The Same Fish

[papajoe222]

It's happened to me and if you frequent small bodies of water, it's likely happened to you.  You catch the same fish, from the same general area, on more than one occasion. Big fish have spots that are home for them. I do a 'milk run' on a decent sized natural lake, so it's not that unusual to catch the same fish more than once during a season.

This year I've caught the same fish four times, oddly on the same bait, but what  really intrigued me was yesterday I caught it almost 300yrds. across from where I first hooked it, on the same tube.  There is no doubt that this was the same fish as she has a scar on one side,another just below her left eye and her tail is missing a small section.

 Have you ever caught the same fish twice in one day, on the same lure, hundreds of yards from the first spot?

[Pat Brown]

I have caught the same giant fish 3 (basically  4) times now on 4 different baits at 3 different times of year and gotten 3 different weights on her.

 

First time she ate a swim jig in February and weight 9 lb 1 oz, second time I caught her on a lipless in April and she weighed 8 lb 12 oz, third time she ate a frog in July and weighed 7 lb 14 oz and a fourth time (a couple weeks later in July) she ate a buzz toad and got off before I could get my hands on her but I'm absolutely certain it was her from the jumps/size/coloration/location etc.  Twice I have caught her near a spawning pocket (spring) and twice I caught her on a feeding flat in the early morning (summer).

 

She is a very aggressive large fish on a small pressured pond and she seems to like how I work my baits.  She has a specific tear on her lower tail that gives her away and distinct shape and markings and she always jumps on the way in a lot.

 

I have held her vertically by the lip 3 times for photos and it does not seem to bother her one bit.

 

 

wish I had landed her properly the 4th time I hooked her on the buzz toad but you gotta lose some to win some AND lose some ??

[Skunkmaster-k]

The runts are usually the ones I catch more than once a day , and I can’t remember ever catching the same fish 300 yards away. 

The same day 

[Team9nine]

 

Similar to Pat, this is my ‘pet’ bass from a small pond I fish, now caught/landed 14 times that I’ve been able to photographically document over a period of 4 years. No telling if some of the big fish I’ve lost here were her also (likely). I’ve caught her on a variety of baits, but the majority of the time she has come from just one end of the pond. I’m guessing she’s the biggest ‘dominate’ bass in the pond left. That said, I’ve never caught her twice in the same day (usually just 3-4 times over the course of a year).

[Reel]

I fish a really big river but I caught the same largemouth bass ( blind in one eye ) from the same rock three years in a row.

[Big Hands]

We had a very unique bass here that several anglers caught a couple years ago in the same area. Then after a bit of not seeing her, she turned up a mile or so away. It weighed around 4 lbs and had a very distinctive . . . 'tummy'. I called her 'muffin top'. 

[WRB]

Dottie was caught several times and weighed over her lifetime.

Back in the 70’s got into tagging bass for a few years at Sherwood lake. 1 bass weighing 6 1/2# to 7# I caught serval times over a 3 year period at the same spot a big boulder near the dam.

Tom

[Dwight Hottle]

I caught a new PB smallie in May of 2022 on Erie. While fishing the same general area by weigh point this year another angler in a different boat caught her again. She had the same markings & sore spot on one side area as a year earlier. She weighed a couple ounces less. We compared pictures latter that day. 

I had a buddy hook an easy 11lb or 12lb largemouth in a farm pond down in GA. Both times he was using a wacky rigged senko casting to a log laydown off the d**n area. Each time she was hooked she jumped mutiple times giving us a good look as to how big she really was before coming unhooked. I kidded him without mercy for choking his chicken everytime that subject came up. 

[A-Jay]

For the 10 or so years I was a canoe only basshead, I think I caught the same bass twice on a couple of different lakes.  Can't be totally sure though and I certainly wasn't trying to do it.

However I am certain there's a few fish I've only caught once that I would really like to catch at least one more time. 

A-Jay 

[thediscochef]

Haven't caught any in the same day, but three that come to mind are the 4lb I caught 24hr 3mins apart in the exact same place, within 10 yards; the 3lb ish bass i caught twice this week (monday then thursday, 30 yards apart); and the tiny tiny meanmouth I caught almost five months apart. This is from the same area of a 27000 acre reservoir. I should branch out more when it cools off...

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

I have caught the same giant fish 3 (basically  4) times now on 4 different baits at 3 different times of year and gotten 3 different weights on her.

 

First time she ate a swim jig in February and weight 9 lb 1 oz, second time I caught her on a lipless in April and she weighed 8 lb 12 oz, third time she ate a frog in July and weighed 7 lb 14 oz and a fourth time (a couple weeks later in July) she ate a buzz toad and got off before I could get my hands on her but I'm absolutely certain it was her from the jumps/size/coloration/location etc.  Twice I have caught her near a spawning pocket (spring) and twice I caught her on a feeding flat in the early morning (summer).

 

She is a very aggressive large fish on a small pressured pond and she seems to like how I work my baits.  She has a specific tear on her lower tail that gives her away and distinct shape and markings and she always jumps on the way in a lot.

 

I have held her vertically by the lip 3 times for photos and it does not seem to bother her one bit.

 

 

wish I had landed her properly the 4th time I hooked her on the buzz toad but you gotta lose some to win some AND lose some ??

I would do...things...to catch an 8+ multiple times lol

[MIbassyaker]

I few years ago I caught the same ~4lb largemouth a month apart, although I didn't notice until I was home comparing pics.  Estimating from satellite map, the two spots are about 2000 feet away. 

 

Most of the places I fish are pretty small, so it's probably happened a lot without me noticing.

[thediscochef]

20 minutes ago, thediscochef said:

Haven't caught any in the same day, but three that come to mind are the 4lb I caught 24hr 3mins apart in the exact same place, within 10 yards; the 3lb ish bass i caught twice this week (monday then thursday, 30 yards apart); and the tiny tiny meanmouth I caught almost five months apart. This is from the same area of a 27000 acre reservoir. I should branch out more when it cools off...

I would do...things...to catch an 8+ multiple times lol

Looking back I think I actually caught this week's fish back in early june. I can't be totally certain because the June photos are a little blurry, but it's the exact shape, size, and has a few markings on the gill plate that are identical. So three times.

[Pat Brown]

I can't prove it with pictures but there is another fish I caught off the rip rap near the dam at the lake I fish at twice off the same spot and it's got one of those really big black blotches on its skin that makes it pretty clearly the same fish.  That was months apart but I believe same exact bait! (Black and blue chatterbait).

 

A buddy of mine caught her this year and tied his PB on a DT8 so she's still kicking and still aggressive.  She got bigger though because my buddy weighed her at 5 lb 8 oz and I weighed her at 4 lb 8 oz a year prior.

[Texas Flood]

I've never exchanged information with the bass I've caught, so can't say for sure. 

[Fishing_Rod]

Greetings All,

Yes, I strongly suspect I have caught the same fish. I did not extensively examine it but my rationale is that the small lake (park pond) is only about 200 m across at the longest aspect. So it is rather easy to simply work your way around the lake. This particular bass was a modest sized 15 inch bass that was hanging around a cluster of reeds. So by the time I made my way back to that area I noticed the similar scarred jaw on this particular bass. Being that there are triple digit (F, or mid 40s C) temperatures out in central AZ this time of year are rough on humans and critters, I choose to minimize exposure time out of the water for the fish. (I should jump in the water too!) Much of the time simply release the hook and back in to be on their way. However, with a scar on the jawbone it is tough to miss that detail. Interesting observation, always glad they are willing to play. Be well and cheers!

[Team9nine]

1 hour ago, thediscochef said:

Haven't caught any in the same day, but three that come to mind are the 4lb I caught 24hr 3mins apart in the exact same place, within 10 yards

Disco brings up another occurrence I have had and confirmed via photographs, that being catching the exact same bass from the exact same location on the exact same bait literally 24 hrs apart. I’d have to dig through the archives, but I might have even posted about it here.

[thediscochef]

Just now, Team9nine said:

Disco brings up another occurrence I have had and confirmed via photographs, that being catching the exact same bass from the exact same location on the exact same bait literally 24 hrs apart. I’d have to dig through the archives, but I might have even posted about it here.

With the numbers you catch I wouldn't be shocked if it was a regular occurrence.  None of mine have hit the same bait twice as far as I know, but we fish different populations

[Team9nine]

Found the pics: less than 22 hours apart from nearly the same position on the same pond, both on Ned from about 4 or 5 years ago. No mistaking that tail :

 

12/26 at 3:55 PM

12/27 at 1:38 PM

 

 

 

[Scott F]

I once caught the same, small northern pike 3 times on consecutive casts! I caught him in a small pool between rapids on a small river connecting two lakes. I was walking the bank when I got him the first time. I released him at my feet and he just stayed there. As I reeled in my next cast, he raced out and grabbed the lure a second time. After he did it the third time, I felt sorry for him and walked away from the spot. He must have been starving.