When was the last time you learned something from watching a fly fishing film? I’m not talking about what you gleaned from sweeping shots of dramatic scenery or triumphant hugs after trophy catches. I mean tips n’ tricks: do this to catch that. Fly fishing films are often entertaining, notoriously artsy, but lacking in their ability to convey practical know-know. That is all well and good, because they’re not necessarily meant to teach. They’re meant for a good time (and a little bit of product placement). That just means you’ve got to look elsewhere for a little bit of learning.

My suggestion? Forget the fly fishing genre all together and watch some bass fishin’. (Not fishing – fishin’.) And if you’re going to go that route, go big. Go to the top. Go watch you some Bill Dance. Bill Dance has been fishing on television since 1968. Along with the likes of Roland Martin, Jimmy Houston, and Hank Parker, he has been educating and entertaining millions of anglers for over half a century.

He drives a big, glittery bass boat. He casts treble-hooked crankbaits on heavy line with high-tech baitcasting reels. He fishes in jeans. He catches fish after fish after fish. And there are a lot of things that fly fishers can learn from him and his peers.

Here are four reasons why you,  the fly fisher, should watch bass fishing shows:

Cover & Structure

You’ll hear bass fishermen talk about cover and structure all the time. It is all about docks, rip rap, drop offs, points, weed beds, channels, islands, etc., etc., etc. Looking at a big lake or impoundment is daunting. But professional bass anglers can pick them apart and find fish fast.

Watch them find spots to fish and listen to why they picked those spots. Bass, trout, and redfish are all looking for the same thing: food and security. Conceptually speaking, there are a lot of points of continuity between a big lake and a small stream.

Fish Behavior

Fly fishers rarely think about the sun or the phase of the moon. I can’t remember the last time I read a fly fishing article that talked about wind (with the exception of how to cast when it is windy). Temperature only impacts what fly fishers wear, and the barometer is neither here nor there.

All of those heavily factor into bass fishing culture. It isn’t that casting a spinner bait vs. a pig n’ jig  depends on a waxing or waning gibbous; it is that those schools of ecological awareness impact fish behavior. These tidbits of general biological and ecological knowledge will positively influence your time on the water.

Gear Perspectives

If you tie streamers, you should spend some time watching infomercials hocking conventional gear. The amount of resources and money that go into just making lures dwarfs the entirety of the fly fishing industry. The optimum profile, flash, color, and water displacement that influence  lure design can translate into what you do at the vise.

Moreover, there are times when bass anglers aren’t throwing 50-pound braided line on broomstick-rigid rods. What makes them change tactics? Why lighten up? Why do they use fluorocarbon or monofilament? Why do they retrieve that lure how they do in that situation? There is more meat than bones as you chew on these TV shows.

Fishing Fun

If you like unpretentious, family friendly outdoor entertainment, you could do a lot worse than some of the old standbys in bass fishing. Things aren’t fast-paced or hard-hitting, but there are some beautiful places and some engaging personalities.

Plus, in my purely subjective opinion, Bill Dance bloopers are pure comedy gold.

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Bill Dance and his buddies were my Saturday morning routine during my teenage years. Long after I switched over to fly fishing for trout, I stuck with the bass fishing shows. I can honestly say that they had as much, if not more, of an impact on my formative years than any fly fishing specific resource. Why? Fish are fish. Water is water. Anglers are anglers.

Have a favorite bass fishing TV show? Let me know in the comments below!