Is Bass Fishing a Matter of Luck or Skill?

After spending much of today digging around the Internet, I'm inclined to believe that the vast majority of seasoned anglers everywhere attribute the lion's share of their success to skills they've developed over the years through spending time on the water. Most, however, don't necessarily dismiss the subject of luck as having something to do with it--at least part of the time. That group includes Tim Little, who is tournament partner with Matt Allen of Tactical Bassin' fame.

A bit of luck came Tim's way one day, while he was on Clearlake in Northern California, fishing an S-Waver 200 swimbait in light trout color. As you'll see in the accompanying video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JKwOVqYw6E&t=186s), he gets bit several times but doesn't connect on the hookset, which is where the luck factor kicks in. Thinking he's just missed a bite, Tim has no clue...yet...that he's enticed a wolf pack of big largemouth into attacking his bait. He immediately gets bit again, sets the hook, and breaks off the 30-lb. leader he was using with 65-lb. braid at the time.

What Tim didn't know was that he earlier had nicked his leader, and it no longer was equal to 30-lb. test. Reckon that example pretty much puts the kibosh on the old saying, "What you don't know can't hurt you," huh?

In any event, though, Tim didn't grumble about just losing a big bass...or his $35 lure. As luck would have it, you see, a second bass from the wolf pack tried to steal the bait from the bass that had broken him off. Now, there were two bass (one on the front hook, another on the rear hook) fighting each other over the bait they're both hooked to. The fighting was so vicious they actually were doing cartwheels through the water.

Tim subsequently sprang into action with his net and scooped up both big Clearlake bass, as well as his expensive swimbait.

There's no arguing that, at this time, on this day, luck was on Tim's side. Too often, things go terribly wrong. Gear fails, boats break down, bass don't bite, and/or weather doesn't cooperate. But if you stay prepared, the day will come when luck favors you, and perhaps you, too, will have a day go from bad to worse...to epic!

In case you haven't heard, both Tim Little and Matt Allen have moved themselves and their families from California to Tennessee, joining a growing throng of nationally known anglers who have made such a move and now call Chickamauga Lake their "home lake."