Email
PrintMost loved fish
Do largemouth bass and the common carp have anything in common? Certainly not looks – bass are grandiose creatures, silver with dark green markings. Carp are brownish olive and ugly as a cow patty after a rainstorm.
Forage isn’t a common denominator. Bass are opportunistic carnivores with a horizontal mouth geared for eating baby ducks, frogs, minnows and snakes. Carp are omnivorous, preferring vegetation over meat, with a protractile mouth for feeding on algae that blooms on rocks and boat lifts.
Bass prefer clean, relatively clear water while carp can live happily in murky water where you wouldn’t swim, let alone drink.
But they do have a common denominator; it’s a cultural love/hate relationship. Eastern cultures love carp and hate bass while western cultures love bass and hate carp – for different reasons.
In North America, bass are treated with reverence, sought by millions of anglers, caught then fondly released to preserve the fishery while carp are loathed, viewed as the ugly invasive alien species.
In some Asian countries of the eastern hemisphere carp are a high protein food source, sought by commercial fishermen and weekend anglers, while bass are the hated invasive species.
In fact, they were designated an “alien invasive species” in Japan after Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daley visited that country in the 1960s and gave the Emperor some largemouth bass from Illinois. The bass, released into the waters of the Imperial Palace, devoured the ceremonial carp and koi.
In 1925 a Japanese executive imported largemouth from California and stocked them in Ashino Lake. He thought they would be a beneficial resource because they were tasty and exciting to catch. The problem is bass like to eat the native species.
Carp and koi, are almost worshiped in Japan. Art prints of carp with titles like “A Carp Leaping in a Pool” or “Carp Among Aquatic Leaves” by Katsushika Taito are sold on the internet. Happily, nobody I know owns any of these artistic jewels.
Today the commercial fishing industry is pressuring the Japanese government to eradicate bass, arguing they are depleting the stocks of valuable, native species like ayu, chub, carp.
But largemouth bass have garnered many angling friends in Japan, with tackle shops and companies secretly stocking bass at night to create new fisheries. Of course, this creates new markets for fishing tackle. With profits at stake, nobody stopped to think about the impact on native species and the ecosystem.
Like the proverbial steam roller, interest in bass fishing has not only caught on in Japan, but it is growing dramatically. There are currently about three million bass anglers spending over $600 million a year in that country, importing of all things, bass boats!
Mercury Marine has acknowledged that bass occupy the largest sport fishing niche in Japan. They have seen a rapidly growing market that includes bass fishing tournament circuits, bass boat and tackle sales, subscriptions to bass magazines and a cult-like following of the top professional anglers.
Tournament fishing there is popular, no doubt spurred by the success of several successful Japanese professional anglers who relocated to the United States.
The number of bass anglers worldwide has climbed, owing much of the interest to Bass Anglers Sportsman’s Society (BASS) and the Forrest L. Wood (FLW) tournament circuits that formed over the last 35 years.
Today, members of tournament organizations number well over 1,250,000 worldwide, buying books, DVDs, magazines and anything else that will help support the pursuit of their beloved bass.
Anglers like Rick Clunn, Denny and Chad Brauer, Guido and Dion Hibdon from Missouri, Edwin Evers from Oklahoma, Tim Horton from Alabama, Skeet Reese from California and Kevin Van Dam from Michigan have redefined the business of professional fishing.
And, don’t forget the women; Penny Berryman from Arkansas, Christie Thomas from South Africa, Shelly Perry from West Virginia and Pam Martin-Wells from Bainbridge, Georgia have made history in professional bass fishing.
Japanese anglers were quick to catch on to professional fishing. Takahiro Omori has won six major events including the Bassmaster Missouri Invitational at Lake of the Ozarks in 1996 and the Bassmaster Classic in 2004.
Several other Japanese anglers compete successfully on the Bassmaster, FLW and Professional Anglers Association (PAA) tournament trail.
But what about carp? Asians aren’t the only culture to pursue them, a few misguided anglers in the upper Midwest specialize in catching them using equipment and methods learned from England’s anglers who actually practice catch-and-release.
With a few exceptions, carp are mostly unmolested in USA waters. Many westerners believe the fishery could stand more ‘catch-and-keep’ pressure.
Carp fishing will never compete professionally with bass but the American Carp Society holds their World Championship annually with First Place purses that often exceed $50,000 plus pickups and/or boats. Not bad for an ugly algae slurping fish.
While it’s true that bass and carp have fans and foes around the world, they likely don’t understand the cultural love/hate relationship. After all a fish is a fish, no matter the hemisphere.
