ultralight with a Rooster Tail in a stream or a surfcaster on the Carolina coast ; you already know what to do with it .
An understanding of depth ranges – Bass live in water less than a foot deep to 60 feet , and versatile bass anglers are comfortable fishing for them anywhere in this range , with everything from topwaters to drop-shots .
Ability to pattern fish – Fish , no matter what kind , are patternable . Bass are the epitome of this fishing fundamental , which is why bass tournaments are such a comprehensive training ground . Tournaments put anglers on a clock to define patterns . They must be well-aware of a host of variables at all times : depth , structure , bottom composition , cover , water clarity , current , bait and weather – just to name a few . It ’ s a lot of pieces to a puzzle that are changing all the time , but bass anglers , especially ones that fish against the clock in tournaments , are used to putting it together in short order .
Knowledge of how bass relate to cover – All fish relate to something . Even the most pelagic roamers in the ocean are moving along a rip , a floating weedline or huge contours 1,000 feet below them .
Bass are excellent teachers of how fish orient to cover , structure , current and water clarity – from the roaming nature of smallmouths , to the suspending habits of spotted bass to cover-hugging largemouths . Seeing the vast array of ways bass relate to these elements in their environment provides useful clues to the ways fish all over the globe relate to their surroundings .
If you know how to drop on bass in deep cover using your depth finder as a guide , then you ’ re ready to go catch snapper , grouper and amberjack on offshore reefs in the ocean ; it ’ s the same concept .
If you know how to skip a soft jerkbait up in the dark shade of bushes or docks , then you ’ re qualified to catch snook out of mangroves – or barramundi in Australia , for that matter .
You know the little ditch that holds bass in the back of that flat over there ? Find that same kind of trough in a tidal flat , and chances are it will have redfish in it .
Bass anglers are very familiar with that patchy light-anddark mixed bottom that is a magnet for smallmouths . That same kind of “ mottled bottom ” is sea trout magic in saltwater bays .
So many of the ways bass relate to structure and cover have a duplicate counterpart in other environments for other species .
Ability to assess aggressiveness – After years of trying to fool bass into biting artificials , a real takeaway is the ability to assess a fish ’ s aggressiveness . Bass demeanor can range from stone-cold lockjaw to the desire to ravage everything in sight . Determining whether a particular species can be triggered by boisterous reaction lures or that it requires a more natural , finessey offering is a page right out of the bass fishing playbook .
Work ethic – Finally , the work ethic dedicated bass anglers bring to the table is unequivocal . Staying in the hunt , from daylight until dark , is a way of life for them . It ’ s in their nature to keep pushing , keep changing areas , keep switching lures until they force the fish to reveal something that becomes a critical clue in the hunt .
So whether you ’ re after bonefish in Belize , peacocks in Peru , barramundi near Brisbane or the mighty Mekong giant catfish in Thailand , if you ’ re a decent stick in bass fishing , dialing in what you ’ re after is going to come much easier . That ’ s why bass anglers really are the best anglers .
ILLUSTRATION BY STEVEN P . HUGHES
APRIL 2018 I FLWFISHING . COM 19