Is Bass Fishing Overrated!?!

I have no problem with the fish itself but the fishermen (especially yotubers and professional bass fishermen), they will hook the fish like its a shark and will scream everytime they catch one. I love bass especially white bass but why set the hook so hard your rod and line breaks? Its no good for the fish too. Ive seen fishermen set the hook so hard that they reel in the lips of the fish and it just sucks and makes me hate them more…

Yeah I don’t really like the way they taste

Respect to all fresh water fisherman, I cant catch sht when i go xd

So I see a lot of people ragging on bass fishing for many reasonable (and unreasonable) arguments, so as a primarily bass fisherman myself, I feel it's my responsibility to I guess be the bass fishing apologist. Just know that there is quite a bit I have to say, so this comment will be pretty wordy.

First I must preface that while yes I am a bass fisherman, that's just cause it's what I primarily fish for. But given the opportunity, I will fish for ANYTHING. I am mainly a trophy bass fisherman who likes to throw big 6 – 7 plus inch glidebaits for big bass. But that isn't all that I do. I enjoy catching sunfish on a fly rod with foam hoppers I tied myself. I also enjoy occasionally fishing the coast for speckled trout and redfish whenever our family happens to be there. But at the end of the day for me and many of my friends, bass are just the best option that we have here in Texas (will be addressed later).

I will try my best to address some of the arguments I've been seeing and share my take on them. You are fully free to disagree with me all you want, but I humbly ask that we be civil about this and refrain from just resorting to the NUH UH/YAH HUH arguing.

If you want bigger, harder fighting fish, just fish for pike/musky up north, or for catfish – Yes, most of us are aware that those fish exist, but for a large chunk of the country, we simply cannot afford to just fly up to the Great Lakes to fish for muskie on the weekend. Trust me, sitting atop of my fishing bucketlist is to fish for pike & muskie up north, followed closely with fly fishing for tarpon out in the Florida Keys, both of those are my absolute dream fishing outings. I'd love to do it, but I simply cannot afford to at this time. Hell, we can't always afford to drive an 1 – 2 hours plus to the nearest lake and fish from a 10k plus bass boat. For most of us, the local neighborhood ponds suffice. As for catfish, well I honestly don't like em cause they don't usually bite lures the same way bass do. Would I get excited if a 9+ pound flathead ate my bait? Hell yeah I would, but that’s not the most efficient way to catch them. Plus, I don't enjoy tossing out a stinky piece of shad and sitting around for a catfish to run off with it. Simply put, bass are what’s available to us, so that is what we’ll fish for.

If you want numbers, fish for perch or bluegill – If the fishing were THAT easy, it would kinda take the enjoyment out of it. Why do you think muskie, the fish famously known as "the fish of 10,000 casts" is so coveted and sought after? The pursuit makes the catch all the more enjoyable. Bass, in my opinion, are just the right amount of balance between common enough to be found throughout most of our waterways, but just challenging enough to not just eat anything as some people might argue. Some days we’ll be out catching limits of fish at a time, other times, we’re more than happy to just catch one. As mentioned above, I am not just a bass fisherman, but specifically I am a big bait angler. I could easily go out with a zoom worm or a drop shot and catch tons of bass of varying sizes, but that’s not what I’m out there for. When I go fishing, I am attempting to catch the biggest bass in any body of water that I am on. Whether it be a 4 pounder, or a rare double digit sized fish, I only want to catch big bass.

Bass fishermen only care about bass – While I’m sure you may have come across the occasional wack dude who may be like that, in the case of me and all my friends and family that fish for bass, that is simply not true. We love the sport of fishing, regardless of what that species is. As mentioned in the first paragraph, not all of us can afford trips to Florida to fish for tarpon, or the Great Lakes for muskie and pike. I absolutely want to, it’s my dream to fish there. But while I work towards that dream, I will spend my free time fishing for bass in my local waterways, in the same way some of you can easily fish for what’s available in your region.

I’ve mentioned before that I tie my own flies to fish for panfish and the occasional juvenile bass. There was a time when I was fishing at a pond for bass, when I noticed there were some pretty big grass carp feeding up along the bank. I grabbed all my stuff, drove back home and immediately grabbed my fly rods as not all the ponds around here hold carp in them. I know how notoriously difficult carp are to fight, and being that they are already uncommon in my area, I was more than willing to jump on the opportunity. So no, most of us do not “only care about bass”. We love to fish, and bass happen to be the best option for us.

Bass are boring – I simply have to disagree, I think bass and their behavior are very fascinating, hence why I fish for them. To paraphrase British carp youtubers Alex & Carl on their experiences bass fishing in the US for the first time, _the way a bass attacks a lure is unlike anything we have here_. Bass can be notoriously aggressive depending on the season and conditions of a given day. I’ve seen bass dolphin leap clear out of the water attacking schools of bait. I have had bass pull a completely cinched down drag and shift reels around in their rod seat. And I have seen wolf packs of two to three bass fight each other just to chase down my bait as it is being retrieved back. It is also very common to have bass bend out hooks given the opportunity. Bass are not as simple and wimpy as people make them out to be.

You fish with glide baits? I can catch more with my $2 crankbait! – I’m sure you can, but as mentioned, that is not what I am trying to do. I have caught 5 – 6 pound bass on ned rigs and senko worms, but I had to sift through many juvenile 10 inches before I caught them. When I started throwing big baits, the rate at which I was catching bigger class fish rose dramatically. It’s not to say the occasional 2 to 3 pounder has also tried to eat my bait before, I’m more than happy to catch that one too. Think of it this way, why do people go bow hunting when they know a rifle can out range them by hundreds of yards? They do it because it presents a unique challenge, and the reward becomes all the more satisfying. Big swimbaits/big baits are not easy to fish, you are NOT fishing for numbers. Big bait fishermen know that they are fishing for maybe one or two fish, but they know that whatever’s going to bite it is likely going to be huge, and it makes it all the more enjoyable.

Bass fishermen hate people who eat bass – While I'm sure this might be true to some people, personally for me I just find that if you are going to fish for bass just to eat, at that point you could just fish for crappie or catfish that happen to live in the same waters and taste much much better. Trust me, as a Vietnamese person who is also from New Orleans, we know how to cook our fish.
I also personally agree that many bass fisheries would very much benefit from some small – mid sized bass being culled to prevent overpopulation and allow established populations to grow to much better quality size.

Love the vid instaclick

Bass fishing is definitely overrated but I do enjoy catching them at times. My state has an issue with the Alabama Spotted Bass. They’re doing major damage to our native black bass species. Depending on where you fish you’d be lucky to find a purebred Shoal/Redeye Bass or catch a Largemouth

Maybe because bass don’t exist where I live, I do feel bass fishing is massively overrated. Why are bass fishing lures even sold here in Saskatchewan? We have Pike, Walleye, Yellow Perch, Burbot and in the far north, Musky!
(And it also irks me where everyone talked about tying lures on, all I hear is “bass have no teeth”)
Just about every gas station that sells fishing lures, you will see Steel cable leaders with barrel swivels and CLIPS. Just clip on, clip off. Super easy.

The worst part is the guys who have absolutely no respect for other species. Pike and catfish are my two favorite fish to target but I definitely don't get upset when I catch something else. Any day of catching fish is a good day

Smallies are enjoyable…an occasional largemouth is okay too.
I believe they are grossly over-rated (l/m specifically)….and the die-hard bass guys are more obnoxious than vegans.
All the hootin-n-hollerin, "let's go's" and "bro's" and their ego's…well, like ya said… douche bags !!!

Great video. My only caveat for underrated bass are the many other species of black bass like Shoal, Bartram, Guadalupe and Suwanne bass. Which are declining because largemouth bass and spotted bass are being transported in rivers with the unique species.

In my opinion bass fisherman think they’re way is the only way and spread hate towards other types of fishing

Great video man!!! My gf and i watched it together on a whim when it came up on my recommended. You got some very solid giggles out of us as well as making a fantastic point on the subject, i could not agree with you more. Bass elitists are 2 brain-celled dick heads. But keep it up man!!!! This stuff rules so hard

the sheer amount of soft plastic lures lost littering waterways from bass fishermen alone is staggering some go thru multiple packs in one trip. its plastic its literally littering how its not banned is beyond me its irresponsible and dangerous, convert that same amount of plastic to water bottles and they're tossing multiple of them in the lake every time its food shaped and scented so it clogs fish stomachs. Like just suck it up and use live, dead, or tie flies its not a hard choice to not.

I live within the native range of largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted.
Nonetheless, if you target these species you will catch crappie and catfish inevitably on my home lake. Other places nearby will result in the occasional muskellunge.
I would much rather catch even yellow perch than nothing, whereas I really do tire of the undersize crappie.
I can understand trying to get bass only.
Personally, I like catching anything that puts up a good fight, and also catching less prevalent fish species. So I don't specialize for bass.
And I have distaste for tournament anglers and those who emulate them. For a variety of reasons.

YES! Bass fishing is extremely overrated and I hate it on how die hard bass anglers hate on other species. Smallies are on of my favorite fish though because of there fights and Beutiful colors!

From salt water fishing to fresh water..I have watched it grow
The Moment you make a GAME out of it
MAKE IT SOMETHING TO GAMBLE ON …..
its ruined….

Am I elitist for thinking your evil if you eat a bass

A video on lake trout would be cool

I live in France, where bass fishing isn't as popular as it is in the US. Here, people, especially retired older men, love carp fishing.