I chose this blog theme because bass fishing is a huge part of my life and something I genuinely care about. Any free time I get that is not spent with my family or at an event usually ends up being time on the water. Being out on a lake, especially when the weather is good, is where I feel the most relaxed and clear-headed. Fishing is not just a hobby for me, it is where I find my peace, so it felt natural to make that the foundation of how this blog looks and feels.
The background image I used is a photo of me on my kayak holding a bass that I had just caught, with the swimbait still in its mouth. That photo has a lot of meaning to me because it was one of the fish I weighed in for an online tournament that is run through a fishing group I am part of. The group has around 40,000 members, and the tournament is open to anyone in it. There are five winning spots, and instead of placing first through fifth, anyone who makes the top five wins a prize.
That specific fish weighed six pounds and five ounces, and it ended up being one of my winning fish for that event. The prize was a free handmade resin swimbait built by a garage-based swimbait maker, which made it even more special. I really liked this photo because it clearly shows the swimbait deep in the fish’s mouth, which is something anglers appreciate and notice right away. It felt like a good representation of something I am proud of and passionate about.
I also adjusted the font color to a darker blue because it fits the overall fishing and water theme I am going for. Blue feels calm and natural to me, and it matches the lake environment shown in the background image. I wanted the blog to feel relaxed and easy to read rather than loud or overly busy. The overall mood I am aiming for is chill and hobby-focused, which reflects how fishing feels to me.
I did explore some of the advanced theme options, mainly adjusting things like width, height, and margins using the sliders. After experimenting with those settings, I realized I preferred how the layout looked originally, so I left most of them unchanged. Since this is my first time creating a blog, I wanted to keep things simple and clean while still making it feel personal. As I learn more throughout the course, I may experiment more, but for now this theme feels like a good starting point that represents who I am and what I enjoy.
