A Bass Fishing Overview

Bass fishing has a fascinating history. It began in the late 19th century and continues to grow in popularity to this day. The late 1800's represents the birth of bass fishing. It wasn't long before the development of the bait caster. Many years later in the mid 1930's the first nylon monofilament line was patented.

Bass fishing's further popularity in North America developed in southern United States. Anglers sought after this fish originally for food. Later fishing for bass became a large sporting industry. In 1950's it became the second most sought after game in the states.

Bass fishing has made a dramatic change in the fishing industry. The quest was on to create improved fishing gear, from rods and reels to lines and lures. Not to mention the evolution of electronic boats and modern bass boats. This sport brings a lots of money to the most states.

Most of the participants in this fishing sport in modern times do not treat bass fishing as a need to obtain food; they treat this as a serious sport. As this sport has developed through the years and Americans have learned about conservation of their natural resources, anglers now mostly catch bass then release them in water afterwards.

This is called "catch and release." In modern day tournaments, which may carry hefty winnings to the angler who can land the largest bass, there is a huge penalty for dead fish. Dead fish are not allowed to be counted as part of the angler's score. In most tournaments, the caught fish are immediately taken for weigh in and released. If the fish are stressed, they are placed in a tank for treatment then released. Most tournaments follow guidelines set forth by BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society).

As part of global conservation efforts, largemouth bass were introduced across the world by many governments. Japan and South Africa are just two of the countries who have active bass fish stocking programs. In fact, Japan, South Africa and Australia are host to some of the largest fishing tournaments next to the United States.

In recent years the contribution of bass fishing industry to the United States economy ranges in the area of 50-70 billion dollars and that number continues to grow. Statistics show that the audience base of this sport is increasing. The modern trend suggests that bass fishing gains more new enthusiasts than that of tennis and golf.