Where does a bass “go” when you release it?

[garroyo130]

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I let a possum go once and it ran right into another trap I had set 

 

I caught a bass this morning that swam back and jumped onto dry land as soon as it was released ... I guess the water was too cold ?

[J._Bricker]

I’m thinking it’s gonna be between “I’m outta here” to “I’m hungry”.  

Once during a team tournament, my buddy released a culled fish and returned to fishing. On his first cast on a dropshot, he hooks up. We boat the bass and we start to debate whether or not it’ll help the cause. As he is unhooking the fish, he says he just released that fish so he knows won’t help. Naturally I found that hard to believe, and he pointed out the cull clip hole when it first visited the live well.

[Cdn Angler]

When it has taken a while to unhook I often notice that a bass will go immediately to the closest cover (the bank, a log etc) and just sit there. I presume to recuperate. I've noticed the same thing with muskie, to the point that you can come back 15 minutes later and they are still there.

[WVU-SCPA]

A observation I've made after fishing a few days after a weekend tournament where all fish were released at the ramp.

 

The deeper structure located near the ramp often carries an abundance of fish on the graph compared to the typical view of the area.  How long the fish hold there is probably determined by many factors. 

 

Triggering these fish to bite on the other hand can be feast or famine.

[schplurg]

Bluegill are similar to bass, right?

 

I once caught 8 bluegill that were on beds just a few feet off shore. Just males establishing them, no females were there. Every fish I caught went right back to the bed I'd pulled it from. One I even caught twice.

 

Felt bad after a bit and left them alone, but it was very interesting.