A Tail of 3 Big Largemouth Bass that is 1 Incredible Largemouth Bass

[Pat Brown]

So as you know from Latest Catch - I caught some doozies on August 2 this week.

 

Full report in there.

 

Second biggest fish of the day was a STRIKING fish.

 

 

She had bug eyes and a really gnarly dent in her dorsal fin that looked SO distinct.

 

Jake and I observed these things in awe as we released her.

 

 

Her eyes bulge out in a very specific way.  And there's another shot of the dorsal fin.

 

Jake and I sort of wrote it off as a well worn late summer spillway monster but her distinct features kept pinging my brain.

 

My bassin friend who is a big swimbait and lipless crankbait master - basically got me successfully catching big fish with both - caught a lunker back in June at the opposite end of the spillway on a football jig and then it dawned on me that he had picture on his fishing page.

 

 

There she was!  The dorsal indentation and insane bug eyes - unmistakable!

 

Months apart - two friends catch the same fish at far ends of a spillway river.

 

We both found this incredible and amusing at the same time and agreed it was a sure sign that catch and release works.

 

But then - it kept nagging at me.  I still felt like this fish felt MORE familiar....I was at Jake's last summer basketball game in the bleachers during halftime looking through past large bass and there she was.

 

I got a cold sweat.  Like bass fishing X Files.

 

 

In April of 2023 - I caught her full of eggs ON. THE.  LAKE.  Shady tree line off a main lake point.  Nearly a MILE and a whole 100 foot drop down a spill way wall and a year apart.

 

She certainly has been through some incredible things and she was by far the most beautiful in April when she was ready to burst under those trees.

 

7.4 lbs at that point on my scale.

 

But what's truly remarkable is how much she endured and the fact that we were reunited beneath the spillway dam this past week just before I caught a 7 lb giant out of her sister school is even more unbelievable.

 

I just had to put this out there for the bass heads of the universe to ponder and absorb.

 

Catch and release the big ones.

[fin]

From time to time I’ve gone back through my pictures and wished there was like a facial recognition system for fish. Fishial recognition system, if you will. 😆 I’m sure it could be done, and it could work similar to fingerprint matching systems, where it highlights matching points of the print.

 

It’s really interesting to see the changes that fish has gone through. For example, look at the spots running along the lateral line. It’s weird how they’re so well defined in your friends picture, and almost invisible in some of your pictures.

[Team9nine]

Good stuff! I always do the same with old pics, and have documented numerous fish caught more than once from smaller bodies of water. But, I had one special fish that ranged between about 4.25-5.25 lbs that I have pics confirming I caught her at least 14 times over a 4 year period. That’s not including how many times I might have hooked and lost her, or others may have also caught her. Pretty cool when it happens. 

[Captain Phil]

Some years ago I fished with a man who showed me a sunken dock on the Harris Chain.  This dock was completely underwater even during droughts.  I would often stop by this dock when fishing the area.  This dock turned out to be the territory of a large bass with some unique markings. The first time I caught her, she weight 6 1/2 pounds.  Over the years I caught her five more times and she gained length and weight each time.  The last time, she was a little under nine.  That bass is probably dead by now. 

 

 

[F14A-B]

This is an interesting thread, I’m glad it was started. It would be even more intriguing if you fellas listed the baits that caught them each time..

[GreenPig]

Nice. That girl gets around. I'll be on the lookout for her, I likem thick.

[Woody B]

Decades ago I think I caught the same Bass, at the same stump on Lake Norman a few times a year for several years.  This was before Spots were introduced to Lake Norman.  This was a Largemouth that had the normal Spotted Bass snake pattern on one side, but was pale on the other.  It started out as a 2 pounder.  Several years later it was up to 5 pounds.  

 

A big Bass surviving a 100 foot spillway is amazing to me.   What would really be amazing is catching it again, back up in the Lake.   

[Fried Lemons]

Awesome story and amazing fish. It’s crazy to me that fish washed out of the lake and survived. She does like like she’s struggling a bit in that creek though. That fish reminds me of a big one I caught 8 years ago.

 

 

[Captain Phil]

17 hours ago, alonerankin2 said:

This is an interesting thread, I’m glad it was started. It would be even more intriguing if you fellas listed the baits that caught them each time..

Spinnerbait

 

 

[Pat Brown]

To all saying she is struggling in the spillway due to her condition:

 

Here in NC the bass spawn all summer and into the fall as temps drop.

 

All of the fish I caught this past weekend had bloody tails and all the females were extremely concave - there's no shortage of food/cover or depth.  The river system goes on for miles into the forest - it's not just a puddle that the lake empties into.

 

If I had to wager a guess - these fish are beat up from spawning relentlessly - it's just how female bass at the end of the summer tend to look around here - especially if they just spawned.  They look this way in big lakes and ponds too and it starts as early as April.

 

She fought hard and swam away vigorously and I assume next spring she'll be porky again for the first round of spawning after winter peaks.

 

With regards to the changes in her lateral lines and darkness of her patterns - bass change colors like chameleons and in dirtier water or deeper water they tend to make themselves pale!  In cleaner water or around dense vegetation - they tend to be more defined and dark in color.

 

I have caught an 8 lber that was pale and put it in my live well and when I pulled it out it was super vibrant and defined.  I have also seen them flaring their color back and forth when sunfish were attacking their beds in the spring.  It's pretty wild!

[Swamp Girl]

Great thread, Pat. And a great story. A persuasive reminder to conserve the resource. 

[Pat Brown]

Oh yeah!

 

First time - 7.4 lbs sapphire blue Zoom Mag Speed Craw on a tungsten @Siebert Outdoors3/8 oz t rig (3/0 offset worm hook) in April of 23' way back off a main lake point on a channel swing (I assume preparing to lay eggs on a bed under the tree I caught her off of)

 

Second time - 5.9 lbs on my buddies scale on a black and blue football jig with craw trailer out of the spillway pool right by the dam in June of 24'.

 

Third time - (I didn't weigh her but I'd guess mid to high 5s) on a Green Pumpkin Zoom Mag Speed Worm rigged weightless on a 3/0 offset worm hook fished in current during a rain storm where the spillway dumps into the main river channel on a channel swing bank off of a sandy point (I presume the larger females just did a round of spawning on this bank as it was 2 days before the new moon).  August 2 2024.

 

For the ULTRA nerds I did a little research:

 

During this day (April 19 2023), the phase of the moon is New Moon with an illumination of 0.00%.

 

I caught her on the new moon spawning or just having spawned - near her bed probably - twice.

[F14A-B]

5 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

Oh yeah!

 

First time - 7.4 lbs sapphire blue Zoom Mag Speed Craw on a tungsten @Siebert Outdoors3/8 oz t rig (3/0 offset worm hook) in April of 23' way back off a main lake point on a channel swing (I assume preparing to lay eggs on a bed under the tree I caught her off of)

 

Second time - 5.9 lbs on my buddies scale on a black and blue football jig with craw trailer out of the spillway pool right by the dam in June of 24'.

 

Third time - (I didn't weigh her but I'd guess mid to high 5s) on a Green Pumpkin Zoom Mag Speed Worm rigged weightless on a 3/0 offset worm hook fished in current during a rain storm where the spillway dumps into the main river channel on a channel swing bank off of a sandy point (I presume the larger females just did a round of spawning on this bank as it was 2 days before the new moon).  August 2 2024.

 

For the ULTRA nerds I did a little research:

 

During this day (April 19 2023), the phase of the moon is New Moon with an illumination of 0.00%.

 

I caught her on the new moon spawning or just having spawned - near her bed probably - twice.

Wow, thanks for the info, very very interesting stuff. Great data! 

[Pat Brown]

They really like those main lake points with sandy channel swing banks - yes they do.  😃🤙🏼🌑🌕🎣😎

[TheSwearingAngler]

I think I posted this before.. same fish 5 days apart in the same spot…  catch and release works and this is how I prove it to people.

[fin]

8 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

With regards to the changes in her lateral lines and darkness of her patterns - bass change colors like chameleons and in dirtier water or deeper water they tend to make themselves pale!  In cleaner water or around dense vegetation - they tend to be more defined and dark in color.

 

I have caught an 8 lber that was pale and put it in my live well and when I pulled it out it was super vibrant and defined.  I have also seen them flaring their color back and forth when sunfish were attacking their beds in the spring.  It's pretty wild!

 

So a leopard can’t change its spots, but a bass can? 😄

 

I’m familiar with bass changing from light to dark, but I’ve never heard of them being able to change their spots or appearance quickly like a squid or cuttlefish. It’s not uncommon in fish, so I’m not doubting, I’ve just never seen it mentioned about bass.

 

I just went down a rabbithole of chromatophores and metachrosis but couldn’t find any bass down there. 😄

[Bazoo]

Awesome bass, story, and information. Thanks for sharing Pat!

[TnRiver46]

5 hours ago, fin said:

 

So a leopard can’t change its spots, but a bass can? 😄

 

I’m familiar with bass changing from light to dark, but I’ve never heard of them being able to change their spots or appearance quickly like a squid or cuttlefish. It’s not uncommon in fish, so I’m not doubting, I’ve just never seen it mentioned about bass.

 

I just went down a rabbithole of chromatophores and metachrosis but couldn’t find any bass down there. 😄

I think I’ve got one for ya 

 

 

these two pics are the same fish on the same day. I brought it back to camp to eat it and my wife and her friend decided to let it go because it was pretty. Then they ate 6 more and said “I wish we hadn’t let that one go, these are delicious “ 😂 

 

bass can change their leopard spots in minutes,

maybe seconds 

[fin]

😳

That's amazing. It looks like it might have a deformed pectoral fin. Is that how you are sure it's the same fish?

 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, fin said:

😳

That's amazing. It looks like it might have a deformed pectoral fin. Is that how you are sure it's the same fish?

 

@fin
Me? No I only caught it once. Snapped the top pic upon catching and threw it in livewell to take back to campsite and eat it. Got it out of livewell back at camp and my wife and her friend took the bottom picture and let it go 

 

takes all the guess work out when you only catch it once and throw it in a box 😂