What is the problem with bass fishing?

I pose this question not so much to those readers living in Ontario, or the eastern edge of Manitoba, but for the British Columbians, Albertans, and Saskatchewanites.

It seems many anglers have nothing but unkind words for bass and the anglers who pursue them. This is especially true in BC -- where, ironically, the best bass fishery in Western Canada can be found (Kootenays, Okanagan and Vancouver Island).

I have some theories on this. As Canadians, we tend to identify ourselves as definitively NOT American. For many, bass fishing is as American as Bass Pro Shops, big-dollar B.A.S.S. tournaments and the Star Spangled Banner itself. This explains why every time a Western Canadian magazine runs a story on bass fishing, readers virtually attempt to overthrow the editor. (Especially die-hard fly fishermen.) "No more American bass fishing stories!" they chant, lighting torches outside Western Sportsman's office in southeast Edmonton.

OK -- I know not everyone feels this way. Many of my friends travel to BC to fish for bass, and catching my first smallmouth on the fly in 2007 was a highlight of my fishing year.

There are other reasons of course for the anti-bass crowd. In Alberta, for example, bass are the farthest thing from big business. There are unconfirmed reports of one, maybe two, bass-bearing lakes in the province, but I've never seen them. Therefore it's hard to talk to a fellow Edmontonian about the merits of bass when prime walleye, trout and pike are found nearby.

However, in Saskatchewan, Boundary Dam has a fantastic population of largemouth; Manitoba has both largies and smallies; and BC -- well there are a number of lakes that have trophy quality bass.

But again -- if Western Sportsman ever runs a story on bass fishing (as we did in 2006), I face angry readers accusing me of running "American" stories. Believe me -- there is nothing more Canadian than paddling a canoe through serene Spider Lake on Vancouver Island or Echo Lake, Manitoba, trolling a plug or fly-casting a mouse pattern for hard-fighting smallmouths. It's a great fishery, and no one who has tried it could ever argue this.

But my concerns with the anti-bass sentiment really come down to this: as sportsmen -- anglers, hunters, trappers or all of the above -- we have our share of naysayers and anti-groups to deal with. We are constantly facing those who would take away our rights to engage in these sports -- and yet it seems we would sometimes rather fight amongst ourselves about what is the "proper" way to fish or hunt than fight against groups like PETA or stand up against poor governmental policy and corporate polluters.

This infighting extends to other facets of outdoor life too: compound bow hunters versus crossbow hunters, baitcasters versus fly fishermen and so on.

I started this post by using bass fishing as my example. Because whether you fish for bass, salmon, walleye or pike -- fishing is fishing, simple as that, and that's the way it should be considered.

But I'll end this post a broader note: let's pick our battles wisely, folks -- we have no shortage of them. Let every sportsman who legally practices his passion do so without ridicule, and save your energy for the real concerns: anti-groups, poachers and polluters.

And for those of you have haven't tried bass -- the open water season is right around the corner.