When I was a kid my dad would take me along for ocean fishing (so he could take advantage of the kid discount and double his catch limit) and I did some lake fishing when I was older so I actually kinda get what Jun is saying. Bass are a wild and muscular fish, they fight HARD. A lot of those weak ass lake fish is like playing with a 7 pound Pomeranian, even if the dog thinks it's being tough you can't help but think about how you can easily drag its body across the floor. Bass on the other hand is like playing with a 40 pound husky, they are far stronger and harder to reel in.
Though since I did ocean fishing I can also compare it to barracuda, those things are like trying to drag up a wolf...