Bass Fishing: Art or Science

[Zcoker]

Maybe I rely on both intuition and skill. And if you wanna call those art and science, then so be it. I don’t really think about neither of them when I’m fishing. Often with things like art, it depends on how one defines art. I recall the Beeple NFT digital piece going for $69 million. I wouldn't have given 50 bucks for it. Yet it’s called art to the highest standard along with a hefty price tag. I just couldn’t see anything in it no matter how I turned my head. Art is up to the beholder, I reckon. Science is science. Maybe the weather, the technology and so forth. I could also be using a cane pole. Fish wouldn’t care. 

 

Art? 

 

 

 

 

[Catt]

12 hours ago, WRB said:

Fishing is an outdoor activity that isn’t science or art imo.

Tom

 

C'est Fini 😉

[softwateronly]

It's a craft and you can only get better by doing it.

 

scott

[senile1]

We don't have the time to incorporate the full scientific method in our observations on the water, nor do we get to repeat the same experiment under the exact same conditions to confirm our results.  Also, it is pretty much impossible to isolate and control for the variables we alter when it comes to fishing, nor can we ever know exactly what our prey's true motivations are when they bite or don't bite.  Therefore, we use some science when we fish, but fishing isn't a science.  We make somewhat educated guesses based on the relatively little bit of science we do know.   

 

Some synonyms for the word, "art" as a noun, are craft, knack, facility, talent, flair, etc.  By this definition there is an art to fishing.  Some people have a flair for it, while others have to really work harder at it.

 

It is absolutely more of an art than it is a science. 

[F14A-B]

Let’s ask Randy B.. he’s got it all figured out including those pesky flat brimmers 🤣

[Deleted account]

It's part art when I'm picking out soft plastics pallette, and part science when I increase the quantities on my TW cart by the Fibonacci sequence...

[bowhunter63]

What ever you want it to be. Lifestyle? 

[JHoss]

16 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Is Bass fishing more art or science?

 

Yes

 

[Team9nine]

My short answer: Buck Perry showed us that (bass) fishing, in general, is a science, but certain aspects of it, like big bass/trophy angling, is an art, IMO.

[Fishingmickey]

18 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

My short answer: Buck Perry showed us that (bass) fishing, in general, is a science, but certain aspects of it, like big bass/trophy angling, is an art, IMO.

X2 It's both.

[Swamp Girl]

13 hours ago, Craig P said:

A beautiful stream in a remote setting, nature bountiful, an angler swinging a fly rod as the sun rises or sets.  It would be hard to deny that scene isn’t art.  A catch at that point is just a bonus.

 

You'd look silly beholding the grace and coordination of a ballerina and deny that that's art. Then watch a fly fisher in thigh-high current while working his/her line and you might look silly again denying that there's no art in that angling. 

 

Of course, many anglers bring a lot of science to bassing. A motor comes from science. So do carbon fiber rods and FFS and Garmin. 

 

2 hours ago, senile1 said:

We don't have the time to incorporate the full scientific method in our observations on the water, nor do we get to repeat the same experiment under the exact same conditions to confirm our results.  Also, it is pretty much impossible to isolate and control for the variables we alter when it comes to fishing, nor can we ever know exactly what our prey's true motivations are when they bite or don't bite.  Therefore, we use some science when we fish, but fishing isn't a science.  We make somewhat educated guesses based on the relatively little bit of science we do know.   

 

Best response.

 

I'm a creative person and I have had countless conversations with other creative people. Whatever the medium (dance, theater, painting, writing, etc.), we all have the same challenges and similar choices. A painter works with form, color, and texture. I dancer works with her/his body. A writer works with words, but we're all trying to convey what we see. For example, Vincent van Gogh saw movement:

 

 

Grant Wood saw order:

 

 

I'm going to go with "a bit of both" as my answer. This is akin to fishing:

 

The scientific process, also known as the scientific method, is a systematic approach to investigating phenomena by making observations, asking questions, forming a hypothesis, conducting experiments, analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and communicating the results

 

However, when I fish, I don't always go with my set conclusions. I cast against the grain, which is creative and intuitive. And I certainly take the time to see what's before me and share that:

 

[Kev-mo]

Idk which it's it more of. The tackle aspect is both. I mean science drives the innovation in materials and manufacturing. However there's certainly an art aspect involved when you paint reels or rods etc.

Some science involved in trying to apply what we think we know about fish behavior. Also as others have mentioned we certainly ascribe an artfulness to fly casting and other techniques.

 

As to the original question...I think it's situational. Some will be more science forward and others more art forward.

[senile1]

I suppose I viewed this question as this:  Is what I am doing while performing the act of fishing more science or art? 

 

We certainly study the science behind fish behavior, how to find fish, lures, fish finders, FFS, etc. and use products developed with science behind them.  When we are on the water we are making decisions based on what we have learned, as well as intuition, and this learning does make us better anglers.  But ultimately at the point where the rubber meets the road (when we attempt to catch a fish with a lure) numerous factors come into play that can only be processed through that imperfect memory of what we have learned and our imperfect intuition, while trying to catch a fish that we imperfectly understand with a plethora of techniques, lures, and lure cadence choices before us. 

 

After putting it that way, it makes you wonder how we ever catch a fish.  LOL.  Fortunately, perfection is not always needed to hook them.

[Columbia Craw]

Bass fishing, like any other type of fishing is a process.  How you choose to go about that process is up to you.   You can apply science, such as studying the thermocline, or art, such as tie your own flies.  I enjoy the process and where it takes place.

[Bigassbass]

Fishing is fun and neither an art or science.  It's a passion to some and frustration to others so it's whatever you make it to be for yourself!

[Gera]

Neither.. 

[Fyrewulf]

Science is what science is. It's always there, and it's a fact (real science). Art is a personal masterpiece, and can be perfect or imperfect, but it's personal.

[Bankbeater]

This thread reminds me of the age old question: Is fishing a sport or a hobby?

[OkobojiEagle]

A much enjoyed activity

 

oe

[Pumpkin Lizard]

On 12/4/2024 at 3:40 PM, Tennessee Boy said:

It's been too cold to fish this week so I need a good philosophical winter fishing discussion.  So here's the question.

 

Is Bass fishing more art or science?

 

 

Music is something most people think of it as an art, but it wouldn’t exist without the science of sound—the physics of waves, acoustics, and harmonics. Similarly, bass fishing wouldn’t be what it is without the science of fish behavior, biology, weather patterns, and lure dynamics. Yet, there’s no denying the art in how we approach it—the intuition, the creative lure presentations, the personal style that makes each angler unique.  So let’s start by acknowledging upfront: bass fishing is undeniably both an art and a science. It’s a pursuit that blends creativity, instinct, and skill with knowledge, research, and experimentation.

 

But which is it more of?

 

So, I want to hear from you: when you think about bass fishing, does it lean more toward art with its endless possibilities for creative expression, or is it more of a science, rooted in principles and logic?

 

I hope this sparks some thoughtful discussion that will get me through this cold spell.  😊

 

When I was in the Army we spent a bunch of time talking about Operational Art. The Art was how you chose to employ the science.

 

So I say art.  When we are fishing we are we are drawing on our experience to put together some sound tactics to work best on a given day. We're artists.

[Crow Horse]

On 12/8/2024 at 4:06 PM, Pumpkin Lizard said:

When I was in the Army we spent a bunch of time talking about Operational Art. The Art was how you chose to employ the science.

 

The above  resonates true to me. Science is one of the foundation's building blocks and the art is how we put our individual spin on the science. Several other points require clarification. Science is not absolute. It is fluid and always changing as our knowledge base & technology changes. The art component is how we interpret the science. Adding another category and moving away from art, we can experience a "spiritual" component. Standing on the science and art, we'll make a cast and at the speed of thought we'll be one with the rod, reel, line, lure and even the air in which it slices through. Call it a Zen moment or whatever you wish to catalog it as. And then the retrieve becomes an extension of yourself and you bring life to a lifeless lure to make the magic happen. There's a communion, a oneness to us, our gear, and the environment....

 

 

 

 

[Swamp Girl]

8 hours ago, Crow Horse said:

 

The above  resonates true to me. Science is one of the foundation's building blocks and the art is how we put our individual spin on the science. Several other points require clarification. Science is not absolute. It is fluid and always changing as our knowledge base & technology changes. The art component is how we interpret the science. Adding another category and moving away from art, we can experience a "spiritual" component. Standing on the science and art, we'll make a cast and at the speed of thought we'll be one with the rod, reel, line, lure and even the air in which it slices through. Call it a Zen moment or whatever you wish to catalog it as. And then the retrieve becomes an extension of yourself and you bring life to a lifeless lure to make the magic happen. There's a communion, a oneness to us, our gear, and the environment....

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, Crow, you nailed it with style.

[little giant]

I think a perfect, accurate cast is a form of art. The physics to do it is the science.

Every backlash I've done in the past 50 years was a work of art!! 🎣

[Jigfishn10]

On 12/5/2024 at 9:27 AM, Deleted account said:

 by the Fibonacci sequence...

I'm wondering if your reference is lost on some people  

[king fisher]

Retrieving a square bill through thick timber is an art, hanging the trebles in the timber is science, and getting the lure and giant bass out of the timber is spiritual.