Who is the better fisherman?

[Mattlures]

M FLY what are you talking about? Who said anything about selling swimbaits? Who said anything about swimbaits at all? It is my opinion that guys Like Mike Long and Crupie and Bill Siementel are better than any tournament guys. Why? because of what they caught not because of who they beat.  I dont beleive all trophy hunters are better than all touny guys. Actualy I think the oposite. But the best of the best trophy hunters are better than everybody else. Like I said before Mike long also fishes Tournament and dominates them. Not little club Tournies either. He some times fishes by himself or with his 9 year old son and wins team tourny's out here. I guess its just diferent out here. The big bass specialist get more respect and clout than the tourny guys do.

And the real reason non of the trophy hunters werent in the greatest angler contest hgad nothing to do with their skill. It was put on by BASS, a tournament oginazation. so obviously they went with Tourny guys.  

How many bass fisherman in the history of bass fishing have caught 50 bass over 15lbs on artificals?

Hoy many guys have one a tournmant? How many of those guys that have one tournaments have ever caught 1 bass over 15lbs? not many.  You can interpret this how ever you want . I am in no way saying that tournament guys arent great bass fisherman. actualy I think the pros are better than everybody else on the plannit except for maybe 2 or 3 big bass guys.

[Captain Cali]

: I was under the impression that in tournaments the guy who catches the most big bass usually wins. Am I wrong? I realize a limit is very important but lets just say both anglers have limits. Obviously the guy with the bigger fish wins. Or am I missing something?  :-?

And who ever said trophy hunters can't or don't catch little bass?

[Mattlures]

Roger. Tourny fishing is a numbers game you have to play the percentages.

To win a tournament you need 5 fish. Usualy 5 small bass will win. You realy dont have enough time to target big bass in a T. Most guys will get 5 and then look for a kicker. If you spent all day hunting big bass you would loose most T's There are alway exceptions but this is the norm. BTW There are a lot of Tournament being won out here on big baits. The two worlds are merging.  Yes Trophy hunters do catch "small" fish but thier small fish would make  great tournament fish.

Tournament pros are the best in the world at catching small bass. trophy hunters are the best in the world at catching big bass. The money, sponsers and the spotlites are on the Tournaments. Only a few of the big bass guys get a lot of attention. That doesnt make them any less skilled.

Last year we had a big show out here in Ca. called the Bassathon. There were many big name  speakers. Aaron martins and  G Swindel did seminars and drew a big crowd but When Mike Long did his seminar evry body in the building went to hear what he had to say even the venders.

[Glenn]

Who is the better fisherman?  My father.  He introduced me to sport, showed the patience to teach me, and made me realize what's really important in life.  We've had some terrific memories over the decades.

Tournaments are fun, no doubt.  But when you look at the big picture, they're merely a weekend blip with strangers during a lifetime of memories with your family.

[Randall]

Who is better?

The guy who catches the most small bass or the guy that catches the most big bass.

Seriously I am curious what you guys think

It is neither. Its the guy who can do both as well as catch the ones in between.

[RoLo]

How many bass fisherman in the history of bass fishing have caught 50 bass over 15lbs on artificals?

Well, there are a couple of holes in that question:

1. Tournament pros don't target 15-lb bass, because that would be a waste of valuable time.

2. Most tournaments are not held in California where Bob Crupi and 15-lbers are found.

3. Fishing with jumbo live crayfish is not legal on the tourney trail.

It is my opinion that guys Like Mike Long and Crupie and Bill Siementel are better than any tournament guys.

As much as I love catching giants of the species, I can't agree with that statement.

Fishing for trophies is certainly more difficult in the sense that larger fish are scarcer

than smaller fish (= boring). But when we compare the skillset involved, I really can't see

where fishing for record-class bass is any harder than fishing for average size bass,

it's just "different". Watching a minnow tow a float around the lotus pads is not any harder

than finesse fishing with soft plastics for average-size bass.

There are days when the most learned angler would be happy with one runt.

There are just as many days when we watch some novice angler flop a belly-sagging lunker

onto the deck. Like it not, there's a lot of luck involved in the "weight" of the bass

we catch. If there wasn't, we'd all be catching bass that wieghed 3 pounds plus.

I don't believe the better angler can be decided by the single "heaviest" fish, nor by the

"number" of fish alone. In my opinion it should be the combination of BOTH

(quantity & quality). That is to say, keep a running total of the weight of every

'legal' bass successfully boated. It's immaterial what bass are kept or released,

all that matters is the running total of every "legal" bass that is boated

(no limits, no culling). The hotshot who thinks he's good for at least on beer-barrel bass,

will have his chance, but if he doesn't get lucky, then he'll have to win the hard way.

I forget his name, but the angler who holds the record for "lowest winning stringer weight"

was recently dubbed a "dubious honor". To my mind that's the highest honor

and one that separates the men from the boys.

Anyway, if there's a fairer way than total weight, I would like to hear about it.

[5bass]

I dont doubt the fact that the California big bass boys are skilled bass anglers,but bring them to the East Coast and see how many tournament titles they take back with them.Chances are they would be scraping together a decent limit like everybody else.I highly doubt they would be bringing 8+ pounders to the scales with any consistency,if at all.

Maybe there should be a California Tournament Trail where you have a 2 fish limit and no fish under 25 inches can be brought in and no live bait allowed.That way every competitor is forced to fish for the big one from start to finish and a true BIG BASS champ could be crowned.  

[Mattlures]

5bass that would be cool. I agree that if the best trophy hunters out here went to the east the wouldnt be dominating the tournaments but give them enough time and I believe they would break a lot of lake records. They used to have the world record bass club. they would pay out $25,000 to who ever caught the biggest bass in the world for each year. Long won it 3 of the 5 years and had it continued would have won it another 3 times.

Rolo. Crupie and Murphy used live bait Mike Long and Bill Semental use artificials. Mike mostly uses swimbaits but not always. last year he caught a 15 of a senko and a 17 off a jig. So far his biggest fish in 2006 is a 16.5lber he caught a couple weeks ago.

The guy is just a freak.

Tournament fishing and Trophy hunting are just so diferent. Its like fishing for two diferent species. Very few guys have been succesful at combining the two. I beilieve the biggest diference is the time limit.

[Bass Hammer]

Reading this thread I'm thinking about the bassmaster university I just attended.

Gary Klein spent the first hour talking about how Bill Semental and himself have been spending lots of time fishing together.

Klein said "I won't say he's tutoring me but, he is showing me a whole new way to make decisions.

He talked how influential Bill has been yet he never said that he was teaching him to catch big bass.

He said he was teaching him how to be more efficient and catch more bass.

[BassChaser57]

I think it is the guy that can go to new water, figure it out and put pounds in the boat. It has been said that 10% of the anglers catch 90% of the bass. I just want to be in the 10%.

[thegreatestfisher]

it doesnt matter where we go i will out fish anyone

no i am just kidding i just fish for fun but when i get hot i could hang with the best of them

watch out KVD i am coming for you

[Guest avid]

this is a great thread.  I think that the level of dedication and knowledge is similar for both the trophy angler and the tournament pro.  Each needs a knowledge of bass behavior and a degree a mental toughness that most people do not possess.  That is what makes them similar.  The goal is what makes them different.  One group wants the biggest bass in the lake.  The other wants whatever it takes to win on that day.  

As far as a tournament being able to be won by "luck" yes this is true.  Look at the list of classic winners.  There are a couple of guys who never won another major tournament.  but let's not forget that the biggest bass ever caught was gotten buy a guy fishing for dinner.  Luck plays a part in everything.

[ranger50]

I'm gonna go with vyron's chick.  That's a big fish!