Catching the same fish multiple times. 2024
Tlauz reply :
I caught this largemouth at the beginning of the year and then again this fall. It had a very distinctive upper jaw and was in the same area so I am sure it is the same fish. The bottom pic of the smallmouth is from last summer and this summer. I am assuming it is the same fish because of the missing tail section. I am curious if you guys have ever caught a fish that you know you caught before.
MIbassyaker reply :
I bet it happens more often than I notice. Here's one I did notice this summer, a month between catches. 3.65lb in june, 3.92lb in july, about 1000 feet apart (notice the markings on the side, almost identical scale to scale):
papajoe222 reply :
Back in the 80's, I participated in a tagging program on my home waters. The lake is only 140 acres and only 100 fish were tagged. The following season, I caught four fish that I'd caught and released the previous year that had been tagged. By the 5th season (1990) I had caught 14 fish that I'd caught previously. By 1995 I only caught 3 fish total, that were tagged. That was the last year I recorded a tagged fish.
soflabasser reply :
Catching the same fish seems to be more common in small bodies of water.There was a bass that I caught at least 4 times and I have caught several fish more than once.
DrMarlboro92 reply :
As I've stated elsewhere in the forums, I've caught the same fish 3 times in the same day, a few hours apart, with different bait. Catching the same fish multiple times is normal and likely happens more often than people realize but we only know when the fish is either tagged, or has some unique marking/scars.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I've caught the same broken back bass the same day, on the same bait, off the same stump once. I also caught the same tagged bass in a small lake twice the same year, on the same bait, but at opposite ends of the lake. Then I have this fish that I believe is the same fish, caught twice a month apart from the exact same spot on the same bait. The first time it weighted 4.44, next time it weighed 4.84.
Jar11591 reply :
Caught the same smallie twice in one day. It was an 18" smallmouth that went 2.55 lbs the first time I caught it, and an hour or so later it weighed 2.66. It was easily identifiable by 2 scars on its side and gill plate. Caught pitching the same lay down.
"hamma" reply :
Yes, I and some of my old bass fishing buddies have a "pet" largemouth at a local lake. It has a very distinctive tumor on its tail, and I've caught it several times. We named it Henry after one of our other departed friends. (we all formed a small club many years ago, and the real Henry was a member) And whenever someone catches Henry, we would inform the others of Henries continued existence. I havent seen Henry in a while since I have moved and others have either done the same, or passed on.
Now that im thinking of it, maybe I will check that lake out looking for Henry. Last I heard Henry was around 9 lbs or so. should be well over 11 by now.
Goose52 reply :
I'm nearing the end of the second season of working a tagging program in three of my local lakes. To date, I have tagged 694 bass and have 298 recaptures of the tagged bass. I have re-caught many of the fish 3 or more times. The record, so far, is one bass that I have caught a total of 6 times. AND, this is only the second season. Who knows what lies ahead in the coming years...
N Florida Mike reply :
I just posted this recently on another thread.I caught the same 4 pounder 8 times.A friend caught him once.I named him " Hard Luck ". He was by far the most aggressive fish I ever caught.
He stayed under my boat at my dock.Any time I fished he would attack most anything I threw out.He was specially fond of bream.After catching him a couple times,and I realized it was the same fish,I tried not to catch him but he would plaster anything thrown out.
Btw,How do y'all tag your fish? I was buying tags on line but the cheapest supplier went way up on the prices.
WIGuide reply :
On 10/26/2016 at 10:24 AM, Tlauz said:I caught this largemouth at the beginning of the year and then again this fall. It had a very distinctive upper jaw and was in the same area so I am sure it is the same fish. The bottom pic of the smallmouth is from last summer and this summer. I am assuming it is the same fish because of the missing tail section. I am curious if you guys have ever caught a fish that you know you caught before.
I'm not sure if the Largemouth is the same fish. It looks similar, but it's hard to tell without being able to see the markings. The deformed upper jaw is actually fairly common so it's possible it's not the same fish. The smallmouth is definitely the same though.
WestMichiganBass reply :
Caught the same fish less than 24 hours apart in almost the same spot. Done it a few times with both bass and pike.
Raul reply :
I've caught the same fish 4 times the same week, let alone several months apart, heck, I've caught the same fish twice minutes apart a few yards away from where I caught it in the first time.
Scott F reply :
While fishing in Canada, I caught the same, little, hammer handle pike 3 times on consecutive casts. I was walking along a short river that connected two lakes to fish below a small waterfall. On the way, I stopped at a spot and caught the small pike. When I released it, it stayed close to shore where I could see it. I made another cast and I watched the pike shoot out and grab the bait. I released him again, cast out, and once again he charged out and grabbed my spinner. I felt sorry for the fish as he must have been starving. No telling how many times I might have got him if I stayed, but I thought for his sake, 3 times was enough.
Paul Roberts reply :
Yes! I fish small waters (3 to 40acres) so it can't be helped. Tends to make me careful with "my" fish.
Bass Turd reply :
On 10/26/2016 at 7:04 PM, Goose52 said:I'm nearing the end of the second season of working a tagging program in three of my local lakes. To date, I have tagged 694 bass and have 298 recaptures of the tagged bass. I have re-caught many of the fish 3 or more times. The record, so far, is one bass that I have caught a total of 6 times. AND, this is only the second season. Who knows what lies ahead in the coming years...
Goose52- I for one would love to hear more details of the tagging program. If you are so inclined... start it's own thread and update it each year. That would be fantastic information.
Goose52 reply :
On 10/27/2016 at 12:17 AM, Bass Turd said:Goose52- I for one would love to hear more details of the tagging program. If you are so inclined... start it's own thread and update it each year. That would be fantastic information.
To the OP - I will drift off-topic for a moment...
Bass Turd - The tagging program is interesting stuff. I'm the "field-force" for a biologist that is on retainer to help manage our local community lakes. Not sure if I want to maintain a thread on this but here's a couple recent posts that I made regarding the program that sum it up. The results of the program so far are, at the same time, interesting and depressing. My water is very infertile, with little forage, lots of skinny bass, and not much that can be economically done about it...
Why the Tagging Program Post:
Primarily for monitoring LMB growth rates as part of an ongoing study assessing the quality/fertility of our local lakes. We have 11 main lakes in our community, totaling about 530 acres. I have been measuring and weighing thousands of bass in these lakes for the last 7 years. My data is provided to our Lakes Consultant, who also receives data from our local bass club. He uses those thousands of data points as part of his assessment of the health/quality of the fishery. He also uses seining techniques to assess annual recruitment, brings in electroshock equipment from time to time, measures water chemistry, and uses other factors as part of his overall review. The lakes are generally of low fertility, with less than optimum reproduction of forage fish, and are low-yield regarding catch rates. Our bass are generally thin - averaging about 75-85% of national average weights. Some of the low fertility relates to the geology of the lakes - I guess they would be classified as highland reservoirs, with a rock substrate, and in many places a rock or muck bottom. There is little emergent vegetation, but some of the lakes do have significant sub-surface vegetation at certain times of the year.
Corrective measures have included lake fertilization which was effective but opposed by the majority of residents due to the extreme staining of the water. Hundreds of fish structures (concrete & pvc pipe "porcupines") have been constructed and placed at strategic places in the lakes and those are effective in providing an area for algae growth (on the pvc) - attracting both forage fish and bass (I caught 3 bass off a field of those structures just this morning). Tilapia have been stocked due to their rapid growth and reproductive rates in an effort to provide additional forage.
So, knowing that the lakes are low fertility/low yield, the next step was to assess actual growth rates of known fish. A pilot program was started in one lake and that gave some good data so I was drafted to tag bass in 3 other lakes (totaling 65 acres). I'm in the second season now and have tagged about 630 bass so far and have had many recaptures. As mentioned earlier, the data is showing poor growth rates, with little to no growth in some fish over the course of a year. In some cases, we have negative weight changes after a year. It's looking like we could have 10" bass that might be 3 or 4 years old! If the data trend of slow growth continues next year, I am going to recommend to the Lakes Consultant that we take some scale samples to determine the actual age of some of these fish.
At the end of the day, there is a limit to what can be done to improve the fishery. There is only so much budget for forage fish stocking and habitat improvement, most residents are not anglers and like the lakes to look like swimming pools (clear water and no cover), and in general we are fighting mother nature in regards to the geology of the lakes.
Some Data From the Tagging Program:
I am nearing the end of my second season of tagging LMB in three of my local lakes (38, 16, and 11 acres). I have tagged 691 bass so far and have 298 recaptures of those bass. Of those 298 recaptures, NONE have generated any of the oft-quoted growth metrics (e.g., x inches/year, x pounds/year). I get pretty exited when I have, say, a 14" bass grow an inch in a year. I have bass that I measured at 260 mm 16 months ago that are now only 270/275 mm (in other words - a 10" bass still being around 10" 16 months later).
So my lakes represent the flip-side of your lake - mine are very infertile, with generally poor forage, with many skinny bass having very low "relative weights". OTOH, I do have some very healthy, plump bass having relative weights at 100% or over that apparently are able to out-compete most of the other bass for available forage.
Here are my average relative weights for inch classes from 10" to 22":
| 10" | 79.1% |
| 11" | 81.1% |
| 12" | 77.5% |
| 13" | 75.6% |
| 14" | 73.8% |
| 15" | 73.5% |
| 16" | 75.2% |
| 17" | 77.9% |
| 18" | 76.9% |
| 19" | 77.1% |
| 20" | 76.8% |
| 21" | 81.3% |
| 22" | 77.0% |
These results have REALLY made me appreciate it when I catch a 4, 5, or 6 pound bass in my water - they are scarce, and have taken a LONG time to achieve those weights.
Paul Roberts reply :
Thanks, Goose52, for such a great write up of the work being done on your waters. Very interesting.
UPSmallie reply :
Haven't ever caught the same fish years apart, but one day caught a dink smallmouth on a Rapala Shadow Rap and about 2 hours later caught the same darned dink in the same spot as before with the same Rapala.
1BADAIR reply :
last year I caught a largemouth on a tube. I removed the tube and tossed it over the side then released the fish. LOL he saw the tube hanging there and ate it again
Jar11591 reply :
A few years back I stayed on Black Lake in St. Lawrence county NY, for a week. My buddy caught a bass from the dock on day 2, and we quickly took notice of its mouth. It's had over a dozen holes all over its face, and the outer top jaw was one large hole. This fish had obviously been caught over and over and over again. Day 6, my buddy caught it again.
NEBasser101 reply :
I'm sure I've caught the same bass numerous times, but I've never really noticed
geo g reply :
I know I have caught the same fish twice since both times I broke - off and caught both fish with my hook still in its jaw. They both had no problem eating with my Gama hook still attached. I'm sure its happened many times over the years I just never took notice.
2tall79 reply :
I was pre fishing a money tournament a number of years ago and caught a 4 lb 8 oz smallie off a bed in a pad field in 4 FOW. Went back the following weekend and caught her again. Went there first thing tournament morning (following weekend) and she was still there but I couldn't get her to take anything. I returned 3 or 4 times during the day and nada. That fish would have been big fish for the tournament and put $500 in my pocket. 
Further North reply :
On 10/26/2016 at 10:24 AM, Tlauz said:I caught this largemouth at the beginning of the year and then again this fall. It had a very distinctive upper jaw and was in the same area so I am sure it is the same fish. The bottom pic of the smallmouth is from last summer and this summer. I am assuming it is the same fish because of the missing tail section. I am curious if you guys have ever caught a fish that you know you caught before.
You're smallie has a twin in a lake near me...and I've caught it 3 times now.
Twice off the same dock and once about 100 yards away in a shoreline deadfall.
WestMichiganBass reply :
What do you guys think do you think these are the same fish? Me and a friend can't decide but I think they are. The markings behind the gill plate look identical to me.
Paul Roberts reply :
On 10/27/2016 at 11:10 PM, WestMichiganBass said:What do you guys think do you think these are the same fish? Me and a friend can't decide but I think they are. The markings behind the gill plate look identical to me.
Markings do look alike to me. Although second image is poor, but if you blow both up side by side, you'd probably be able to be more sure.
I'll say one thing for sure: One's a much better photographer than the other though. 
I mention that bc I guess I'm still rankled at the photos a photography-challenged buddy used to take of me and my catches. I'd check lighting, background, and composition. He'd just whack away as if the camera was supposed to do all that. That was 30 years ago. Guess I'm not entirely over it. 
Goose52 reply :
On 10/28/2016 at 12:09 AM, Paul Roberts said:Markings do look alike to me. Although second image is poor, but if you blow both up side by side, you'd probably be able to be more sure.
I'll say one thing for sure: One's a much better photographer than the other though.
OUCH - and that was back in the film days - it was a bit spendy back then to pay to develop and print poor photos...!
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