AIA – Why do we chase Bass?

A couple weeks ago I cast into a shoreline pocket and felt that subtle but familiar “tic-tic”. I quickly set the hook and tied into a decent bass. The stocky fish raced and jumped and did all it could to escape. Seconds later, I lipped the healthy bass below the boat gunwale, admired its beauty and inner moxie then set it free. It was a good one, not big enough to weigh, but enough to hatch a homespun smile. I returned to the front deck, looked across the mirrored lake and paused my fishing for deep thought. What is it about bass that evokes such passion? I have been fishing long enough to know that bass are not the strongest, fastest, fiercest, largest or most quick-witted of gamefish. Yet, by far they remain the most popular sports target in the world. In America alone, more than 15 million anglers chase them, and their popularity worldwide is on the rise. I looked to my past for an answer . . . During the 1960’s my grandfather ran the Metropolitan Miami Fishing Tournament, then the largest fishing tourney in the world. He regularly caught some of the world’s greatest offshore gamefish - Marlin, Sails, Cobia, Kingfish and Tuna - and wandered the inshore waters of the Keyes for Tarpon, Permit and Bonefish. But for several months every year he returned to his secluded lakeside Ohio home along Clendening Lake to chase Largemouth Bass. My brother and I tagged along with my father, uncle and grandfather on some of the great Florida deep-sea adventures and reunited annually to fish in Ohio. Perhaps, if I could have shadowed grandad on the salty seas more regularly my outlook would be different, but, like grandpa, exposure to many styles of fishing never dampened my love for bass. I challenged the notion on many occasions and allowed fishing wanderlust to take me many places, from Caribbean flats, Canadian shield lakes to the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains and onto the open sea in search of bigger, better gamefish. My travails were immensely rewarding, but always, bass were on my mind. They remained my bread and butter fish and I never had to travel far to find them. My home waters teemed with bass. The rivers, ponds, small dams and big lakes on my doorstep afforded great opportunity. Best of all, friends and family were nearby to share the experience. The expansive distribution and simple accessibility of bass marks their popularity from coast to coast in America and here in southern Africa, too. Of course, the sporty freshwater fish appeals to anglers of all stripes. The investment in the pursuit can be as modest or as expansive as you wish, but demands a simple down payment in time. Bass can be caught from the bank, wading, from a canoe on a tube or off an expensive, high-end dedicated bass boat. Success can be found with live bait, soft plastics, a fly or a pricey hand-crafted lure. Anyone can join the party. Best of all, bass are not overly difficult to catch - unless it is tournament day and the angler has something to prove. The mindset of a bass angler is not IF he will catch a bass, but how many and of course, how big. The anticipation of catching a bigger one than the last enslaves us all. Big bass are not easy to catch, but always attainable. The more you fish the luckier you get! Consider this, many of my distant forays for illustrious gamefish resulted in a goose egg. Those who have spent days at sea trolling futilely for Marlin, wading empty flats for Permit or fly-casting hour upon hour at unwilling Trout will understand. I know in my heart that a bass will never pull like a Yellowfin, tailwalk like a Tarpon or match wits with a spring creek Trout, but therein lies their glory. Bass possess in moderation the qualities of all great gamefish: predatory, savage, strong and cunning, but most of all, they are feisty, accessible and attainable. That’s enough for me.