ABOUT BASS FACTS
How Bass Facts is built
Primary sources when possible, clear uncertainty labels, original databases where useful, and a deliberate separation between established biology and angling inference.
The standard
Bass Facts is built as a reference site. We prefer primary and authoritative sources, preserve uncertainty when the evidence is incomplete, and separate documented facts from fishing advice, inference and historical anecdotes.
Source hierarchy
Primary & official sources
Wildlife agencies, record-keeping organizations, original datasets, regulations, archival documents and the published study itself take priority whenever they are available.
Peer-reviewed science
Biology and fish-health claims are traced to peer-reviewed papers, research institutions and agency scientists. A fishing-site summary does not outrank the underlying study.
Expert and contemporary sources
For angling technique and fishing history, first-hand interviews, tournament organizations and contemporaneous reporting can be the best available evidence. Those sources are labeled for what they are.
How uncertainty is handled
Some bass questions do not have a single settled answer. A photograph may show unusual coloration without revealing its genetic cause. Two state-agency pages may disagree on the same record. A laboratory association may be strong without proving that a virus causes every observed health effect. Bass Facts does not turn those situations into false certainty.
Supported fact
The claim is directly supported by a strong source or converging authoritative evidence.
Evidence with limits
The evidence supports a narrower statement than the popular version of the claim, so the limits are stated explicitly.
Claim, anecdote or open question
Interesting stories can still be worth documenting, but they are not presented as established biology or record-book fact.
Records and original databases
Records pages preserve provenance, not just numbers. The state-record database stores the source used for each row and keeps conflicts visible. The Texas giant-bass resources distinguish individual catch events from TPWD-confirmed recaptures of the same fish. When rules or taxonomy change, the historical classification and the current interpretation are both documented.
Corrections and updates
Pages carry review dates when the information is time-sensitive. If an agency changes a record, a taxonomic revision changes a scientific name, or new research materially changes an explanation, Bass Facts updates the page and documents the new status rather than quietly preserving an outdated claim.
Fishing advice is not automatically science
Practical fishing pages may combine fisheries research with experienced-angler technique. Those are different kinds of evidence. A study showing that turbidity affects prey capture can support a biological explanation for why visibility matters; it does not scientifically prove that one lure color or retrieve is always best. Bass Facts keeps that distinction visible.
Images and media rights
Legacy photographs are tracked as owned, permissioned, externally copyrighted or unresolved before reuse. An image appearing on the old Bass Fishing Facts site is not treated as proof that Bass Facts owns it. Permissioned images retain required credits.
Search and AI citation
The site is structured so claims can be traced: descriptive headings, direct source links, stable canonical URLs, clear dates, original tables and explicit uncertainty notes. The goal is not to write for an algorithm. It is to make useful information easy for readers, search engines and AI systems to verify.
See an error?
Record pages and research summaries can change as better evidence appears. Reader corrections and stronger documentation are welcome, especially when a source conflict can be verified.