I thought this could be a neat topic for people to explain why they love to chase a certain species of fish. I know the nearly unanimous majority of people here will probably say walleyes but I know we have a few musky guys and catfish guys here too. I was thinking that maybe if you can explain why you love chasing that species, it might open some eyes of other guys who might have never given that species any thought.
As I'm sure a number of you know, I'm a bass guy. While I like to catch other fish, I'd rather go chase bass 99/100 times. Since I've moved to walleye country, I was always surprised with how little love (and a lot of hate, in some cases) that bass would get. No matter where I go, even though I'm fishing in a bass boat that is rigged out with equipment that makes it look nothing like a walleye rig, and while fishing in a manner that no other walleye angler is doing, every person I meet on the water is always assuming that I'm walleye fishing. When I tell them that I'm actually bass fishing, I'm either met with utter surprise that there are even bass in that lake, or the astonishment that anyone would want to catch one of those pesky fish. Either way, it always kind of surprised me.
On to why I love bass fishing. I have been chasing bass for nearly all of my 31 years, with the last 4 of those being in ND. The fishing (for all species but bass especially) is nothing short of magical in this state. With bass, I love all of the techniques that I can use to target them and how different each species of bass is on each body of water. I love that I can be drop shotting smallies in 30 feet of water today on Sak, catching them on a topwater on Audubon tomorrow, and then catching largemouth on a frog over a carpet of matted vegetation on Sheep Creek the next day. These are the things that I live for!
On the flip side of that, even though I like to catch walleyes and muskies, I never could find a passion for them. First off, I just can't seem to sit still long enough to troll. I just don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything when I'm trolling. And then there's the fact of how little of a fight a walleye puts up in comparison to other species. I thought I just needed a fish that fights hard so I thought I'd give musky fishing a try. While I have some serious respect for a guy that can dedicate his or her life to chasing one of those toothy critters, its just not for me. Maybe it was just too much work for such little action? I don't know. I do know that I've never felt so sore after one day of fishing.
So let's hear it! Why is your fish your passion?
As I'm sure a number of you know, I'm a bass guy. While I like to catch other fish, I'd rather go chase bass 99/100 times. Since I've moved to walleye country, I was always surprised with how little love (and a lot of hate, in some cases) that bass would get. No matter where I go, even though I'm fishing in a bass boat that is rigged out with equipment that makes it look nothing like a walleye rig, and while fishing in a manner that no other walleye angler is doing, every person I meet on the water is always assuming that I'm walleye fishing. When I tell them that I'm actually bass fishing, I'm either met with utter surprise that there are even bass in that lake, or the astonishment that anyone would want to catch one of those pesky fish. Either way, it always kind of surprised me.
On to why I love bass fishing. I have been chasing bass for nearly all of my 31 years, with the last 4 of those being in ND. The fishing (for all species but bass especially) is nothing short of magical in this state. With bass, I love all of the techniques that I can use to target them and how different each species of bass is on each body of water. I love that I can be drop shotting smallies in 30 feet of water today on Sak, catching them on a topwater on Audubon tomorrow, and then catching largemouth on a frog over a carpet of matted vegetation on Sheep Creek the next day. These are the things that I live for!
On the flip side of that, even though I like to catch walleyes and muskies, I never could find a passion for them. First off, I just can't seem to sit still long enough to troll. I just don't feel like I'm accomplishing anything when I'm trolling. And then there's the fact of how little of a fight a walleye puts up in comparison to other species. I thought I just needed a fish that fights hard so I thought I'd give musky fishing a try. While I have some serious respect for a guy that can dedicate his or her life to chasing one of those toothy critters, its just not for me. Maybe it was just too much work for such little action? I don't know. I do know that I've never felt so sore after one day of fishing.
So let's hear it! Why is your fish your passion?