As bass fishermen, we’ve got it pretty good. Much better than my buddies who fish in the salt.
A case in point: I was just greeted by an “emergency email” needing my signature to support sending water to the Everglades, thus reducing harmful discharges to coastal estuaries. This fight has been going on forever, constantly plagued by backroom deals and dirty politics, resulting in the regular destruction of inshore fisheries and repeated closed seasons. Captains and guides, out of business. Marinas, empty.
Another petition to sign, just yesterday, supported stricter limits on recreational fishermen interested in keeping mahi mahi, one of Florida’s most popular gamefish. It seems stock assessments prove dwindling numbers, yet there will be no further regulation of the commercial fishing sector on these fish. It will be up to us, the weekend anglers, to do our part to save the dolphin.
Here’a another. I just read an article featuring a work cohort who was once the premier speckled trout guide in southeast Florida. It seems he traded in his skiff for a boat more able to go offshore and chase other fish. The trout, you see, are all gone from his area, thanks to massive seagrass die-offs, a result of waters polluted by an overload of nutrients. Nutrients coming from the kelly-green lawns of seaside residents and golf courses.
I’ve got a buddy who's a commercial diver and fisherman. He’s gone out less and less lately. Many of his favorite gamefish have all but disappeared, thanks to archaic limits and overharvest. What’s left requires wrestling from the sharks.
Think we’ve got it good? My point of this isn’t to depress you, or make you feel sorry for our saltwater brethren. It’s to bring awareness to what could have been if it wasn’t for some forward thinking.
What makes bass fishing different? Well, a couple things. First off, our fisheries are mostly contained and able to be managed versus, say, the ocean. But not all the time. Massive Lake Okeechobee has seen its share of problems, as have the Great Lakes. We’ve got exotic species to consider, from crawfish to mussels to carp. Aquatic plants are a big deal around the warmer climates. And we’re all subject to complicated issues like nutrient loading, sedimentation and changing waterways.
But bass fishing, in general, marches on. If anything, it’s better than ever in some places.
How can that be?
Three words: catch, release, tournament.
I lump these two primary bass fishing concepts together for one important reason. Without catch and release, we would have no resource. Period. You see, we catch most of the bass in the lake, folks. Often, multiple times.
And, without tournaments, we would have no catch and release. Sure, there’s exceptions to the rule. As a youngster, when I fished my little pond at home, I threw the fish back. Early on, it was instilled in me that fish are not an infinite resource (even in the ocean) and must either be replaced or released if we want to keep catching them.
But it was organized tournaments that brought that idea mainstream. Because, back in the day, when professional tournaments were just starting out, organizers were interested in expanding the competitions to every corner of the country. Meanwhile, Bill, Roland and the guys were bringing coolers full of nice bass to the weigh-in every day. Somewhere, someone got the big idea that, if that continued, eventually we’d run out of bass. And no one was going to sign up and pay for a tournament to fish for nothing.
The selling point, you see, was no longer the fish. It was the competition against other anglers.
Now imagine we had a commercial fishery for those same bass. Long-line netters. Maybe spear fishermen. Your daily limit, should you want to keep bass, is five fish. Theirs is 1,000 pounds, per boat.
Think we’ve got it good?
Another thing to be thankful for is the adaptability of bass and their affinity to fit in everywhere. Grass die-off, you say? Bass go to the trees. Someone pulled all the trees out? Bass go to the docks. Even in a lake void of cover, bass will often use shade lines to successfully hunt their prey. Adaptable is an understatement.
And bass will live in water low in oxygen, muddy or clear, with temperatures ranging from 30 to 100 degrees.
Farming practices and urbanization both occasionally create as many bass fisheries as they destroy. Bass love retention basins and stock ponds. And, in the event of a catastrophic event, most bass waters can be restocked and have a new fishery up and running in about three years. Bass eat everything, and grow quick.
Bass like to spawn on a firm bottom with ample sunlight. But, if it’s a mudhole they’re given, they’ll spawn on top of a log or a lily pad stalk. I’ve seen bass spawn on the lower units of docked boats, and the edges of floating islands in a swamp.
Bass are survivors. Give them half a chance, and they’ll make you proud.
But the one component to survival that bass will never overcome, if it’s not accounted for, is being kept by fishermen.
Now, more than ever, our waters are threatened due to human population growth and poor management practices. Please don’t confuse this column and discount the many issues facing bass fisheries around North America. We need to stay vigilant and united on a number of fronts.
But, more than anything, we can recognize how lucky we are to participate in a sport that promotes catch and release. Today, we have the technology and ability to wipe out most bass fisheries in a year, if not a weekend. Really. Saving us is the continued practice of a program put in place by visionaries long before their time.
Ray Scott and his buddies probably got laughed at when they pushed the original idea of freeing the fighter.
But who’s laughing now?
(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)
