A question for the ages

[kjc]

Hello all!

I'm new to this forum, but I have a question that really needs to be answered.  How soon after a bass is caught and released, will it "bite" again?  Some folks say it may take days, I have also heard that the same bass might just bite again on the next cast.  The reason I'm asking is during preparation for a tourney, I want to hit some areas, but I'm not sure if its a good idea the day before a tourney to hit one of my favorite spots.  What do you think?

[Cephkiller]

I think it depends on the fish.  I have seen the same fish caught up to 3 times in the same day (I know this from unique markings or scars, etc.).  If I were preparing for a tournament, however, I would not take the chance.  I have never seen multiple bites from a big fish.  I suspect the larger the fish, the longer the recovery period.  Most tournament fisherman will prefish for a tournament with the hooks bent over or they will simply not set the hook and "shake the fish off".  That is certainly your best bet.  Good luck.

[LONGEARS]

When prefishing I would not be fishing my favorite spots but checking out and learning about other spots.And making every effort not to stick fish.

[roadwarrior]

Here's my best story and it happen last year on Pickwick Lake. I was fishing for largemouth on a shallow flat at the mouth of a small creek. The creek channel, at the "old" mouth is probably 15- 20 ft wide and 6-8 ft deep, the flat is now a large cove off the main lake but only 2-4 ft deep and completely covered with old stumps. I'm fishing a Senko in grass and switching occasionally to a mustard colored tube in and around the creek channel. I had caught several nice largemouth and a couple of small spots...and then it happened.

I got a violent strike on the tube and the fish took off. I was sure it was a monster, maybe a 7 or 8 lb largemouth, until she jumped. This is not an area where I ever catch smallmouth, but when she jumped I could tell she was a 5+ bronzeback! I fought the fish for what seemed like an eternity and she jumped one more time. As I got her to the boat she made her final surge and was gone.

It took a while to get over that. I went back into the grass,picked up a couple more small fish and as dusk approached I made my way back to the creek. I switched back to the tube and on the first cast to the same spot I caught the smallie earlier...BAM, I got her again and this time I landed her.

Even big fish will bite twice.

[Cephkiller]

Well, alright then!  That's good news.

[Shad_Master]

There is a private pond near my house that I am not supposed to fish in, but I do (you know what I mean).  Any way, after fishing this pond for several months, I discovered that I was always catching at least one fish off of a stand of grass across the little channel from where I usually started out.  It got to the point that I would walk to the bank, turn to my right , throw a crank bait (any color any size) and catch a fish.  I started looking and noticed that this fish had holes all around it's mouth from being hooked and I am pretty sure that I am the only one fishing there.  Is it the same fish being caught day after day?  Who knows, but it makes a good story.

[5bass]

If you hang a male bass that is guarding a bed,you can catch him 4-5 times or more in a row.I know this for a fact....last spring I located a huge female on the bed and noticed the male bass was making his rounds chasing off anything that came near the nest.

Well,I pitched my jig onto the bed and the male immediately jumped on it and was moving it off the bed.I set the hook thinking if I stuck him once,he'd be less aggresive with a fat lip.I was wrong.....no sooner than I put him back in,the next pitch was exactly the same as the first,I pitched,he bit.I released him and caught him on 3 consecutive casts.The third time I reeled him in,I put him in the livewell and proceeded to catch the female after about 25 minutes and 7-8 different baits.

After getting the big girl in the boat,I got a couple pics snapped off and out she went....along with her boyfriend from the depths of my livewell.I really believe that the male would have hit my bait as many times as I would've pitched it in there,judging by the way he was acting.He did not hesitate AT ALL,he swam up to it and sucked it in immediately,no watching it,no sniffin' it,nothing like that.

All in all I would say that I only caught him like that because he was guarding the nest.....under normal circumstances that would not have happened.

[Nick_Barr]

I personally think that it depends on how dumb that fish truly is. When i catch i will catch them again about a week later because of the white scars on their lips.

[Fl._Flippin_Fool]

I know for a fact that fish will bite as soon as the next day after being caught the day before, but for fishing a tournament, if you are sure fish are holding in your Favorite spot, then dont fish it, but if you just want to see for sure, dont set the hook, and let them shake off.

[gone_bassin]

well i realy thinks it changes from fish to fish.

just this last year i was fishin with my son when

he set into a 5 pounder and lost him along with one of my crank baits. no more than a few hours later i landed him and got my rapala back.

im not sure if my little story helps at all but

bass being territorial as they are i think you could

catch the same fish the next day. i however would not gamble on it though

[flippnfish]

Don't count on catching any fish that you caught in practice. Chances are they will not bite again. Best thing to do, is not stick fish in practice. You can tell the size of the fish by the way they bite.."usually"! However, you can lift the fish to the surface to get a look at them without setting the hook in them on a jig or soft plastics. But. it takes practice. I keep a box of pre-fishing baits. Spinnerbaits and Jigs with just enough hook to hold a trailer, the rest (hook) being cut off. Crankbaits have the hooks bent in to the shank. If you cut the hooks off the crankbait it will not run the same.                                                                         Not setting the hook on a fish is the hardest thing to do. But, you will be glad you did come tournament time! Hope that helps you!!

[Brad_Coovert]

I would say it depends on the fish, but I have caught the same fish on back to back casts and on successive days - they were both fish I broke off and they had my hook and plastic in their mouth when I caught them a second time.

The one that really killed me was during a Federation Top8 tourney when I busted off a fish on a plastic lizard.  My non-boater threw up in the same place while I retied and caught a fish.  When he got it in the boat, it had my lizard and hook buried firmly in its jaw.  At least I got my lizard and hook back, but the 3lb. fish would have done wonders for my weight.

Brad