Bass Fishing

Bass fishing in and around Nashville is popular with many fishing enthusiasts. It is enjoyed in the areas’ lakes, creeks, rivers and other waterways such as Center Hill Lake, JPercy Priest Lake, Bledsoe Creek and the Tennessee River.

Bass fishing is the sport of angling for the gamefish known colloquially as the black bass. There are numerous black bass species considered as gamefish throughout North America, including largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui), spotted bass or Kentucky bass (Micropterus punctatus), Guadalupe bass (Micropterus treculii), and many other species and subspecies of the genus Micropterus. Though referred to as bass, all are actually members of the sunfish family (Centrarchidae: order Perciformes). This does not include the white bass, also found in Tennessee, which is not of the sunfish family.

Modern bass fishing has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry. The sport has changed drastically since its beginnings in the late 1800s. From humble beginnings, the black bass has become one of the most specifically sought-after game fish in the United States. The sport has driven the development of all manner of fishing gear, including rods, reels, lines, lures, electronic depth and fish-finding instruments, drift boats, float tubes, and specialized bass boats all of which can be found in Middle Tennessee.

The Sport

Black bass are known as strong fighters when hooked. Depending upon species and various other factors such as water quality and availability of food, black bass may be found in lakes, reservoirs, ponds, rivers, streams, creeks, even roadside ditches. Largemouth are known for their overall size and resistance when hooked, favoring short, powerful runs and escape to cover. Smallmouth bass tend to jump more and fight aggressively on the surface when hooked, in order to throw the hook. Bass are usually fileted when taken for the table, and the flesh is white and firm, with a delicate taste when cooked. However, more and more bass anglers are adopting "catch and release" angling, where the bass are returned to the water after being hooked and retrieved.

History

Bass fishing has been ongoing in North America for along as people can remember. By the early 1900s, bass fishing became popular across the U.S., including Tennessee, as a sport with its own following. Although fixed-spool reels were in use in the U.S. as early as the 1870s though poles were most often used. Spinnning reels and rods did not gain wide acceptance as an angling tool until the middle of the 20th century. Since that time, most bass anglers have used bait casting or spinning tackle, using either artificial lures or live bait.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the development of specific angling tools for bass significantly increased angler success and helped stimulate the development of the sport. Some of these inventions include the invention of monofilament nylon fishing lines, the fiberglass (later graphite composite) fishing rod, the electric trolling motor, the fish finder/depth locator, and new artificial lures and baits made of various plastics. Recently, advanced electronics that mimic the sounds of schooling bait fish have been introduced, and a controversy has arisen over the proper use of these devices in bass tournament fishing.

Since the early 1990s, fly fishing for bass, particularly smallmouth bass, has again become popular, using fly patterns, rods, and fly lines for bass.

Fishermen, conservation groups, and governmental wildlife departments have introduced black bass of various species across the world for the sport of fishing.

Bass fishing as a sport was helped along by the chase for the standing world record which has held for over 75 years. It is widely accepted that in 1932 a 22 pound 4 ounce bass was caught by George Perry in Montgomery Lake, Georgia. It is one of the longest standing records in the sport of fishing.

Population Control

The increasingly popularity of the sport combined with "catch and release" practices has led to an over population of bass in many areas.

An overpopulated, stunted bass population can best be detected in the spring when all the bass are at least one year old. If virtually all the bass are 4 inches long or smaller, the population is probably stunted. Some indicators that a bass population is overpopulated:

(a) The largemouth bass caught are all less than 1 pound and are "skinny". (b) The bluegills are 1/2 pound and larger (too large for the bass to eat). An overpopulation an/or stunting of bass may be caused by several factors including: (a) Not enough bass being harvested. (b) Too few bluegill or redear sunfish were stocked initially or they are failing to reproduce and the bass population does not have an adequate food supply.

Against letting nature sort it out (which it will) it is posited that the easiest way to control an overpopulation of largemouth bass is by increasing the take of bass. This is clearly an effective method of thinning the bass population while providing recreation at the same time - which is more important to American Bass anglers. It may take two to three years to bring the population back into balance. If forage fish are scarce, stock adult bluegill or redear sunfish (7 to 8 inches long). These fish will be too large to be eaten by the bass. The large panfish will spawn in the spring and produce a supply of forage.

Additional Species and Types

Black bass should not be confused with a multitude of unrelated fish species found around the world and called "bass", such as the butterfly Peacock Bass (Cichla ocellaris), speckled Peacock bass (Cichla temensis), Papuan Black Bass (Lutjanus goldiei) (also called Niugini bass), Australian bass, Rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris), American Striped Bass, and British sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax).

Competitions

In modern bass fishing competitions, caught bass are placed in a live well, and released as soon as caught and weighed by officials. Competitors are penalized heavily for dead fish and in some cases dead fish are not weighed. Fish turned in for weighing are immediately released or placed in tanks and treated for stress and glyco-protein (slime coat) injury, then released back into the water.

Nashville & Middle Tennessee (TN) Information : BassFishing

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