Bass fishing is an activity that has gained popularity over the past decade. The purpose of the sport is to angle for the North American gamefish known as the black bass. There are a wide range of black bass species considered as gamefish in North America. These include Smallmouth bass, Spotted bass, Largemouth bass, and Guadalupe bass.
Bass fishing has ultimately evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry. The sport has changed considerably since it began in the late 19th century. The black bass is the second sought-after gamefish in the United States of America. This sport has been the driving force for the development of fishing gear such as drift boats, float tubes, rods, reels, and lines.
By the 20th century, bass fishing had been well established as a sport in and of itself. Artificial lures had begun with fly fishing tackle and the Artificial fly. However, the reel and baitcasting rod ultimately came to dominate the sport. During the 1950s and 1960s, the development of angling tools increased angler bass catches and helped to stimulate the development of bass fishing.
The sport has become increasingly popular over the past few years. The popularity of bass fishing combined with catch and release practices have actually caused an overpopulation of bass in some states. The best time to detect an overpopulated bass population is in the spring when at all the bass are at least one year old.
There are several major bass fishing competitions in the United States. The most dominant circuits are the Bassmasters and the FLW series. The Bassmasters is a tournament where professionals compete. It consists of 12 events and 50 participants. The top prize is $500,000. The FLW Tour is a tournament that was named after Forrest L. Wood. The top prize of this tournament is $1 million. There are also a variety of high school and collegiate tournaments for competitive bass fishing.
