Bass Fishing, a sport or a hobby?

[ECobb91]

Hobby.

I don’t consider tournament bass fishing a true “sport”, it’s like poker and more relatable to gambling.

[bilgerat]

Fishing tournaments is a sport, eye hand coordination, and the physical acumen to make precise countless cast to a target alone takes its toll, standing and working a trolling motor in all kinds of weather conditions
it takes physical prowess to be efficient. If anyone has closely watched a pro during a tournament it becomes very clear they are athletes. Tournament fishing at the highest level takes mental and physical conditioning and an unending desire to be the best. Sounds like any other sport to me.

You pretty much just described cornhole

[mattmann7]

Did Curt Gowdy appear on the show Wide World of Hobbies or Sports? No need to cancel every Boomer definition. Let us keep a few. Ted Williams who was a frequent guest on that show was arguably one of the greatsest sports fisherman ever. I side with Ted in not saying he was one of the greatest hobby fisherman.

What did I win?

[Bobby Gray]

Can you bet on it in Vegas?

[Gambler Bob]

Fishing is not a sport and a bass fisherman is not an athlete. There is no running, jumping, and in all honesty there is no real physical exertion. Bass fishing is nothing more than an activity that could be done in a competitive format.

[gaston13]

Sport, a hobby is collecting lures. So, I guess it's actually both.

[cwilt]

I have always said fishing tournaments are the same as poker tournaments. You put your own money on the table and you hedge it with some skill and some luck to win the other persons money. You have some players that are consistently better than others. Is it a "sport", well maybe. Is it a "professional sport", definitely not in the sense that most would define it. Anytime you put your own money on the table to play, and your winnings constitute the other persons money, it's very difficult to call it a "professional sport". Professional athletes get paid by team owners or organizations (boxing, etc) who make a profit because the product puts PAID butts in seats. Until that day comes pay-to-play games like bass tournaments are more akin to gambling than anything else. We have "Professional Gamblers" and we have "Professional Fisherman", I think those are legitimate titles. Are MLF and Bassmaster anglers "Professional Athletes" playing in a "Professional Sport"? Not to me.

Yup! 100% agree.

[Beetle]

Why can’t it just be fishing or angling? What I do know is that it isn’t and athletic event.

[jasonG]

Pro fishing is just about advertising for companies there just so happens to be a few tournaments thrown in to help the advertising.

[mean_dean]

IMO, a hobby that has been monetized.

[fishingram24]

For me it's a hobby that anyone can participate in but not all can do it at the elite level of the professionals. I used to fish all the local tournaments and with a club for many years and I always considered myself pretty athletic but I never thought I could have done it at the top level of the sport. 2 or 3 days in a row and I was pretty well beat and no way I could have competed when you had 3-4 days of practice and 4 days of tournament fishing. Now with FFS and not making 1000's of cast in a day it will be a lot less physically demanding .

[dontr20x]

Something to waste money on while having fun. Therefore it is a hobby.

[vafishing]

By the definition someone posted of "sport" playing a board game is a sport. Requires skill to understand the rules and physical activity i.e. throwing dice, spinning a wheel, etc. I love fishing in all aspects but is not a sport. Fishing professionally included, really that is just professional gambling since for most they are just throwing good money away chasing the dream much like those who blow paychecks at casinos or on lottery tix.

[Hoot]

I would like to see some pros in other sports throw a arig in the rain and wind for 3 days

Wow is that the best you can come up with to defend the honor of Bass Fishing not being referred to as a Sport?

[schmidte]

According to the "Journal of Advances in Sports and Physical Education" and the Olympic Committee, Pocket Billiards is a sport. So Minnesota Fats was an athlete.... Based on what I know about Pocket Billiards, I'll say competitive bass fishing is a sport.

[188Musky]

I would like to see some pros in other sports throw a arig in the rain and wind for 3 days

Wow is that the best you can come up with to defend the honor of Bass Fishing not being referred to as a Sport?

If that's the measure of an athlete, musky fishermen must be cyborgs.

A-rig? Three days? Pffft!

There are 14-year-old musky fishing schoolgirls that could do that for two weeks.

[blakesfav]

It's not a sport - it's a competitive hobby. It's pretty much the only competition I can have against a 20 year old, and still have a chance to win.

[Highcentered]

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[Bass Cat Boats]

it’s as much a sport as NASCAR with the technical edge not being dependent on the support staff, or team, and the garage at home. Pull the home garage and road teams away from NASCAR and you’ve got USAC Sprint cars with a couple guys on a team, and turning their own wrenches. Are the Chilli Bowl, or Knoxville Nationals a “sport”?

When ESPN bought Bassmaster, they started with the “athletes” term. They wanted it to be a professional sport for their world, and it is as much a professional sport as NASCAR and others. The stamina and activity was more when Kevin and others brought youth to the game. Which it was once a younger crowd in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. It does require stamina and bring in the 1990’s as the big bellied bubba could no longer be consistent and bring the A game. When it started it’s like any sport, the athleticism hadn’t developed yet, nor had the technical game.

Sports develop over time and Len Dawson and Bart Star couldn’t swing with a Patrick Mahomes today. A Dick Butkus, Dan Hampton, Mike Singletary, and those Bears era dominant linebackers, maybe would have developed to todays levels, as could a Gayle Sayers and others. Who knows where Babe Ruth would be today as he certainly wasn’t an athlete by todays physical standards. And todays recognized “sport”(s) were facing these same questions back when their “sport” was an infancy. The term sports replaced “games” from the Roman era to bring coliseum events to todays crowds. Now those games were far from sporting, and there was little sportsmanship.

It’s a “SPORT” just like NASCAR and others. They are Anglers like NASCAR has Drivers, the PGA has Golfers, not Athletes. All have developed their own levels of skills and athleticism to enable them to play the Game.

Rick

[Roosterman]

Definitely not a sport. Hobby or activity.