Which provides a bigger thrill: Catching a 5 pound bass or catching a 5 pound trout

Trout

1 of 1

by Don Swearingen

Write now Print Invite a writer™ Add to Favorites RSS Feed Contact this writer

Of course, catching a trout is a bigger thrill than catching a bass. The question should never have come up. There are at least four reasons this is so.

First, a trout is prettier than a bass. A bass is shaped like a beer belly. Go ahead. Look at pictures of large bass. They are all shaped like big barrels with great beer bellies hanging from them.

Not one of them is sleek, and streamlined, the way a trout is, no matter how big or small it is.

A bass's face and mouth is a pug nosed ugly thing that has nothing handsome about it, not the way a trout's nose is part of the streamlined whole a trout is.

A bass is a dull green. Or maybe a shiny, bilious green. In any case, how can it compare to the rose-colored stripe that decorates the side of a rainbow trout, or the bright orange circles on a brown trout's flanks?

Second, if you are looking for a battle, a trout's fight is easily the equal of the bass's, and it is probably the stronger fighter. Especially in the larger fish.

A bass can engage in some spectacular tail walking, but can it equal the acrobatic leaps of a trout that will come out of the water several times its own length, cart wheeling and shaking all over the place? As far as tail walking, nothing can give you goose bumps like a large trout walking on water.

Strength? No argument! The streamlined muscle that is a trout's body can cover the water faster, and with as much strength as a bass, and let's just talk about weight, shall we?

The world record for a Largemouth Bass is 22 lbs, 4 oz. The world record for a Rainbow Trout is 42 lbs, 2 oz. Nearly twice as much! The sheer size of a trout in many instances dwarfs the fighting ability of the biggest bass.

I have caught both, I am within ten minutes of being able to fish for both, and I will fish for trout every time, if I'm looking for a fight.

Third, generally, not always, but generally, trout live in prettier places and better water.

A bass can live in a muddy, sluggish impoundment surrounded by swamps, but a trout has a better opinion of itself.

It lives, mostly in places where the scenery is at least pretty if not spectacular. Snow covered mountains, sweet scented pine trees, blue columbines nodding their heads in a gentle breeze. That's the picture you get when you think trout. Or perhaps gentle slopes as in the Appalachians.

Not some mosquito infested impoundment in the middle of a cow pasture.

And the water! Have you ever seen any self-respecting trout trying to live in a low rent place like those that bass inhabit? Not even! A trout lives in pure, sparkling, clear water, that is cold and clean. Water that often babbles down a mountain side, and only pauses a few seconds in a beaver pond.

Fourth, a trout just tastes better.

Bass are muddy tasting, and frequently their flesh is soft and mushy.

Not so, the trout. The flesh is always firm and well defined.

When a bass is cooked, you can eat it with a spoon sometimes, but you need a fork to flake the flesh away from the bones of a trout.

A bass very often takes on the taste of the water around it, but the trout, who lives in a better neighborhood certainly wouldn't taste like a swamp.

Bass can be cooked in a variety of ways, but frying is just about the only way to make them edible, the rest of the methods that might be used won't enhance (thankfully!) the taste of bass flesh.

The trout can be also prepared in a variety of ways, and every dish is a pleasure to not only behold (remember, a trout is prettier. And handsomer, too!), but is a taste delight to the gourmet who is lucky enough to encounter a properly prepared trout.

Whether it is prepared in a black cast iron skillet on the shore of a rushing stream, or served at a table with shining linen on it, the trout is at home everywhere as a gourmet treat.

Better looking, fighting qualities, a better neighborhood, and better taste. Hands down, it's the trout.

Learn more about this author, Don Swearingen.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.