Entering the Bass Fishing World ~
Bass fishing was something that I had never really tried growing up. Although it always interested me, my dad and I focused our efforts fishing the rivers in Bishop, California for some of the most spectacular natural rainbow and brown trout that you’ve ever seen.
That turned a full 360 when I started fishing in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle was a fishery that I was unfamiliar with and associated to be similar to Alaska with salmon, ling cod and rock bass.
Man was I wrong. As I began to build SJT Fishing, I kept seeing other anglers in the area catching largemouth and smallmouth bass. This got me excited as I had the opportunity to learn a new type of fishing.
I had won a giveaway from a company who made custom lures and jigs. One of the lures I received and was most excited to try was a blade bait. Having never thrown one before, I looked up a few videos on YouTube to see the different types of retrievals.
It had been a rainy and very cold winter so I didn’t know when the Spring bite would be active. However, I decided to go find that bite. I ended up being skunked 3 times until one day in mid April, where I was retrieving that new blade bait at a stop and go retrieval and BANG!
It was a bite and fight I hadn’t felt for months. Having gone so long without a decent bite, you already know that I was full of adrenaline.
There was a hope that it was a bass, but the beauty of fishing is that you just never know what you’re going to catch. Unsure of what it was on the end of my line, I enjoyed ever second of the fight and reeled in pure excitement.
Then I saw it. I had seen plenty of largemouth bass, but never one like this. There were constant brown flashes as the fish fought all the way to the dock. As I flipped her onto the dock, I instantly realized that the stripes and brown coloring meant that it was no largemouth bass. I had caught my first ever smallmouth bass. I couldn’t believe it and so actually quite chuffed to see my plan come to fruition. I had just learned a new technique of fishing and caught a new species to go with it.
After that, I was hooked and bass have been my primarily target fish ever since. Having felt how much joy these fish can bring, it made me want to share the feeling I had experienced.
I have been blessed to be able to help 23 people catch their first bass. The pure excitement each fish brings them is why I do it and makes me reminisce of the first fish that started it all.
Thank you for all the support that makes this passion a reality. Cast, Smile, Repeat!
