The term Bass actually refers to several different species of game fish. It includes both marine and freshwater species. There are black basses like the largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass and the Guadalupe bass. There are also temperate basses such as the white bass and the striped bass.

There are many other species of bass such as the black sea bass, giant sea bass, Australian bass, Chilean sea bass (more popularly known as Patagonian toothfish) and the European sea bass.

The body temperature and metabolism of bass are controlled by the water temperature. Bass are most active when water temperature is between 60 and 75 degrees. If the temperature drops below 50 degrees, their metabolism slows down. The diet of bass varies. They eat minnows, crawfish and sculpin. They also eat crippled or injured prey such as mice, rats, ducklings, worms, snakes, salamanders, lizards, etc.

Bass fishing is a sport that involves angling specifically for black bass. It actually started in the late 18th century. The earliest record of bass fishing becoming a sport would be 1769. Onesimus Ustonson introduced his multiplying reels to fishing enthusiasts. Later on these reels evolved to become bait caster. More than a century later, in 1897, William Shakespeare, Jr. was granted a patent for a level wind device for fishing. In 1915, the Shannon Twin Spinner was produced by the William J. Jamison Company. It was an excellent reel. This led to the creation of the modern spinner bait reels. In 1932, several dams were built for generating hydroelectric power. This resulted to the creation of several lakes. These lakes were later used to culture many varieties of bass fish. When the DuPont Company created a new type of fishing net made of nylon in 1937, fishing experts realized that it was the perfect material for a monofilament fishing line. This caused bass fishing to continue to grow as a sport. The 1950′s is considered to be a very successful decade as far as this sport was concerned. Most of the modern bass fishing equipment was created at this time. This included bass boats, lines, lures, rods and other types of fishing gear. » Read more: Bass Fishing Information and How to Catch Bass Fish