When will a bass bite again after being caught?

[Dixon]

Me and my buddy have fished the same pond 3 weeks in a row with great success. We have been fishing jigs alot . Caught a lot of fish the last 3 weekends.  The pond isnt huge but it is very good fishing with alot of trees and stumps everywhere.  

So what is the time frame on a bass biting again?  Just curious.

[senile1]

I don't think there is a definitive answer for this question. Some bass will bite very quickly after being caught. Many will not. Typically, it is the younger fish that will bite more quickly after being released but there is no rule, or range of time, that can be given to cover all situations. Individual bass exhibit different behavior.

[Daniel My Brother]

Last year I caught the same 3lb bass twice in the same day, on the same spot, on the same bait.

[Raul]

I 've caught the same fish twice within a 10 min time frame with the same bait, caught it, released it, 3 casts later I hooked it again in the same spot.

You might ask how do I know it 's the same fish ?

I don 't think that two fish can have the same mouth deformity.

[roadwarrior]

Most fish will bite immediately if they don't "feel the steel".

However, I have landed a large (6+) smallmouth that fought

hard to the boat before getting off. This fish had distinctive

marking on the face. I am sure it was the same fish,

thirty minutes later.

8-)

[Triton21]

My PB bit and was hooked on back to back casts.  I threw a cigar type bait to the base of a tall snag, got bit, set the hook and fought the fish about 3/4 the way to the boat and broke off.  Tied on another hook, put on the same type bait, made cast to tall snag and hooked the same fish.  Fought to boat and landed a 8lb 9oz sow.  While taking hook out I saw my other hook and bait in the fishes mouth.  Fish can be seen on 2nd Roadtrip Vid.

[EastTexasBassin]

Last year I caught the same 3lb bass twice in the same day, on the same spot, on the same bait.

I did the same last fall.  I pitched a flappin hog into a brush pile and got a strike.  I set the hook and the fish immediately wrapped up in some brush and broke off.

I took another pass at this brushpile a couple hours later and caught the same fish, with my hook and about 2 feet of line attached to the side of his mouth.  I couldn't believe it.  Just an hour later he fell for the same lure.

[mrbassky]

Being caught and hooked are different. It stresses fish after they are caught and handled. I had a small pond behind my house I fished almost every day when I was younger. Every fish is different but I think 3 days is a good general time frame. Just hooking a bass and they could bite again that day. I think if you put them back quick you can shorten the time frame as well. There are no rules but plan on 3 days for fish to get back to normal. My 2 cents

[I.rar]

i cought a PB 3 or 4 times within 20 mins fishing with shiners.

the first few times he snapped the line (my fault) , so i knew it was him when i landed him and saw 3 hooks in his lip. after i gave him some quick dental work , he was on his way.

[RobbyZ5001]

I have looked at scientific studies which were published on this topic. The average time until they eat again in a tournament setting is 12-20 hours after release. This was scientific results by a fisheries biologist and published in a reputable journal. Obviously there are results outside the normal conditions which would fit outside the 99% confidence interval.

Another set of facts come to mind. A SM will travel an average of 7.5km after release and a LM will travel 3.5KM after release. This is again in a tournament setting where the fish are displaced. Thought it was interesting.

[CWB]

I have caught several fish within minutes of being hooked. (not landed)

Best was I lost a good one on a sluggo that wrapped me around some

reed stalks and broke my line. I retied, put on a new bait and next cast hooked and landed same fish with the first bait still hanging from his face. 4+ lbs. and I got my bait back. I guess this lends credence to 2 theories. 1) Bass don't feel pain in their mouths. If you were hurting from biting a bait and got free, would you bite the same bait again if you were in pain? 2) Bass get conditioned to certain baits. While I do believe this, I believe the more natural a bait appears and acts, the less likely a bass will get conditioned to it. I believe Jigs and plastics that mimic their natural prey will always work while certain spinnerbaits, crankbaits, buzzbaits etc might be rejected except for a reaction strike. See post from sqhertz. I could be wrong.

[Bass_Akwards]

I took a friend fishing this summer who had never been before.  He got a bite on a Senko, and within 5 seconds the bass broke off the line.  He reeled in and got a little mad that he missed the fish and had to have me re tie a new bait for him.  I told him "Hang on, one more cast and I'll retie you a new Senko. I made a cast as he lit a cigarette, and whammo!  I had a fish on.  

10 - 20 seconds AFTER he hooked this bass, I hooked it.  I reeled it in and it had the original Senko and hook my friend used, in it's mouth, as well as the Senko I was using.  This fish had a hook in it's jaw, and a Senko stuck in it's mouth, and it went after another Senko 10-20 seconds later.

I just looked all over my computer for the photo i KNOW I have of this fish with 2 Senkos in it's mouth and can't find it.  What a bummer dag nabbit!

[mrbassky]

Again like I said big difference in being hooked and caught. Hooked doesnt matter as much. Its the stress of being out of water and handled that matters. I think you could catch fish the next day but I think its difficult. When they will bite and when you are likely to catch them is a different story. I found after I caught several fish in my pond (there werent many) that if I waited 2-3 days the fish would bite alot better than they would the next day. But I am sure I could catch some the next day if I really slowed down or used live bait.

[bassnleo]

Interesting experience-------During a summer tournament I caught a 2 pounder (LM) on a worm, fish was on a rockpile in 18 feet of water. Put him in the livewell, rounded out my limit. Next cast I catch a 3 pounder and cull the 2 pounder I just caught.

I returned to the same rock pile 2 hours later. First cast I catch the very same 2 pounder, same bait. I know it was the same fish, it was missing an eye.

Different body of water now-----hook a fish waaay under a dock on a senko. Get him the whole way out and my line breaks. Fast forward 3 hours, fish the same dock, same bait, hook another fish which I land. To my suprise there was my hook and line hanging out of his mouth, least I got my hook back!

Have other stories about catching the same fish 1 or 2 days after originally catching them.

My belief is that a fish will bite after being caught, even handled, it's up to the fish and they are all different.

[fathom]

once caught the same 6# bass (markings) on the same bait out of the same spot on three consecutive saturdays.

he wised up to me on the fourth.

[SMfisher]

i caught the same smallmouth 5 times this past year couldn't mistake it it's mouth was missing the left side looked a little like a trouts mouth on that side. finially took a picture of it in sept.

[ripalip]

Once I guthooked a pig lm, cut the line down as far as I could, and released him back to the water bleeding bad. I figured he was def. a floater. About 15 minutes later I caught the same fish with my 4/0 still down his throat. So I am pretty sure bass get right back to striking or eating after a release.

[cbreeze22]

Very interesting thread. Reallly surprised at how quickly a bass would restrike after being handled and released. Since they apparently often

seem insensitive to what we would think would be their trauma it makes me wonder if they would even at the slightest be affected by the visibility of a line in the water. Guess thats another debate but thats what popped into my mind.  8-)

[Big Tom]

I was fishing with one of my friends and he hooked a pretty nice 3 lb. Smallmouth.  He got it to the boat and was in the process of lifting it out of the water when it came unbuttoned.  If fell back into the water and sat at the boat long enough for me to lower my tube in front of it face.  

It demolished it and I hooked up with it and caught the fish.

[Btech]

I had a situation when i was younger about 5 years ago when i caught a bass and went ot release it as my buddy casted his out and caught the same fish on its way out of the cove we fished he was about 20 foot away from where i released it.

Was wierd to me but now im reading similar stories,

[fishfordollars]

A few years ago I broke off a bass flipping a lizard in the buck brush. Opened up my tackle, tied on another t-rig with the exact color lizard, flipped it back in the bush and stuck the same fish with the original lizard still hung in his throat.

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

Thought I'd add my .02

Just today me and my buddy were having a blast with a very large buck on a bed,close to 3 lbs. He worked the fish into a tantrum caught it and broke off on the hookset. I then worked on him with a different bait.Caught him and released after about 10 mins and it had my buddys paca craw and 4/0 hook in it's throat. I then proceded to work the fish again with a new bait and it bit a third time ;D That was one macho man protecting his nest.GOOD FUN!

[Limpinglogan]

Last oct I caught a 20'' 4lb'er on a jig on the bottom in 15' of water...it had very distinctive marks and a scar on its lip.

An hour later I caught the same fish on a swim bait on the surface 300 yards away.

[Dan Turpin]

Fished my first kayak tourney today. Caught my PB Smallmouth yesterday during a practice run. Went back to check out the spot and she was still there. One of the only sandy/rocky patches in the whole lake choked with weeds. Caught her again today after awhile of trying different baits. Caught what I assume was the male shortly after.

[Captain Phil]

This not a bass story, but you may find it interesting.  When I lived in Miami, I participated in the NMFS Cooperative Game Fish Tagging Program.  Basically, we tagged game fish and tracked their size, location, Etc.  One afternoon, I caught a tagged Atlantic Sailfish.  I measured the fish, removed the tag and released the fish.  After I sent in the tag, I received a letter a few weeks later informing me that my fish had been tagged ten miles up the coast the day before I caught it.  Not only did that fish bite twice in two days, It traveled some distance to do it.