The greatest era?

[Columbia Craw]

My long time buddy and I were having coffee and, being in our 70’s, discussed the topic of the greatest era in bass fishing. This discussion included techniques, tackle advances, boats, technology and the personalities in the tournament scene.  We agreed on 1977 to 1987.  That ten year era truly shaped our bass fishing futures and our love for bass fishing.  Feel free to share. 

[WRB]

I would vote for a decade later 85’-95’ casting reels came out with free running spool and instant anti reverse, bass boats eliminated glass over wood transoms and stringers, AGM batteries and digital TM’s, longer Graphite casting rods plus spinning rods for bass fishing and Super braids , FC line.
For me it was the height of giant bass fishing and big swimbaits entered bass fishing.

Tom

PS, facing the reality that 2025 maybe my last bass fishing year due to arthritis in my hands🤬

[WRB]

This is very difficult for me coming to grips with winding down bass fishing.

This started with selling my boat and most of my tackle.  
I realize age has caught up with me but my desire to fish hasn’t.

I will try to fish the 2025 pre spawn and after that look for what is letting my tackle to go up on the Flea market.

I will take photos of my tackle for anyone interested not sure whatto do with the fish mounts? Will cross that bridge later.

Tom

[Swamp Girl]

11 hours ago, WRB said:

PS, facing the reality that 2025 maybe my last bass fishing year due to arthritis in my hands🤬

 

Heartbreaking.

 

For me, the greatest era was Tom's prime, when bass in the upper teens were regularly caught and Dottie still swam.

 

Tom, if I buy one of your outfits, I'll want to mount it. 

[Swamp Girl]

@WRB: Tom, I hope you'll keep posting and teaching us even after you quit. You're a BR rockstar!

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Easily the 70s-90s.   Look at when so many of the state records were caught.

 

Forget about technology, the most important thing imho is when did the most trophy Bass fishing opportunities exist.     

 

They stopped impounding new reservoirs for the most part in this country, and it's no coincidence that many of the state's best days for catching exceptional record sized Bass are in the past.     Those days of the new lake effects are long gone outside of the reservoirs that go through droughts and then re fill like the west Texas lakes.   

 

Look at the number of 15-20lb Bass caught in the 70s-90s  vs. 2000s-2020s.   Texas is the best trophy Bass fishing in the U.S., and I believe they have caught two fish over 17lbs in the last several years at the very best big Bass factory in the country.    That was a good weekend on a number of the Cali lakes in the 80s and 90s.   

[WRB]

10 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

@WRB: Tom, I hope you'll keep posting and teaching us even after you quit. You're a BR rockstar!

Rockstar far from it!

Not going anywhere as long as I can type with my index finger.

Tom

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

Not going anywhere as long as I can type with my index finger.

 

Whew! ^This^ made me smile.

[webertime]

Mid 80s to mid 90s was magical for me as a kid with all the excitement and innovation in that time.

[JHoss]

This topic sort of came up on the most recent Bass After Dark Podcast. Jordan Lee and one of the other guests discussed how in the late 90's to early 2000's, many of the guys on the top tours were bringing in $750,000-$1,000,000 per year in sponsorships alone. Now, most of those guys have some sort of second "job" outside of tournament fishing and sponsorships just to afford to fish the highest levels.

 

I personally, have no opinion on this as I've only seriously chased bass for 4 or 5 years now. I do believe my greatest eras are yet to come, but for a reason many won't resonate with. As a lifelong hunter, I've seen private hunting access become so expensive and so hard to find that I expect I won't have access to any private lands to hunt in the next 10-15 years. 15 years ago we had access to 20 farms, today it's down to 3. Public land is limited around me and the pressure is already too much. I imagine it will just get worse and worse over time to the point that it will, largely, not be worth pursuing. So, I'm expecting that as that access dries up, I'll have more time to devote to my other outdoor passion, fishing. I hear that fall bite can be pretty good. 

[F14A-B]

Idk.. 84 to 90 was me burning up central and north Florida catching Hogs..mono and anti reverse reels were the norm and nobody cared. While the 90’s truly revealed more technical advances, for me, it’s from 79 to 90.. 

[F14A-B]

On 11/16/2024 at 8:43 PM, WRB said:

Rockstar far from it!

Not going anywhere as long as I can type with my index finger.

Tom

Oh come on brother, don’t think for one moment we’re not pondering your knowledge base.. Hell, I’ll give an example right now, that jig you got going with one of the sites sponsors..

 

I will fish a tube with no weed guard and an exposed hook but almost never ever fish a jig w no weed guard. It made me think for a bit realizing and deciding to fish jigs w 5/0 hooks and NO weed guard . With hair of course..

😆😆🇺🇸🇺🇸

[MichaelN]

On 11/15/2024 at 7:07 PM, Columbia Craw said:

My long time buddy and I were having coffee and, being in our 70’s, discussed the topic of the greatest era in bass fishing. This discussion included techniques, tackle advances, boats, technology and the personalities in the tournament scene.  We agreed on 1977 to 1987.  That ten year era truly shaped our bass fishing futures and our love for bass fishing.  Feel free to share. 

I agree. For me,  late 70's to late 80s'.  Not only the innovations  etc. (Bill Norman was coming out with some great lures),   but I grew up watching all the great TV fishing host in their younger days (Dance, Houston, Martin, Parker). I idolized those guys as a kid. Learned so much.

[Swamp Girl]

8 hours ago, JHoss said:

As a lifelong hunter, I've seen private hunting access become so expensive and so hard to find that I expect I won't have access to any private lands to hunt in the next 10-15 years.

 

Sad. 

[Alex from GA]

In the 80s I use to read Western Outdoor News when they were catching all the huge bass in CA lakes.  I fished the local, Castaic, Piru and Casitas occasionally being mostly an ocean fisherman.  I worked, part time, at a tackle shop in Burbank and some of the customers took me bass fishing including tournaments.  I remember catching the big fish, 6 lbs, at one and winning $108.

[TnRiver46]

The greatest era is today, followed closely by the future 

[Tennessee Boy]

The golden era of bass fishing started on April 14th 2022.  The day I retired.😆  

[crypt]

the golden era started APRIL 9TH 1963.........the day I was born........LOL.....for me at least..

[Pumpkin Lizard]

I would say the mid 70s to mid 90s. I got into it as a kid in the late '80s. Into it is not the right word. Immersed is the word. We lived in rural CT and we didn't have access to cable until the late '80s. I had an official Uncle in Atlanta who used to send me hours and hours of fishing shows on VHS and watched those tapes umpteen times along with doses of Top Gun.

 

My favorite show was the Bassmasters. I remember a show where Peter Thliveros won a tournament with a Carolina Rigged Pumpkinseed Zoom Lizard (I know it's Pumpkin but I swear I recall it being pumpkinseed back then) and I was mesmerized by that skill.  The story of how that color was made is also super interesting.

 

My two favorite sports memories are Bryan Kerchal winning the Bassmaster Classic and UConn winning their first BB title in '99.

 

Getting the Bass Pro Shops catalog was annual highlight, the thing was almost phone book thick. Now we have a website, there is no magic in that.

 

I can't put my finger on it but it just felt like a Golden Age to me.

On 11/15/2024 at 10:58 PM, WRB said:

This is very difficult for me coming to grips with winding down bass fishing.

This started with selling my boat and most of my tackle.  
I realize age has caught up with me but my desire to fish hasn’t.

I will try to fish the 2025 pre spawn and after that look for what is letting my tackle to go up on the Flea market.

I will take photos of my tackle for anyone interested not sure whatto do with the fish mounts? Will cross that bridge later.

Tom

 

Reading about what you guys were catching and doing out west as a kid was fascinating and a great memory. Thanks for your service! I hope you can keep on finding a way to wet a line.

On 11/18/2024 at 10:52 AM, JHoss said:

This topic sort of came up on the most recent Bass After Dark Podcast. Jordan Lee and one of the other guests discussed how in the late 90's to early 2000's, many of the guys on the top tours were bringing in $750,000-$1,000,000 per year in sponsorships alone. Now, most of those guys have some sort of second "job" outside of tournament fishing and sponsorships just to afford to fish the highest levels.

 

I personally, have no opinion on this as I've only seriously chased bass for 4 or 5 years now. I do believe my greatest eras are yet to come, but for a reason many won't resonate with. As a lifelong hunter, I've seen private hunting access become so expensive and so hard to find that I expect I won't have access to any private lands to hunt in the next 10-15 years. 15 years ago we had access to 20 farms, today it's down to 3. Public land is limited around me and the pressure is already too much. I imagine it will just get worse and worse over time to the point that it will, largely, not be worth pursuing. So, I'm expecting that as that access dries up, I'll have more time to devote to my other outdoor passion, fishing. I hear that fall bite can be pretty good. 

 

As Americans and Sportsmen and women we need to really make a stand on public access.  I lived in Europe for years and access to fishing seems impossible. Hunting? Yeah right. Good luck.

 

If we're not vigilant, that will happen here.

[Swamp Girl]

15 minutes ago, Pumpkinseed Lizard said:

 

If we're not vigilant, that will happen here.

 

I let two guys deer hunt on my land and two duck hunt. I also let two guys trap beaver. And I've given about 30 people permission to use my land to access the pond.

 

Perhaps most importantly, I took my senator fishing and talked to him about how Maine's lakes, which are owned by the people of Maine, are seized by the rich with their "No trespassing" signs when they buy all the waterfront. There are no such signs on my waterfront property. 

[gim]

15 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

There are no such signs on my waterfront property. 

That should be irrelevant to anyone who considers entering private property. The land need not be posted for it to be considered trespassing.

 

I hunt almost exclusively on private land and I would never enter it without prior verbal permission. It’s a respect thing.

[Pumpkin Lizard]

4 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

I let two guys deer hunt on my land and two duck hunt. I also let two guys trap beaver. And I've given about 30 people permission to use my land to access the pond.

 

Perhaps most importantly, I took my senator fishing and talked to him about how Maine's lakes, which are owned by the people of Maine, are seized by the rich with their "No trespassing" signs when they buy all the waterfront. There are no such signs on my waterfront property. 

 

My Dad who couldn't catch a fish to save his life and has no interest taught me a lesson I would never forget about that.

 

We came home one day and some lady was fishing in our backyard with her very small son. I was a little **** and was territorial. My Dad walked down and chatted with her. She was a single mom who had a kid who just wanted to go fishing. She had permission to fish from the people with the only other house on the water and just got the address wrong/  My Dad was like just like, "well you are welcome anytime here too" and he let it be. Then when we got back to the house he ripped me a new one for being an ass and made me bring down some cokes to them and apologize.

 

Now I live in an HOA with some ponds and I see these old jerks running kids off that don't live in the neighborhood. It's infuriating.

[Swamp Girl]

27 minutes ago, gimruis said:

That should be irrelevant to anyone who considers entering private property. The land need not be posted for it to be considered trespassing.

 

I hunt almost exclusively on private land and I would never enter it without prior verbal permission. It’s a respect thing.

 

I agree. No such signs should be needed, but lawdy, some people love to post them. There's a guy on my road who's nailed such signs on every third tree. 

[gim]

I wasn't around for the era many speak of in this thread.  Well, actually I was but I was just a young kid.  So I can't really relate to it.

 

The greatest era of bass fishing (and fishing in general) for this guy was the day I bought my own boat in 2015.  Its something I had thought of and dreamed about for many years.  Generally, being able to go fishing on my own boat where I want, when I want, and how I want does not have a price tag.

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

@gimruis: Good looking boat, truck, lawn, house, and dog. I don't think I've seen a photo of your wife, but I can't imagine her looking like this: