If sport fishing were incorporated as a single business, it would rank 27th on the Fortune 500 List of top sales producers, surpassing such giants as Coca-Cola, GTE and Dow Chemical. In every state, except Alaska. Some surveys list bass fishing as the number one participation sport. Others place it in the upper five.
Many people consider bass fishing to be a southeastern activity, but it is a national pastime.
Of the top 10 B.A.S.S. membership states, six are outside the south. Tournaments are won based on total pounds and ounces of bass weighed over a three-day competition. All B.A.S.S. tournaments limit anglers to weighing no more than 5 bass per day. They must never have more than five bass in the livewell at any one time. B.A.S.S. introduced catch and release to bass anglers after getting the idea from trout fishermen.