Returning at a later date to catch a fish that was lost.

[FatBasser]

Just wondering if anyone has tried or succeeded returning to a spot to try to catch that large fish that you might have lost on a previous trip for whatever reason. I have been keeping notes on some big fish that I have lost recently and was thinking about going back and trying to catch them after they had a chance to cool down so to speak. BTW I mostly fish smaller bodies of water with my kayak so my odds are a little better than someone on Lake Superior LOL.

[huffman1988]

I know someone caught a bass with a distinct mark a week later out of the same spot alway across a lake from where it was released in a tournament. I think in some cases they stay in the general area. Never hurts to try.

[FatBasser]

Yeah I suppose the conditions would play a major role and probably the sooner you go back ( days vs weeks/months ) the better chance you would have. I set the hook on one yesterday that felt like a dump truck on the end of my line and snapped 12lb braid I can't get it out of my head 

[2tall79]

I was fishing a lake a few years ago and I lost a 6lb+ LM on my third cast of the day on a spinnerbait.  I returned to that point at least 5 times during the day and nada.  My second visit the following day produced a 6lb 7oz LM on a Rebel minnow.  You can't convince me that that wasn't the same fish.

On another occasion, I was pre-fishing for a money tournament on a local lake.  I caught a 4lb 4oz SM off a bed.  I returned the next weekend and caught her again.  The next weekend was the tournament and I went straight to the spot and she was still there and appeared to not have spawned yet.  She would not touch anything I put on that bed.  That fish would have been big fish for the tournament and put $500 in my pocket.

[Bluebasser86]

I was fishing a tiny pond that I found with Google maps on public land by a reservoir. I'd caught some very healthy fish up to 3 pounds, but the size of the pond lead me to believe that was probably as big as they got. I snagged a good sized submerged limb with a Senko, drug the limb most of the way in before my bait popped off. The Senko was pushed up on the bend of the hook, spiraled the whole way in. I was pretty much ready to leave after the commotion I made dragging the limb until a huge wake pushed up behind my bait and I watched a big mouth flare open and suck in my bait. Of course I set the hook back into my kinked up Senko and missed the fish. 

1 week to the day later, I returned with nothing but my swimbait rod and several swimbaits intent on covering every inch of that little pond to get that fish to bite. Various retrieves all across the pond with a Deps 175 and weedless 68 Hudd came up empty, so I switched to my Ol' Faithful 7" MS Slammer. First cast was under an overhanging tree that's roots protruded into the water. Waited a solid minute after the splashdown. A single, soft twitch and the bait disappeared into a giant boil. Now I don't know 100% for sure this is the same fish, but because of the size of the pond it came from, odds of there being another this large or bigger are really slim.

[Fun4Me]

I Lost a jig, from a knot that slipped, that stuck in the mouth of a big bass during the spawn. Went back the next day and caught it again on a drop shot and retrieved my lure

[Spankey]

I've be down that road before many of time to go back and land the fish I felt that I lost. 

 

I lost a fairly nice Smallie Saturday on a Wopper plopper. 15"-18" leaning more toward the 15" mark I think. I think he'll still be there this Saturday for me to go after. I should of went up yesterday but got hung up fishing another point and a creek I've never went up. 

 

Area sees some pressure but mostly cat fishing guys. 

 

I hope you get him. You will. You know what he likes. 

[BassB8Caster]

i have wondered this same thought as i have lost some bigger fish (5lb to 6lb or so). I think its like one of those things that will not have one answer. Unless the answer is "it depends". Seems like the concensus is any where from tossing a different bait in at it, to wait a day, a week etc. I wonder too if it would depend on how you had the fish on. Was it a tough battle with the hook in the mouth that worked its way loose? or was it a fish that was holding on to a bait that it spit loose at the surface without the hook ever in its mouth? One would think that the more pain inflicted in the mouth of the fish, the more she may go without eating. If the fish believes that the prey got away, and has no thought of an artificial bait, she may eat again soon. But no way to really know this unless we can catch the same fish again (with specific markings or one of your hooks still in her). 

 

I fish mostly all small ponds that get little fishing pressure. I usually skip around and fish different ponds, or maybe ill hit the same pond two outings in a row (which is typically once a week), and i have yet to hook the same big fish twice. I know this because im talking bests of 4.25 or 4.5 vs a fish well over 5. No comparison to them. So i know for sure i havent missed them twice. Do i catch the same 2.5 to 4lbers? Quite possible. Just not the big girls.  

[WRB]

One of the most misunderstood and difficult behavior habit of big bass is location.

As a trophy bass angler learning where these big bass are located is essential to catching them. I keep my eyes focused down into the water every minute I can in hopes of seeing a big bass visually and watch my sonar also. 

When you see a big bass following your lure or another bass you are fighting make note of the location. If you hook and catch or loose a big bass that tells you everything you need to know about location and active feeding time.

My routine is to go back to locations I know big bass are located at about every 3 hours if possible. Another misunderstood big bass behavior is they are rarely solitary fish unless the  location is small or isolated, big bass group up in 3 or more when hunting or activity feeding. Don't leave after catching one big bass, stay and catch several!

Tom

[pondbassin101]

I've caught the same 5 pounder twice in under 10 minutes one morning. I broke off on a popper and caught the same exact fish on a spook 3 casts later with the popper still hooked to the underside of the fish.

[Koz]

I recently read a book where they had tagged large bass and tracked them for nearly a year. What they found is that the big, big bass rarely stray more than a few hundred yards in any direction. I suppose that changes if there are serious changes to the food supply, but if there is ample food they seem to stick to a general area.

[CroakHunter]

We have caught multiple big fish multiple times. We tag fish in 3 of our lakes. Same are or over 2 miles away. 

[gim]

I've marked large individual boulders in rivers and lakes when fishing for smallmouth because large fish gravitate towards them, sometimes more than one at a time.  They produce year after year because I catch fish there season after season.  This strategy applies a lot in muskie fishing.  When I have a follow, I'll usually use a slower follow up lure right away and then move on but I always mark that spot and return to it later to see if I can entice that fish into striking instead of following.

[Brown Town]

I know at least with muskie fishing you can have the same fish follow you up to the boat several days in a row in the same exact spot and she won't eat it until she wants to. Its easy to distinguish muskies because of distinct scars or coloration so we know were going after the same fish. A lot of times they will just sit on the same log or boulder for days at a time. I'm sure big bass are the same way at least staying within a couple hundred yards of their core area. Caught a 5 pounder one year on one point and caught her again the next year 100 yards away at the adjacent point. gained about half a pound since the first time she was caught. 

[dszal]

I've seen this happen in ponds. There was this laydown next to a drop-off on the dam of a particular pond that consistently held this 2.5-3 lb. bass. I caught this fish multiple times. I think especially in smaller bodies of water, certain bass find their niches and stick to them.

[Bass Brandon]

I have no experience with this type of fishing in large bodies of water but I can definitely say I whole heartedly believe it works in the ponds I fish at, even with smaller fish in the 2lb range.

 

Theres a story online that backs up this topic about the guy who caught the nj state record out of a farm pond, broke his line, went back to the same spot with heavier line and caught the fish