By
Roger Lee Brown (The Bass Coach)
Everyday
it seems that more and more of the general public
(men, women, boys, and girls) are starting to take
notice that there may be just a bit more to bass
fishing that meets the eye than just the Sunday
morning bass fishing shows they see on TV. Why is
this so? They see bass fishing in regular TV
commercials (I’m sure that you have seen the
commercial where 3 men are in a boat, fishing with
artificial lures, and one of them throws his lure
around a tree branch, and the spokesman says;
"even the fish are comfortable"). This
advertisement is about clothing! "Jeans."
Or, how about the grocery stores...... Yes, even in
food stores you will find a picture of a famous Bass
Pro on a box of Wheaties. Or, turn on a sports
outdoors network anytime during the week and you
will find many TV fishing shows geared towards bass
fishing. Almost any swamp, lake, river, pond, or
sloughs if accessible by boats, you will find bass
anglers.... Or, how about all the trailered bass
boats constantly going up and down our
highways......It’s just about everywhere we look!
Bass
fishing at the present is considered to be
America’s #1 freshwater sport, in fact the bass
fishing industry is grown to be 70% higher than any
other types of fresh water fishing.
Try this
for example, if you go to most of the Internet
search engines and type in the words "bass
fishing," 90 % of the search engines will list
many different types bass fishing related sites
(bass clubs, charters & guides, tournaments,
artificial baits, bass boat dealerships, bass
related equipment, and on and on.) In the past 25
years bass fishing has grown from a million dollar
industry to a estimated 4.8 "Billion"
dollar industry in today’s world and still growing
each and every day.
So
what’s so great about it?...... Well, let’s
start by saying that this is one outdoor sport that
just about anyone who dedicates and disciplines
themselves can equally compete on a pro level. Not
like other types of professional sports such as;
football, soccer, basketball, tennis, etc. where you
have to be a top athlete and prove extraordinary
abilities to become a successful pro. With bass
fishing it’s quite different..... Yes, the more
time you spend on the water, the more you practice,
and the more you learn of the "How-To’s"
of bass angling you can’t help but to be more
successful at catching bass, especially if you have
a "Coach" or someone as a mentor to teach
you patterns, conditions, presentations, techniques,
colors, proper equipment, etc. There is a lot to
learn when it comes to competitive bass fishing, but
if one wants to be serious about it he or she can
compete on a pro level. I have taught several
anglers in the past that just couldn’t seem to
excel when it came to fishing bass tournaments until
I was able to teach them several of the "How-To’s"
used by many of the Pro’s and now these same
anglers are constant money winners and much more
successful and consistent at catching bass.
The bass
fishing industry also offers to many a wide variety
of careers. as; Guiding (charters), Sales (the
retail industry connected with bass fishing is a
giant in itself), Tournament Competition, Lecturing,
Advertising, Promotional Opportunities, and on and
on!.....
I feel
that one of the best traits of bass fishing is, is
that it offers closer relationships and bonding with
loved ones..... I’ve noticed that when husband and
wife couples enroll in my bass fishing school, of
the time spent together on the water along with the
excitement of catching bass together and the laughs
and enjoyment they share, it seems that they all
conclude with the same statement of saying that they
should have done this years ago! I have experienced
all this and much more with father & sons,
mother and daughters, father and daughters, mother
& sons, boyfriends & girlfriends, brothers
& brothers, sisters and sisters. It is truly an
outdoor sport that literally just about anybody
would enjoy. I especially enjoy the time spent on
the water with my wife when we have a chance to get
out on the water for a few hours of bass fishing,
and guess what, women actually make better anglers
than men! (Sorry guys, and please don’t take this
wrong.).......But, this is probably because of the
level of their patients. I don’t know this for
sure but I have noticed that a female can work a
plastic worm or different presentations with certain
baits with the patients needed to catch bass, where
sometimes the men have the tendency to over work a
bait. Try it and see for yourselves!
More and
more females each season are starting to book into
my school to learn how to fish just to be able to
show their husbands or boyfriends that they can do
it to. Well, why not? It’s a sport that’s been
enjoyed for many many years by mostly the guys, and
now that the women are getting a taste of it, they
love it just as much as the guys do.
Kid’s
even seem to go "nuts" over this sport
even probably more so than we do! I know this
because of the clients that bring their children
when they book a fishing trip or enroll in my
school, (and just seeing their expressions on their
faces when they catch a bass seems to be worth it
all!) Along with the many Emails and letters I
receive from boys and girls from all over the
nation, the kids are wanting to know more and more
about how to fish for bass, where can they go to
learn, or who might be able teach them. The age of
most of these boys and girls that write me range
anywhere from 12 years to 18 years old, as well as
many college students.
The
slogan that I’m sure we have all seen that says
"Get Kids Hooked On Fishing Instead Of
Drugs" makes a lot of sense to me. What better
way
to get
closer to your children than by spending quality
time together outdoors having fun? But that’s only
part! It also allows them to focus on something more
than parties and getting into trouble......
If you
need any questions answered, wish to
"Learn" how to bass fish, or would like to
charter a bass fishing trip to see what it’s all
about, please feel free to visit my website(s) at:
www.capital.net/~rlbrown or
www.fishing-boating.com/basscoach
or Email me at: rlbrown@capital.net , or even call
me at (518) 597-4240 and I’ll be glad to help you
in any way I can.
So
"Why Bass Fishing?".......Well, all I can
say is "Try it and see for yourself."
Until
next time! Take Care & God Bless!
"The
Bass Coach".....Roger Lee Brown