Fishing holds a special place is our heart and has been America’s favourite pastime for the
last few decades (one might think it is baseball but I beg to differ ;). Even youths nowadays
are participating in fishing activities be it with families or competitively. I have found out
about the statistics regarding them and I was pleasantly shocked. So according to statistics,
the number of youth participants in fishing in the US recorded a whopping of a 10.69 million
in the year 2014! It’s a bit far behind but I am pretty amazed.
Us Americans are blessed with tons of lakes and rivers. It is no wonder why fishing is
becoming increasingly popular. What I’d like to talk about is bass fishing because what
would Americans be without bass fishing? Everybody knows bass is abundant in the US.
Americans just love bass fishing because this species is known to be a highly curious and
extremely aggressive species which causes them to be an ideal fish to be caught on your
hook. The bass can be found literally anywhere and everywhere in America due to its
adaptability even in extremely harsh water and weather conditions which makes it a hardy
fish.
Since this fish is naturally curious and aggressive in nature, different lures can be used to
catch them as it triggers their instinctive primal instincts such as their territorial behaviour,
anger, hunger and etcetera. There are differences in the largemouth and smallmouth bass in
terms of the way they put up their fight. I prefer the smallies because they are quick,
extremely aggressive and agile, and competitive as hell despite being on the smaller than the
largemouth. Did you know that competitive sport fishing is actually considered as an official
event is some high schools? In this case, Illinois was the first state to officially recognise
sport fishing as sport for students to participate in the year 2009.
My experience is not as broad as the bass fishing experts here in the US but I have been
fishing in a couple of states here and there. I have got to say Michigan, Florida and Texas are
my top choices of all.
Michigan
Michigan State is surrounded by Great Lakes and is ruled by smallmouth bass which makes it
an angling heaven for bass fishing enthusiasts (like me). Michigan and Ontario shares Lake
St. Clair which is always in the BASS Top lists literally almost every year. I have caught
plenty of 3 and 4 pounds bass here.
Northern Michigan is notorious for its smallies and literally in every lake you find there’s
bound to be tons of smallies that fight hard and play for you to fish. Water clarity here isn’t a
joke at all compared to the southern areas of Michigan where the water can turn dingy and
cloudy. The best time I went fishing there was around July last year where I used surface
lures to hook ‘em up. The visual was insane! I got to see amazing sights of the fish swimming
up to the surface to bite the bait I have thrown in. the splash the smallies created was
beautiful. I’d definitely recommend any of you out of the US to visit there some day! You
can check out Michigan’s DNR Official website on their lakes
(http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/)
Texas
Texas is all about being bigger and better and I can’t deny that it does have a bit of an
advantage over other states due to its size. If I want to catch a 9 or 10 pound bass, I’d
definitely go for Texas. First off, Amistad is a reservoir that is worth your effort, even though
it’s really far from living areas, to fish which is close to Del Rio especially during the
summer and spring.
Top-water anglers enjoy going here to fish because its river, the Rio Grande River is a really
fertile river that provides an abundance source of food for the bass and aquatic organisms
living there. To top it off, its waters are usually always clear with super deep canyons that
provide excellent covers for the bass. You can practically fish for the entire day!
I enjoy shallow fishing a lot and my favourite experience would be at Caddo Lake. The
tranquil and peaceful environment makes it perfect for an all year-round shallow fishing. I
love challenging myself by using super light lures calling them “the world’s tiniest
spinnerbaits” because you can just lure them through the openings of vegetation on the edges
of the cypress trees. Here is the link of general regulations to fish in Texas if you are ever
interested. (http://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/fishing/general- rules-
regulations/general-fishing- regulations)
Florida
Florida is one of the most solid states I have fished. If you are aiming for both quantity and
quality then you can never go wrong with Florida. I have observed that most lakes here are
deep with thons of grass and the best time to fish here is during summer when it’s super hot
and literally no one will be out fishing which makes it a perfect time to fish. Lakes in Florida
have landed a couple of times in Bassmaster’s Top 100 lists as well. Don’t forget to wear
your polarized sunglasses or else you will have a hard time looking at the line under water.
You can never overlook Lake Okeechobee when it comes to Florida as it is the second largest
freshwater body in America and is Florida’s biggest lake. This lake is labelled as the black
bass capital on this planet. Majority of the anglers here practice the catch and release method
but you can keep up to five bass fishes per day. According to Florida’s Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission (http://myfwc.com/), there is no minimum size and the bass can
only be either 16 inches or longer in total length per angler. I have used a Zara Spook lure
before and the experience was awesome.
Lake Toho located near the city of Kissimmee at the Central of Florida is on the top of my
lists to fish for large ones. I usually have successes aiming for large bass here using live baits
during early spring or late winter especially inshore close to vegetative areas. Spinnerbaits or
imitations are really productive when pitched along grass or hydrilla edges.
Conclusion
Bass fishing might become America’s official sport one day. Bass fishing gives a thrilling
experience no matter what kind of technique or lures you use. I’m still light years behind if I
want to become like those pro-anglers out there and I will always strive to achieve the best. If
you’ve never went bass fishing before then come to the US! We will greet you with open
arms.
Author Bio: John Lewis, an avid outdoorsman with a passion in fishing and various outdoor
activities. He blogs about his tips and techniques over at http://www.epicwilderness.com/. By
the way, you can check out my buying guide for polarized fishing sunglasses as well.
Hi Hamish, thanks for the feature 😀