190 Fun Facts About Bass Fishing

Black bass such as the largemouth actually belong to which group of fishes?

Despite the name, they are Centrarchidae, cousins of the bluegill; striped bass are the real thing.

The genus that contains all the black bass species is called what?

It currently holds 14 recognized species, all native east of the Rockies from Hudson Bay to northeastern Mexico.

Which feature identifies a largemouth rather than a smallmouth?

On a smallmouth the jaw stops beneath the eye, and its coloring runs bronze rather than green.

Which of these is a common nickname for the largemouth bass?

Green bass, widemouth and largie are others; bronzeback belongs to the smallmouth and rockfish to the striper.

Who caught the all-tackle world record largemouth on June 2, 1932?

He was a farm boy fishing for food; the fish was weighed at a general store, entered in a magazine contest and then eaten.

How much did the 1932 world record largemouth weigh?

Manabu Kurita pulled a bass of essentially identical weight from Japan's Lake Biwa in 2009, and the two now share the record.

In which US state was the 1932 record largemouth caught?

Montgomery Lake is an oxbow off the Ocmulgee River; a historical marker now stands nearby.

What was the record-setting angler's only reward for his 1932 fish?

He was 19 and caught it on a Creek Chub Fintail Shiner while fishing to put food on the table.

Which Japanese lake produced the 2009 largemouth that tied the world record?

Black bass are officially a nuisance species in Japan, which made a record from Biwa deliciously awkward.

The largemouth is the official state freshwater fish of Florida and which neighbouring state?

Georgia and Mississippi go further and make it the state fish outright, while Texas gives the honor to the Guadalupe bass.

The smallmouth bass carries which scientific name?

It honors the French mineralogist Déodat de Dolomieu — the same man the Dolomites are named after.

Smallmouth bass are nicknamed 'bronzebacks' and prefer what kind of water compared with largemouth?

They favor rocky lakes and current-swept rivers, which is why they dominate the Great Lakes and Ozark streams.

The world record smallmouth, 11 lb 15 oz, came from which reservoir in 1955?

David Hayes caught it on the Kentucky-Tennessee line, and the mark has now stood for seven decades.

A spotted bass differs from a largemouth in what way?

It also has scales on the base of the second dorsal fin, and the record spotted bass, 10.27 lb, came from Pine Flat Lake in California.

Which black bass is the official state fish of Texas?

It lives only on the Edwards Plateau, tops out under four pounds, and is threatened mainly by hybridizing with stocked smallmouth.

Which parent guards the nest and fry after black bass spawn?

The male sweeps out the bed, coaxes a female to lay, then stands guard until the fry scatter — which is why bed-fishing is controversial.

Unlike black bass, the striped bass belongs to which family of true basses?

It is anadromous, spending adult life at sea, though landlocked populations began in Santee-Cooper when the dams went in.

A cross between a striped bass and a white bass is commonly called what?

Also sold as sunshine bass and palmetto bass, the hybrid is stocked widely in reservoirs because it grows fast and fights hard.

Who founded the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) in 1967?

An Alabama insurance man, Scott dreamed up competitive bass fishing and later pushed catch-and-release on the tour.

Where was the first B.A.S.S. tournament held in June 1967?

A total of 106 anglers from thirteen states showed up for the All-American, and a sport was born.

Where was the first Bassmaster Classic held, in 1971?

Bobby Murray won $10,000; today's champion takes home $300,000.

Until 1976 the Bassmaster Classic was held on what kind of venue?

Anglers boarded a plane not knowing where they were going, so nobody could pre-fish the water.

Which two anglers share the record of four Bassmaster Classic wins?

Clunn won in 1976, 1977, 1984 and 1990; VanDam in 2001, 2005, 2010 and 2011.

'KVD', the all-time money leader in pro bass fishing, hails from which Michigan city?

Kevin VanDam collected seven Angler of the Year titles and won back-to-back Classics in 2010 and 2011 before retiring in 2023.

How many Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles did Kevin VanDam win?

He is also the sport's all-time money winner, though Roland Martin still holds the record with nine AOY crowns.

In 2019, at age 72, Rick Clunn became the oldest angler ever to do what?

He broke his own record from 2016, and had qualified for 28 consecutive Classics earlier in his career.

Which legend holds a record nine B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year titles yet never won the Classic?

He won 19 tournaments and made 25 Classic appearances, and was first to enter all three fishing halls of fame.

TV host Bill Dance is instantly recognizable by his sunglasses and a cap from which university?

Bill Dance Outdoors began on a Memphis station in 1968, and he collected 23 national bass titles along the way.

What sets Major League Fishing apart from traditional tournaments?

No livewell, no five-fish limit; every scorable bass counts, and MLF bought the FLW tour in 2019.

In a typical multi-day bass tournament, how many fish does each angler weigh per day?

The limit, plus catch-and-release rules and livewells, is what let the sport grow without emptying lakes.

Where did Johnny Morris start selling the tackle that became Bass Pro Shops in 1972?

He was 24; the company later built Tracker Boats, bought Cabela's for $4.5 billion and put a store inside the Memphis Pyramid.

Which retailer did Bass Pro Shops acquire for $4.5 billion?

The deal folded the two biggest outdoor catalog brands into one company headquartered in Springfield.

What did Bass Pro Shops open inside a former arena in Memphis in 2015?

It comes with a cypress swamp, live alligators, a hotel and a 28-story freestanding elevator.

Which lure company began when a beekeeper tossed a whittled stick into a millpond and a bass hit it?

James Heddon's family made the first lures in their kitchen in Dowagiac; the company later gave the world the Zara Spook.

Lauri Rapala carved his first lure in 1936 in which country?

He used cork, a shoemaker's knife, chocolate-bar foil and melted photo negatives; the No. 9 floater is still the company's best seller.

Rapala broke through in America via a 1962 Life magazine issue that also covered what?

That issue became the best-selling in the magazine's history, and orders swamped the little Finnish workshop.

A spinnerbait is built around what?

The safety-pin shape lets it come through brush that would snag a treble-hook lure.

What gives a crankbait its wobble and controls how deep it dives?

Longer, steeper lips dig deeper; lipless models sink and vibrate instead.

A Texas rig pairs a soft plastic worm and an offset hook with what kind of weight?

Bury the hook point back inside the plastic and it slides through weeds and timber almost snag-free.

Which of these is a topwater lure style?

Poppers, stickbaits and walking baits all float and imitate prey struggling on the surface — the strikes are the whole point.

Who patented the design of the first purpose-built bass boat, the Skeeter, in 1948?

Built in Marshall, Texas, it was followed in 1961 by the first fiberglass bass boat.

What onboard feature lets tournament anglers keep bass alive until weigh-in?

Livewells plus swivel seats, raised casting decks and a bow-mounted trolling motor define the modern bass boat.

Lake Fork produced how many of Texas's ten heaviest bass, including the 18.18-pound record?

Some 732,000 Florida-strain bass were stocked from 1979 to 1987, and a 16-to-24-inch slot limit protects the giants.

In Japan, introduced black bass have been officially designated as what?

They compete with native species, so anglers there face rules that would be unthinkable in Alabama.

Modern black bass fishing has grown into what scale of industry?

Boats, electronics, tackle and tournaments all feed it, and the sport traces its roots to the late 19th century.

What is the average lifespan of a wild largemouth bass?

Females grow bigger than males, and the true giants are almost always old females from warm southern water.

Which sense do black bass rely on heavily to forage, so anglers avoid sunscreen scent on lures?

Tobacco and bug spray on the hands can also put fish off.

On which body of water in the Peach State was the 22 lb 4 oz record largemouth caught in 1932?

The fish is sometimes called the 'Holy Grail' of freshwater records.

On what date in 2009 did Manabu Kurita catch the largemouth that tied the world record?

The IGFA certified the fish at exactly the same weight as George Perry's.

What did wealthy 19th-century US sport anglers mostly confine themselves to, ignoring bass?

Most early bass fishing was done by subsistence anglers with poles and live bait.

What form did the first man-made bass lure of the mid-19th century take?

Early patterns were derived from existing trout and salmon flies.

Which French naturalist described the largemouth in 1828 as Huro nigricans?

A 2022 study concluded the correct name is Micropterus nigricans, with type locality Lake Huron.

What is the maximum recorded length of a largemouth bass?

Its unofficial maximum weight is 25 lb 1 oz; Cuban reports claim invasive fish near 30 pounds.

Which two states name the largemouth bass as their official state fish outright?

Florida and Alabama name it their state freshwater fish.

How large can a largemouth bass's prey be relative to its own body length?

Adults eat shad, bluegill, crawfish, frogs, snakes and even smaller bass.

In heavily weeded waters, largemouth bass tend to grow how, according to prey studies?

Dense cover makes prey harder to catch; too little cover lets bass devastate prey and starve.

Which sex of largemouth bass grows larger?

Sexual dimorphism favours the female in this species.

The smallmouth bass is the type species of which genus?

Its maximum recorded size is about 27 inches and 12 pounds.

How many spiny rays does a smallmouth bass carry in its front dorsal fin?

The rear dorsal has 13 to 15 soft rays.

The Neosho smallmouth subspecies is native to which region of the lower Midwest?

It weaves through southwestern Missouri, northern Arkansas and northeastern Oklahoma.

Up to how many eggs can a smallmouth bass lay in one nest?

The male guards them in his nest.

Below what temperature do smallmouth bass head for deep pools and enter semi-hibernation?

A smallmouth can travel 12 miles in a single day, and overall migrations can exceed 60 miles.

Which 1825 waterway first carried smallmouth bass beyond their native range into central New York?

Railroads later spread the fish across the country in the 19th century.

Because it will not tolerate pollution, the smallmouth bass serves as what?

It is still far more resilient than most trout.

What does the spotted bass's species name punctulatus mean?

Micropterus itself means 'small fin'.

Which California reservoir produced the 10.27-pound record spotted bass, caught in 2001?

A Coosa-river form recognised as separate in 2010 averages much larger than the common one.

To what depth can spotted bass be found, deeper than smallmouth?

They hybridise with smallmouth, which can make identification tricky.

On which continent has the spotted bass become an established invasive species?

It was introduced to southern Africa's Olifants-Doring system.

The Guadalupe bass is found only on which upland region of central Texas?

Its main rivers are the San Marcos, Colorado, Llano and Guadalupe.

What is the main threat to the Guadalupe bass?

In some rivers almost half the Guadalupe bass are hybrids.

Which nickname reflects the Guadalupe bass's love of current and insects?

That is why fly fishers prize it.

Where was the IGFA all-tackle record Guadalupe bass, 3 lb 11 oz, caught in 1983?

Unusually for black bass, Guadalupe bass can spawn a second time in late summer.

How many recognised species are placed in the black bass genus?

A 15th, the Choctaw bass, has been proposed but is not widely accepted.

The only fossil black bass species is known from which Mexican state?

It presumably lived in the Lake Chapala basin, south of the genus's current native range.

Which naturalist first described the Florida bass, as Cichla floridana, in 1822?

A 2022 study found it ranges as far north as North Carolina's Cape Fear River.

In which year was the shoal bass first described as a distinct species?

It had been treated as a form of redeye bass.

Which relatively undammed river holds the most plentiful shoal bass?

Anglers there are urged to keep every spotted bass to protect the shoal bass.

Which two ichthyologists named the redeye bass in 1940?

The same pair described the Suwannee bass in 1949 and the Alabama bass as a subspecies.

How many dark bars on the cheek are unique to the redeye bass among black basses?

White edges on the tail fin also separate it from smallmouth and shoal bass.

The Suwannee bass is native to just two systems: the Suwannee and which other?

It has been introduced into the St. Marks and Wacissa rivers.

In the tidal lower Suwannee, what unusual prey does the Suwannee bass take?

Its diet is otherwise dominated by crayfish.

M. henshalli's species name honours James A. Henshall, who was what?

Hubbs and Bailey described it in 1940 as a subspecies of spotted bass.

Introduced into which South Carolina reservoir did the M. henshalli bass trigger a redeye decline?

Hybridisation with the newcomers drove the native population down.

How heavy was the biggest striped bass ever recorded, netted in 1896?

Stripers are believed to live up to 30 years.

South of which state is the striped bass usually called 'rockfish'?

In New Jersey itself both names are used.

Striped bass were stocked in many reservoirs partly to control which prey fish?

They are anadromous, spawning in fresh water but living at sea.

In which year was the striped bass designated a protected game fish in US federal waters?

Its sale from federal Atlantic and Gulf waters was prohibited.

Which state names the white or sand bass as its official state fish?

It is also known as the silver or sand bass.

How many eggs can a white bass hen release in a spawn?

The parents move off to deeper water and give the young no care.

A hybrid from a white bass mother and a striper father is called what?

The reverse cross is the whiterock bass; both are commonly called wipers.

Where in Arkansas was the 27 lb 5 oz world record wiper caught in 1997?

Many restaurant 'striped bass' dishes are actually farm-raised hybrids.

Peacock bass belong to which family of fishes, unrelated to true basses?

They are native to the Amazon and Orinoco basins.

The Brazilian name for peacock bass, tucunaré, comes from a Tupi phrase meaning what?

The fish stays close to submerged trees to hunt and guard its nest.

How much did first-place money at the Bassmaster Classic reach in 2006 before being cut in 2014?

The 1971 winner took home $10,000; the prize was later reduced to $300,000.

Who became the first B.A.S.S. member by paying the founder $100 for a lifetime membership?

Bassmaster Magazine also launched in 1968.

How many anglers make the cut to fish the third and final day of the Bassmaster Classic?

Fish must be at least 12 inches and alive at weigh-in.

In which year did women first compete in the Bassmaster Classic?

2010 was the last year women were given a specific Classic spot.

The 1980 Bassmaster Classic was held on which waterway at Alexandria Bay, New York?

The 2005 Classic used Pittsburgh's Three Rivers.

Which Louisiana city hosted the Classic on the Red River in 2009 and 2012?

The 2011 Classic was fished on the Louisiana Delta.

In which year was forward-facing sonar first used at the Bassmaster Classic?

B.A.S.S. declined to ban it in 2025, opting for equipment standardisation rules.

Who caught the largest bass in Bassmaster Classic history, an 11 lb 10 oz fish on Lake Toho in 2006?

The heaviest single-day Classic weight, 32-3, came at Guntersville in 2014.

Which angler set the Classic's heaviest total weight, 76-15, on Lake Ray Roberts in 2025?

The lowest winning weight ever was 12-15 at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers in 2005.

How many consecutive Bassmaster Classics did Rick Clunn qualify for, a record?

He also holds the record of 11 top-five Classic finishes.

Which angler finished second at the Bassmaster Classic a record four times without ever winning?

His runner-up finishes came in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2011.

Jordan Lee overcame a record deficit of how much on the final day to win the 2017 Classic on Conroe?

Lee went on to win the Classic again the next year.

Which studio developed the video game Bassmaster Fishing 2022?

It launched in October 2021 on consoles, Steam and Epic.

Which honour did the B.A.S.S. founder receive in 2003?

He was also known for work on conservation and boating safety.

How old was Kevin VanDam when he became the youngest B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year in 1992?

He began his pro career in 1990 at 23.

How many B.A.S.S. tournament wins does Kevin VanDam hold, the most ever?

Roland Martin is second with 19.

Which first-ever ESPY did Kevin VanDam receive in 2002?

He was also a founding member of Major League Fishing.

When did Kevin VanDam announce he would retire from tournament fishing?

He planned to finish after the 2023 Bass Pro Tour season.

On which Florida waterway did Rick Clunn twice set the oldest-Elite-winner record, in 2016 and 2019?

His 2016 win came with a four-day total of 81 pounds 15 ounces.

Rick Clunn has appeared on which Comedy Central programme?

He won ESPN's Greatest Angler Debate in 2005.

Jimmy Houston and two other TV anglers formed which company to sell signature products?

Houston is famed for his distinctive laugh.

Which two-time Classic champion first won the Grand Slam of Classic, AOY and SuperBass?

He won Classics in 1979 and 1989.

Which 1994 Super NES fishing game let players face a real two-time Classic champion?

Players work up to the pro tour and finally compete against Parker himself.

In which city is Major League Fishing headquartered?

It launched with the 2012 Challenge Cup, filmed at Amistad Reservoir.

Which two pros originally came up with the idea of Major League Fishing?

The first Challenge Cup was filmed at Amistad Reservoir in 2011.

In which year did Major League Fishing acquire Fishing League Worldwide?

The FLW Tour was later folded into the MLF Invitationals.

What is the name of Major League Fishing's championship event held since 2019?

Its Cup events pit 10 anglers over three days with sudden-death rounds.

FLW takes its initials from Forrest L. Wood, founder of which boat company?

The FLW championship, the Forrest Wood Cup, was the first to offer a $1 million prize in 2007.

Under what name was FLW founded in 1979 by teacher-turned-salesman Mike Whitaker?

His events catered to 'weekend warriors' who could not travel to costly tournaments.

Which giant retailer became title sponsor of the FLW Tour, its first such deal ever?

Oilman T. Boone Pickens also took an equity stake in FLW.

Which Minneapolis businessman bought FLW in 1996 and owned it until his death in 2018?

He owned Genmar, then the world's largest recreational boat maker.

To which city did B.A.S.S. move its headquarters from Celebration, Florida in 2011?

New owners bought the organisation from ESPN and left Celebration, Florida.

Who won the first B.A.S.S. tournament in 1967, which offered $2,000 and a trip to Acapulco?

106 anglers from thirteen states paid a $100 entry fee.

Which angler set the B.A.S.S. margin-of-victory record of 29 lb 10 oz at the 2020 Texas Fest?

The event benefited Texas Parks & Wildlife.

Which company acquired a majority interest in B.A.S.S. in 2017?

The Alabama family business was then a century old.

Which Canadian angler won back-to-back Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles in 2024 and 2025?

Aaron Martens and Gerald Swindle each won the award multiple times in the 2000s and 2010s.

Who won the very first B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year award, in 1970?

He won again in 1974 and 1977.

How many members does B.A.S.S. report serving?

Its logo is a blue shield with a leaping largemouth.

In which year did Johnny Morris publish the first Bass Pro Shops catalog?

Customers who left Springfield kept requesting his tackle by mail.

Which Bass Pro Shops brand, launched in 1978, was the first boat, motor and trailer package for anglers?

The boats are sold through Tracker Marine Group.

On which Ozark reservoir did Johnny Morris open Big Cedar Lodge in 1988?

Travel + Leisure once called it the number one resort in the Midwest.

Which Springfield museum did Johnny Morris open in 2017, billed as the world's largest such attraction?

It sits next to the original Bass Pro store.

How tall is the free-standing elevator inside Bass Pro Shops at the Memphis Pyramid?

The store also has a cypress swamp, alligator habitat, hotel and bowling alley.

Which sports team does Johnny Morris own in the Professional Bull Riders Team Series?

He also received the Audubon Medal in 2019 for conservation work.

Lauri Rapala's first lure was carved from cork with what tool?

He coated it in chocolate-bar wrappers and melted photo negatives.

For which fish was the original Rapala lure designed?

Rapala noticed pike targeted slower, off-balance prey.

What is the modern name of Rapala's original floating minnow, its best seller as of 2025?

Its core became balsa rather than cork.

In which Minnesota city is Rapala USA based?

Rapala lures are sold in 140 countries and each is still hand-tested.

Which fishing-line brand belongs to the Rapala VMC group?

The group also owns knife maker Marttiini and lure brands Blue Fox and Storm.

Roughly what share of Shimano's revenue came from fishing tackle in 2024?

Bicycle components made up 76.6 percent.

Fishing a plastic worm in and around heavy cover such as weeds and trees is called what?

Despite the 'trout worm' name, the lure works poorly for trout.

Which round spinnerbait blade is built for maximum vibration in murky water?

The narrow willowleaf stresses flash over vibration.

Which sensory organ do spinnerbaits provoke with their turbulence?

It lets fish 'feel' objects at a distance through vibrations.

What was the name of James Heddon's perfected plug design?

Its inventor was a beekeeper from Dowagiac, Michigan.

What are the three most popular jighead shapes in bass fishing?

Some jigheads carry a weed guard to prevent snagging.

Which Roman scholar first described anglers tying red wool and feathers on a hook, an early fly?

He described Macedonian anglers on the Astraeus River in the 2nd century.

Archaeological evidence suggests fishing lures were used at least how long ago?

The Chinese and Egyptians angled with rods and lines by 2000 BC.

In which year did Skeeter build the first fibreglass bass boat?

Skeeter is now owned by Yamaha.

Which company acquired Skeeter Fishing Boats in 1996?

Other bass boat makers include Ranger, Nitro, Tracker and Triton.

In which Arkansas town did Forrest and Nina Wood found their boat company in 1968?

The first six boats were built in what is now the city hall.

Which onboard innovation is Forrest Wood's boat company credited with inventing?

Bass Pro Group acquired Ranger, Triton and Stratos in December 2014.

O.G. Schmidt built the first electric trolling motor in 1934 using the starter motor from what?

He named the company Minn Kota for its home near the Minnesota–North Dakota border.

GPS-equipped trolling motors that hold a boat's position act as what?

Modern units run on 12-, 24- or 36-volt DC systems.

Fishfinders were derived from which navigation instrument?

The underwater transducer that sends the sound pulse is called a hydrophone.

A rule of thumb says a livewell needs how much water per inch of fish?

Water should stay below 75 °F, with dissolved oxygen above 5 parts per million.

Roughly what share of released fish die from injuries and stress?

Catch and release is banned outright in Switzerland and Germany.

Which state first used catch and release as a management tool in the US, in 1952?

It aimed to cut the cost of stocking hatchery trout in 'no-kill' zones.

Which fly angler coined 'Game fish are too valuable to be caught only once' in 1936?

Montana shop owner Don Martinez pushed the idea in newsletters in the same era.

What is the average depth of Lake Okeechobee, Florida's largest lake?

Its name comes from Hitchiti words for 'big water'.

Toledo Bend Reservoir lies on which waterway between Texas and Louisiana?

At 185,000 acres it is the largest man-made lake in the South.

Sam Rayburn Reservoir was known by what name until 1963?

Bassmaster ranked it the nation's best bass lake in 2018.

How many bass tournaments does Sam Rayburn Reservoir host each year?

The Angelina River feeds the largest lake wholly within Texas.

How many Florida-strain largemouth were stocked in Lake Fork from 1979 to 1987?

About 80 percent of standing timber was left intact as habitat.

Lake Fork's protected slot limit means bass of what length must be released immediately?

Anglers may keep five under 16 inches, or one over 24 plus four under 16.

Which reservoir is the largest artificial body of water by surface area in the US east of the Mississippi?

The TVA created it in 1944; it has 2,064 miles of shoreline.

Which invasive fish, first reported in 2002, now threatens the TVA's largest reservoir?

Some restaurants have put the mild white-fleshed carp on their menus.

Which waterway is impounded by the 1958 dam near Branson, Missouri?

Cold water from the dam creates the trout fishery of Lake Taneycomo below.

French explorers named Lake St. Clair in 1679 after sighting it on whose feast day?

The shallow lake averages just 11 feet deep between Michigan and Ontario.

What is the record largemouth bass weight from California's Clear Lake?

Two-thirds of the fish caught there are largemouth.

Which Confederate veteran and poet names the reservoir behind Buford Dam near Atlanta?

Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee created the reservoir in 1956.

California's Castaic Lake was a main filming location for which superhero TV series?

It was also the starting point of The Amazing Race 26.

Which waterway was dammed to create the reservoir that holds the smallmouth world record?

Its creation submerged the town of Willow Grove.

Which famed smallmouth angler of Celina is linked with the record-holding reservoir?

The lake's clear water also makes scuba diving popular.

Japan's largest lake, home of the record-tying largemouth, is named for its resemblance to what?

The four-million-year-old lake in Shiga Prefecture supplies water to 15 million people.

Who became the first African American to win the American Bass Anglers National Championship, in 2007?

He won a 2008 Triton bass boat on the Harris Chain of Lakes.

On which Memphis TV station did the long-running Dance fishing show debut in January 1968?

ESPN picked up the show in 1981.

Which country star sang 'Today is Mine', the first theme of the Dance fishing show?

Since 1990 the theme has been David Muir's 'Gone Fishin' with Bill Dance Today'.

A Texas rig with the hook point left exposed is sometimes called what?

Burying the point makes it weedless but lowers hookup odds.

Some anglers add a bead to a Texas rig so the weight clicks against it, imitating what?

A toothpick or bobber stop can peg the weight in place.

The reel maker Abu Garcia began in 1921 in Svängsta, Sweden, making what?

AB Urfabriken means 'Watch Factory Ltd'; founder's son Göte Borgström switched the firm to fishing reels during World War II.

Which firm, alongside Denison-Johnson, introduced the first commercial spincast reels in 1949?

Spincast reels enclose the spool in a cone with a hole for the line, avoiding the backlash of baitcasters.

Shimano, the Japanese maker of fishing tackle and bike parts, is headquartered in which city?

It is named after founder Shozaburo Shimano and also produced golf supplies until 2005 and snowboarding gear until 2008.

Which spinnerbait blade is long, narrow and almost flat, stressing flash over vibration?

The round, spoon-shaped blade does the opposite, producing a deep, heavy vibration for murky water or night fishing.

The Bassmaster Classic moved from autumn to summer in 1984 and then to which season in 2006?

The championship was first held in 1971 and two anglers share the record of four wins.

Which two states name the largemouth their official state freshwater fish, not state fish outright?

Reports from Cuba speculate that invasive largemouth there may reach 30 pounds.

What is the maximum recorded size of a smallmouth bass?

The species is native to the upper and middle Mississippi basin, the St Lawrence-Great Lakes system, the Champlain Valley and the Hudson Bay basin.

Which French spinning reel had Garcia been importing since 1947, before it took on ABU's products?

ABU Svängsta bought the American Garcia Tackle Company in 1980 and became ABU Garcia.