LB 5 OZ.

Catt: Slipping it back in, that's a hawg right there.

Pat: Don't count it's a stripper!

Catt: Still a hawg

Pat: You're still down 7 to 4, shut up & fish.

Hmm, are you sure you didn’t write for Field & Stream magazine? 🤣😂🤣

[PaulVE64]

I will take a great fight over a big fish.

Probably why I fish river smallies.

[Scott F]

One of the main reasons I target smallmouth bass in rivers is because they fight so much harder than their lake dwelling brothers and they never quit fighting. Big pike (over 36”) will fight hard at first but often give up, at least that’s what I experienced when doing fly in trips in Canada. I was on a trip fishing for trophy sized brook trout where they need to be 20” to be considered a trophy, and those fish would literally fight to the death. When caught in current, some of them were dead when we got them to the boat. The river we were on was 100% catch and release so we weren’t even allowed to keep the dead ones for a shore lunch. It broke our hearts to see these beautiful fish die for our sport. After the second or third fish came back dead, we left them alone and fished for pike and walleye.

[F14A-B]

Pound for pound around here nothing fights, resist quite like a Bluegill or Redear.. and yes I have gear to exploit that 😁

[Swamp Girl]

13 minutes ago, PaulVE64 said:

I will take a great fight over a big fish.

Probably why I fish river smallies.

 

River smallies are berserkers. You'll be fighting a brown bass in current, thinking you have a trophy, and it's 14 inches. Bruce Banner shouldn't turn green. He should turn brown.

 

10 minutes ago, Scott F said:

Big pike (over 36”) will fight hard at first but often give up, at least that’s what I experienced when doing fly in trips in Canada.

 

I've caught enough 40"+ pike on six-pound line while fishing for smallies to agree. Big run and done. 

 

[Mike L]

For me it’s putting the pieces together…The spot and bait choice, after that comes the stalking and the hunt. 
 

When it comes together and the hook up happens getting her in is just the reward. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[king fisher]

Some one once told me, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.  Same goes for bass.

[Swamp Girl]

3 minutes ago, king fisher said:

Some one once told me, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.  Same goes for bass.

 

So true. Bigger doesn't always mean better (fight).

[WRB]

The pound for pound debate that bluegill are stronger then bass doesn’t hold water unless fight means pulling power.

Flight to me means running speed, jumping and pulling factors.

Bluegill and Red Ear sunfish don’t run or jump they pull in circles using their fat sides to resist, not much of a fighter.

Fresh water fish vs salt water, salt water wins hands down. Smallmouth bass vs Spotted bass smallies win, better jumpers.

 

Tom

[Pat Brown]

59 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Me too, my friend. As far as your assertion that the fight can kill them, I agree that that's a possibility. However, in the half century I've caught bass, I only saw one bass that I killed, i.e. one bass struggling on the surface. And that one bass was taken by an eagle about a minute into its struggling. I have killed a few pickerel.

 

When I was younger, I'd go to an area, focus on it, catch 25 bass, and then return a few hours later and there were no bass floating like is reported at the release sites of some tournaments, which suggests to me that it's time out of water that's harder on them. This is why I release them ASAP. 

 

 

I hear ya. I just wish they weren't so ugly!

 

Catt, I loved reading your account and especially liked the line about swimming to Louisiana. 

 

 

 

I think you're lucky to live somewhere the oxygen levels and the temps and the fishing pressure don't put fish on the verge for 1/2 of the calendar year (also the best fishing  months not coincidentally) and also being that neither of us encounter a lot of fish in 20+ foot deep water, we don't have a lot of experience with barotrauma.

 

I don't begrudge people fighting fish at all - I just echo what I've heard fisheries biologists who study tournament fish death stuff and relay it on podcasts etc. AND I hear a lot of people who voice concern for their catches on here.

 

I've definitely lost my fair share of giant fish messing around with them instead of getting them in the boat and I don't play that game anymore for sure lol.

[F14A-B]

My Florida Largemouth bass at 11.2 came in like a pair of old boots lol.

 

Not much actual battle at all, the fish on the surface made a powerful surge if you will but just nothing much in the way of actual fight. 
 

Idk, around here we get into 2 pound redear on light action rods with 4 pound and even 2 pound line and it’s a blast. I guess people have different ideals on the subject based on experience. 

[Catt]

If I want a fight 😉

 

[Team9nine]

The fight is kind of like this neutral ground - a necessary and important part of fishing, but a part that doesn’t really elicit any particular feelings one way or the other for me. To me, the bite - knowing that for that one moment, I put all the variables and nuances of the puzzle together to get that fish to commit - did everything “right,” or at least good enough, is “the deal.” But if that were the sole purpose, I shouldn't ever really care if I actually land the fish because I got what I wanted - But I really want to land and hold the fish, too, so the fight is the important connection between the two that I have to go through to get both satisfactions. It completes the puzzle. I don’t love a hard fighting fish more, or look down on a wet sock fighter. Each fish is different, unique and special in their own way. I appreciate them all. Then I release them, forget about ‘em, and just want to catch the next one 😛

[Aaron_H]

If I want a big pull and want a fish I have to truly put my back into, it's either going to be the first 30 seconds of a grouper fight, or hooking into a big amberjack.

 

That said, on proper tackle, a big bass fights like the dickens and excites me more than the big saltwater pull. With the little guys, the strike and hookset is more satisfying to me, but the fight isn't much fun when you just ski them across the surface even on medium tackle. Once they get some size to them, and can really bulldog you, those runs and jumps become breathtaking and a true battle of wills between fish and angler.

[rgasr63]

We fish to catch. You never know how much fight you're going to have until it starts. Sometimes it is effected by the equipment also. I have seen that change the fight a lot. Where I am at we don't have those big muskies to contend with. I have witnessed guys fishing with equipment that you could water ski a 5 pound bass  and I have witnessed guys catching stripers with crappie rods. The ones that have been the strongest fighters for me have been bowfin. They are good at tearing a good bass rig all apart for you. 

[Buzzbaiter]

I used to fish for smallmouth quite often because I felt that they were hard fighters, which, for freshwater, they are. But eventually, I started to figure out how to fight smallmouth effectively, and the explosive runs and jumps became predictable and controllable. Nowadays, I search for salinity to scratch that same itch. Bass are still fun to fight, but they are more of a mental exercise for me.

[MassBass]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Pat: Don't count it's a stripper!

Catt: Still a hawg

Lol. You guys must mean 'striper'. 

[Mobasser]

I enjoy the hunt and the fight because you never know what will happen? I had a six pounder roll in acting lazy one time. The next week, a three pound bass fought like crazy. You never know how they'll act. But, that's what keeps you coming back for more.