The Complete History of Bass Fishing in the USA
While you might not think about it much, bass fishing has evolved quite a bit over the last hundred years. Especially within the last few decades.
What if we told you the common everyman’s sport that you know and love didn’t even remotely resemble what it is today when it first started? The common practices you adhere to, the gear you consider standard, and even the strategies used were all very different not too long ago.
Today, we want to take a break from all the in-depth guides and tip articles that you’re used to, to give you a better understanding and appreciation of bass fishing and how far it has come.
The complete history of bass fishing is summarized for you in this comprehensive blog. Let’s get started.
The Beginning of Bass Fishing: 1700s
Bass fishing started a lot earlier than you might think. In fact, it has been around since the 1700s, and it was likely around for far longer than that. However, it wasn’t really “bass fishing”. It was just fishing for sustenance.
Early American anglers, and those who came before them, likely weren’t targeting bass specifically. They were almost certainly using the techniques and equipment pieces of their time to catch whatever would bite and make it back to land, and while CPR is the standard protocol today, it wasn’t a sport back then. Anglers were fishing to put food on their tables and feed their families. That included panfish, catfish, gar, and yes, our beloved bass.
This was a major food source for early colonial Americans. They couldn’t just walk down to the store and buy food. They had to source it from the land, and when they got it, they didn’t let it go to waste or chuck it back into nature for the fun of it.
The gear used during this time period was probably very different than what we use today. This was long before monofilament or any of our manufactured lines. If line was used, it was likely natural cordage, and traditional choke hooks, which are simply sharpened twigs designed to lodge in the fish’s throat, were likely used by hand or with a makeshift hand reel.
Much more likely, nets, fish baskets, and other implements that required less skill and brought in a higher volume of fish while exerting less energy were probably used the most. You have to consider that they were stopping to fish between long days of building their homes, trekking the land, and generally performing very laborious tasks. However, this is when the first reel resembling our modern reels was invented. In 1768, Onesimus Ustenson invented it, and the world of fishing would be changed forever. Throughout the latter half of the 18th century, the design was regularly advanced. It’s likely that many average fishermen wouldn’t have been adopting this technology so soon, though. You have to remember that new technology is usually very expensive.
Bass Fishing in the 1800s:
Bass fishing didn’t change too dramatically between the 1700s and 1800s. It was still largely a way to obtain food. It was faster, easier, and more reliable than constant hunting, and obviously, it provided a variety in the diet of the 1800s populace.
However, some major strides were made.
As we said earlier, the invention of the multi-gear reel began the evolution of fishing in the later half of the 18th century, and many more inventors continued improving upon it.
Most of those minor steps are lost to history, but there is one in particular that influenced every angler alive today.
William Shakespeare Jr was an inventor in the late 1800s. No, this isn’t the same Shakespeare you were forced to read in high school. This Shakespeare is the namesake of the brand every US angler is very familiar with, and everyone reading this probably started their fishing journey with a Shakespeare-branded rod and reel.
This is for a good reason. William Shakespeare Jr invented the level wind system that allows spinning reels to wind up properly. Without it, all your lines would simply ball up at the bottom of the spool, and it certainly wouldn’t be a great fishing experience.
While this system is a little more advanced today, as practically all forms of technology are, it’s still intact. This is easily one of the turning points that led to modern sport fishing, as it made the equipment we use possible.
However, it is important to note that most anglers weren’t using this tech the second it hit the market. For much of the 1800s, anglers were using traditional cane poles with various forms of line and natural baits on crude hooks, and plenty were probably still using nets. The overall goal of a fishing trip was still almost certainly to get dinner for the family instead of simply seeing how big of a bass they could catch.
Lures were also being used during this period, but they were likely homemade, and any commercially available ones didn’t resemble our modern lures very closely. Basic jerk baits were available or crafted by hand, though. Even so, live bait and cut bait were far more popular options.
Early 1900s Bass Fishing: The Beginning of Modern Lures and Sport Fishing
The early 1900s saw the biggest impacts on modern fishing. There are three main things that happened during this period. First, the whole concept of having a world record took off. Second, modern lures started being made. Finally, the introduction of nylon changed our gear forever.
Let’s start with the first “world record” that actually had an impact on the fishing world. You have almost certainly heard of this one. George Perry caught a massive 22-pound 4-ounce largemouth, and the catch was so startling that he took it down to the post office, had it weighed, and the headlines started churning out like crazy. The concept of a record had existed for quite a while, but none of them were truly amazing. They certainly didn’t garner a global response during a time when the world wasn’t nearly as connected as it is, today.
As one can expect, George’s catch wasn’t part of a sport fishing trip. The fields he worked in got rained out, and he and his buddy decided to go fishing for the day. In a rickety old boat, George cast one of the earlier versions of a rattletrap near a stump he loved targeting, and that’s when he caught the fish. After its weigh-in, the fish became dinner.
That leads us to the other big jump in tech. George caught the world record on a basic, silver, rattletrap-type lure that was basically brand-new tech at the time. During this period, a variety of stick bait and hard-bodied lures were developed, and despite not being as detailed as many of our modern lures are, they were pretty much the same things we use today. Soft-plastic lures still weren’t invented, but the USA did start seeing cranks, jerk baits, and even spinners during this era.
As a brief side note, this is also when Roosevelt started commissioning the development of dams, and that made the proliferation of bass species far easier in the US. They were already here, but dams gave their populations a massive boost.
While world records are exciting, and early modern lures have great historical significance, there is one advancement made in 1938 that turned the fishing world on its head. DuPont filed the patent for a nylon fishing net. This was a big enough advancement on its own since it introduced plastic cordage materials to the fishing world, but it led to something you’re likely very familiar with. Within the few following years, a monofilament fishing line would be invented using the nylon net concept. As the most popular fishing line on the market today, that is something every angler reading this has likely relied on mono considerably throughout their fishing careers.
Throughout this early 1900s period, fish were still largely being eaten. Catch and release was a concept for some, but if it was big enough to warrant cooking, it was likely going on a dinner plate.
Bass Fishing in the 50s and 60s: The Birth of Sport Fishing
The 50s is when sport fishing started to take off with the general public. It still wasn’t the standard way to fish, though. On average, if an angler was hitting the water, they were likely hoping to take something home and cook it. However, dedicated anglers were growing more content with simply enjoying the thrill of fishing, and eating wasn’t on their mind all the time. This would ultimately lead to the CPR standard we know today, but it wasn’t a big deal yet.
We can attribute this sudden interest in recreational sport fishing to two things. First, we can obviously thank the excitement around George Perry's catch and the several anglers that started getting their bass weighed in subsequently in an attempt to beat him. That enthusiasm only grew over the following two decades.
Then, we can thank the golden age of the economy. Hunting and fishing weren’t absolutely necessary to eat outside of extremely rural environments, anymore. Americans were financially capable of buying their food, and the self-sufficient practices of the early 1900s and pre-industry America were dying off. As such, going fishing could be a simple pastime rather than a necessity to feed one’s family. This is the period in American history right after the Great Depression when everything looked extremely positive and the economy was absolutely booming.
Because of this sudden surge in sport fishing and recreational fishing, manufacturers of fishing gear were also tossed into intense competition with one another. This high level of competition led to a boom in equipment innovation, and the lures you use today were starting to be made almost exactly as they are now. Notably, while actually made in 1949, the first soft-plastic worm was made to cater to this growing sport fishing crowd. We all know just how important of an invention that was.
The 60s were also when you started seeing a lot more bass records pop up across the country. With the rise of sport fishing and the advancement of gear, anglers were more interested in taking their big catches into whatever local authority office was available to see if they could get their name in the record books. Many of these old records still stand, too. As such, this is the time period when most states made their official record books. Some wouldn’t catch on until as late as the 90s, but this is when most of them got started.
Bass Fishing in the Late 20th Century: The Invention of Electronics and Big-Money Fishing
The end of the 20th century primarily saw two major advancements.
First, there was the 1992 million-dollar tournament won by Larry Nixon. This showed that sport fishing wasn’t just some pastime that cost a lot of money. It could actually be a legitimate money maker and change people’s lives. As such, professional fishing started to be taken seriously, and this quickly led to the pro-level community we have today.
Of course, electronics probably had a bigger impact on the average fisherman. The first fish finder was made in 1957, but it wasn’t financially accessible for most average anglers, and it was barely reminiscent of what we have today. The 80s and 90s are when tare when the high-end sonar units we know and love first started to take form, and as you’re probably aware, that had a massive impact on the modern fishing world. Now, the average fisherman can have accurate, easy-to-read, sonar capabilities without breaking the bank.
This is also when the concept of CPR, or Catch, Photograph, and Release first started to really take off. Sport fishing was being taken seriously, more people cared about the environment in general, and unless eating was necessary, the majority of fishermen started to adopt the CPR and sustainable fishing mindset in earnest.
Modern Bass Fishing
Well, the first major difference you’ll notice today is that, if you try to take a bass out of the lake and toss it on ice, you’ll probably get some bad looks, and you might even get confronted over it. The CPR approach to bass fishing is taken very seriously as sports anglers want to preserve the bass population as much as possible.
Beyond that, all the major advancements we’ve talked about have more or less been improved upon. Our lures are better, our rods and reels are more complex, and almost every bass fisherman wants to get on the record books, and it’s entirely about the sport of it, now.
Advancements such as the castable sonar unit have helped bank fishermen dramatically, complicated lifelike swimbaits exist at affordable prices, and overall, the fishing world is at its peak. It’s just up to us to preserve it and continue advancing where we can.
Another important advancement is the bass fishing app, a game-changer in the fishing industry, providing anglers with valuable insights into the best time and location to catch bass. By utilizing advanced technologies such as machine learning and big data analysis, these apps offer features such as up-to-date weather conditions, spot-on solunar, and fishing conditions, helping anglers make informed decisions and improve their chances of success on the water.
If you’ve liked this look at the history of bass fishing, make sure to check out BassForecast blog for more guides, crucial information, and fun conversations like this one.