When thinking about competitive sports, basketball and baseball often come to mind. However, sport fishing is actually one of the most popular competitive sports and is even more popular than golf and tennis. Largemouth bass is overwhelmingly the most popular type of fish caught by competitive fishers.
Availability
Largemouth bass can be found in 48 states. Therefore, most Americans can pursue largemouth bass near their homes. Largemouth bass can also be caught at any time of the day and even late at night. However, they are the easiest to catch at dusk and dawn. Bass populations are stocked around the world to ensure that there are plenty to catch. In some locations, there are too many bass to the detriment of local populations, so catching bass can sometimes be beneficial to the environment.
Challenge
A largemouth bass is considered a mildly challenging fish to catch because of how strong it is. It is very good at throwing the lure and breaking the surface of the water. However, they will often fall for all sorts of bait that other fish may not bite. Therefore, even though they aren't the largest fish you can catch, they are among the most fun to catch.
In other ways, the bass isn't as difficult to catch because this species consumes a large variety of things. As a result, it's easier to catch the fish with a lure. If you are patient, you're very likely to have one bite.
Beauty
Bass are often considered to be more visually appealing than other types of fish, such as catfish. However, they are not considered the most beautiful fish. Even inexperienced anglers can sometimes catch a 20-pound bass.
Prestige
Because professional anglers will often catch bass, this leads to amateurs also wanting to catch bass because they hope to improve until they are able to become professionals. There are many tournaments dedicated to bass fishing and products marketed toward those who love this particular type of fish. For example, if you visit a fishing store, you'll likely find several racks dedicated to bass when there may only be a shelf dedicated to each other type of fish.
The great thing about fishing is that you can target several types of fish. If you're looking for the hardest type of fish to catch, consider fly fishing for wild trout. A largemouth bass can be a stepping stone toward catching more challenging types of fish.