The general perception of fishing is that it’s a relaxed sport, one where you’ll spend the majority of your time lounging around with a good book waiting for fish to bite, or popping beers with buddies and watching the sun set over your local body of water. Ultimately, however, fishing is what you make of it, and it doesn’t have to be lazy or require you to spend hours waiting for a random fish to bite or to learn how to fish for bass. If you’re interested in making your fishing experience into a challenge, into a no-holds-barred competition between yourself and your prey where both of you will do your absolute worst, you may want to consider taking up Bass fishing.
Bass fishing is an increasingly popular subset of the relaxing sport, being incredibly easy to pick up for beginners and a prime target for experienced anglers looking for a good time. If you’re looking for a good COVID-safe hobby, to get outside more often, or just to give yourself a break from the rigors of remote work, bass fishing can be a fun, accessible way to escape from the grey jungle for a while and enjoy time being active in nature.
It’s been a stressful time, and we could all stand to adopt a hobby that we can continue to practice should COVID variants force us into lockdown again; Bass fishing is the perfect balance of relaxation and stimulation: a COVID-safe outdoor sport that alleviates anxiety and allows you to experience the magic of the natural world. The main thing you want to make sure of is to find the perfect place to fish.
Are you interested in hearing more? Read on for a crash course on this increasingly popular outdoor hobby.
Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It: Hunt and Reel in Bass
First, let’s talk about your target: bass fish. Bass fish come in two varieties, largemouth and smallmouth. Smallmouth is a bit of a misnomer, however, as smallmouth bass can run anywhere from 12 to 16 inches in length, whereas their “larger-mouthed” cousins run from 15 to 16 inches long. Smallmouth bass are generally unlikely to grow larger than 16 inches, though, largemouth bass can grow to as large as 40 inches long, making them a more than viable target for those looking to catch the biggest fish.
Bass are also widely available, populating both natural and human-curated habitats across 48 states and being a species that gets frequently restocked. For those of us who are more eco-conscious, your impact on the environment from fishing for bass will be significantly more negligible than hunting for other popular varieties of fish.
However, bass are commonly hunted because of their telltale aggression: bass will bite at just about anything that appears smaller than them and vulnerable, making most of the handmade lures in your tackle box more than adequate for reeling them in. They also put up a huge fight when hooked, which tends to make the actual act of fishing itself more entertaining for would-be anglers. In conjunction with each other, these two attributes make bass one of the most commonly hunted fish in all of the Americas and one of the best fish to start a beginner off hunting.
An Accessible Sport: Your Starter Kit
The great thing about fishing for bass is that, with their widespread availability, it’s easy to find a state-approved fishing hole near you and get started right away. All you need is a fishing starter kit from tailoredtackle.com. Bass are known for biting at nearly anything if irritated enough, but they tend to pursue particular prey depending on the season, so having more than one lure is a must. With as little as those two things, you can get started immediately for an investment as little as under $100.
Trials and Triumph: The Bass Fishing Game
The thing that makes bass fishing such a popular sport is that anyone can pick it up at any time and start fishing. You don’t need to be a trophy-winning angler with thousands of dollars worth of fishing equipment to go out to the country and catch bass for a couple hours. If any of the above struck a chord with you, or you’re just looking for a way to get away for a while, give bass fishing a shot; You may find you’ve picked up a new healthy and fun hobby.