same fish? 2024

oldpapa72 reply :

Fishing the rip rap in a small railroad lake in the last three weeks I have caught 3 bass over 7 pounds. One 7.1, one 7.25 and another 7.5. The dam is small, probably only 300 yards. Do you think I am catching the same fish?

Team9nine reply :

Doubt it, but you never know. If you took pictures of all the fish, you can usually compare them and tell, looking for little similarities in coloration, fin shape, markings, etc.

scaleface reply :

Were there holes in there mouths ?

tander reply :

On 1/1/2019 at 7:43 AM, scaleface said:

Were there holes in there mouths ?

Dang, you beat me to it. ????

Paul Roberts reply :

I'd say no, only bc I doubt those fish are gaining that much weight roughly a week apart. Certainly not in my waters, anyway! If they might be growing that fast (water temps over 55 yet?), then, maybe.

I do commonly re-catch individuals. As Team9nine said, photos can help ID them.

soflabasser reply :

Every bass has its unique pattern so check the pictures and compare the 3 different bass. For example you can check for birth marks and if one has a birth mark in a exact location and the others do not then they are different bass. With that said I recently caught 3 bass in the same day that all measured between 23.5-23.75'' and they where each a different bass which different birth marks, girth, gill plate pattern, etc. I think these bass might be from the same year class since they are so similar to each other in size.

Bluebasser86 reply :

That wouldn't be a huge weight difference for a fish that size considering they can eat a fish weighing a pound pretty easily. Not really any way to tell unless it has distinguishing marks. I caught one fishing with my son in May that had a "U" missing from it's adipose fin. Then caught the same fish off nearly the same spot on a different bait just 2 weeks later.

flywall99 reply :

On 1/1/2019 at 12:46 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

That wouldn't be a huge weight difference for a fish that size considering they can eat a fish weighing a pound pretty easily. Not really any way to tell unless it has distinguishing marks. I caught one fishing with my son in May that had a "U" missing from it's adipose fin. Then caught the same fish off nearly the same spot on a different bait just 2 weeks later.

thats awesome! was there any difference in weight?

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 1/4/2019 at 3:25 AM, flywall99 said:

thats awesome! was there any difference in weight?

It was a few ounces heavier the first time I caught it.

Russ E reply :

On 1/1/2019 at 12:46 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

That wouldn't be a huge weight difference for a fish that size considering they can eat a fish weighing a pound pretty easily. Not really any way to tell unless it has distinguishing marks. I caught one fishing with my son in May that had a "U" missing from it's adipose fin. Then caught the same fish off nearly the same spot on a different bait just 2 weeks later.

Not trying to high jack the thread, but I think I caught one of its relatives. Mine had a forktail. Any ideas on what would be taking bites out of these fish?

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 1/4/2019 at 9:28 AM, Russ E said:

Not trying to high jack the thread, but I think I caught one of its relatives. Mine had a forktail. Any ideas on what would be taking bites out of these fish?

Only really 2 things in that lake capable of removing a chunk of the tail fin like that, snapping turtle or a gar. Maybe it's an injury from some kind of cover or making nest in the case of your fish but it seems unlikely.

Johnbt reply :

About 15 years ago we were fishing a 25-acre golf course pond and I hooked a large bass on a minnow. The line broke above the bobber when I got it close to the boat, so we took a break and ducked into the clubhouse for a hot dog.

After lunch we headed down the bank on the other side of the little pier and after about 100 yards my buddy said, "Is that a bobber under that bush?" He cast a minnow at the bush and reeled in a 7.5 pound bass with my hook in its mouth and I got my bobber back. I lost the minnow though.

He'd caught it the year before, too. It was blind in one eye - just a milky white eyeball.

I prefer fishing with spinnerbaits and worms, but minnows have provided some excitement over the years.

Not_Here reply :

This was the same 6er I caught ironically 6 days apart...the 1st time 6.12#'s, 2nd time 6.30#'s...caught her in the exact same spot on the very same swimjig and trailer...

Sam reply :

On 1/1/2019 at 7:16 AM, oldpapa72 said:

Fishing the rip rap in a small railroad lake in the last three weeks I have caught 3 bass over 7 pounds. One 7.1, one 7.25 and another 7.5. The dam is small, probably only 300 yards. Do you think I am catching the same fish?

No. You have found the staging area for the big ladies that they will hang out until they move up to spawn.

Most of the time during prespawn we fish too close to the bank and catch the smaller males while the big ladies are hovering out farther from the bank.

You have found your "honey hole" so keep it a secret all to your self.

Catt reply :

On 1/1/2019 at 8:18 AM, Paul Roberts said:

I'd say no, only bc I doubt those fish are gaining that much weight roughly a week apart

That would be my answer ????

the reel ess reply :

I think I caught the fish in my profile pic twice in a few weeks about 50 yards apart. I'm almost certain of it. You just don't see many fish with a gut like this one where I fish, even during the spawn. The first time it weighed 6.93. Second time it was 7.1-something. In fact, I caught one a couple years ago in the same vicinity that could have been the same fish. Twice on a spinnerbait and once on a jig.

That's the cool thing about putting the big gals back. That's three big bass for me.

fishballer06 reply :

On 1/14/2019 at 12:41 PM, Frog Turds said:

This was the same 6er I caught ironically 6 days apart...the 1st time 6.12#'s, 2nd time 6.30#'s...caught her in the exact same spot on the very same swimjig and trailer...

The tail looks different between those two fish, especially for being only 6 days apart.

Logan S reply :

Could be same fish, though if I were you I'd hope it wasn't...Since three different 7lbers in the area is nice!

I caught a 6-3 in a catch-weigh-release (MLF-style) tournament and another competitor also caught the same fish just a couple hours after me. We found out because we both tied for lunker at 6-3, got to talking...Fish had large black spot and was easily recognizable. Both caught in the same spot, long point in 18' of water. I caught it on a 1/2 oz black/purple jig and he used a 1/2oz black/green jig. I caught it around 11AM and he caught it around 2PM. It's one of the big 'plot-twists' for MLF-style tournaments, since in a normal event I'd have that fish in my well and he wouldn't have been able to catch it .

Hawkeye21 reply :

I think it's very unlikely that a bass of that size was caught by you multiple times. There's a reason they get that big and it's not because they're dumb. Anything is possible but highly unlikely.

Not_Here reply :

On 1/14/2019 at 9:49 PM, fishballer06 said:

The tail looks different between those two fish, especially for being only 6 days apart.

same fish...look at the split in the pelvic fin (hard to see in first pic cuz my jacket, but zoom in and can see it clearly)....look inbetween the 4 & 5th spiny dorsal and curvature of skin...also has same split towards end on soft dorsal fin and same dark spot dot towards bottom of tail...I can point out many more identification marks if your still in doubt...

J Francho reply :

On 1/14/2019 at 9:49 PM, fishballer06 said:

The tail looks different between those two fish, especially for being only 6 days apart.

Look again, the tail looks exactly the same. That is the same fish, for sure. The fraying can happen very easily, and only takes days to heal. The 2.88 oz. difference in weight is nominal. In the OP's question, I think he found a spot that holds big fish.

On 1/5/2019 at 1:44 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

Only really 2 things in that lake capable of removing a chunk of the tail fin like that, snapping turtle or a gar.

Don't rule out some pathogen.

TnRiver46 reply :

Twice in my life I have hooked the same fish on two consecutive casts. I broke the fish off each time and my hook and worm were still stuck in their mouths on the next cast when I landed them

Paul Roberts reply :

On 1/1/2019 at 12:46 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

That wouldn't be a huge weight difference for a fish that size considering they can eat a fish weighing a pound pretty easily. Not really any way to tell unless it has distinguishing marks. I caught one fishing with my son in May that had a "U" missing from it's adipose fin. Then caught the same fish off nearly the same spot on a different bait just 2 weeks later.

I hadn't considered that. Of course, a bass could have eaten something that would add weight. Good point.

Also, I just love that photo of your son.

On 1/4/2019 at 9:28 AM, Russ E said:

Not trying to high jack the thread, but I think I caught one of its relatives. Mine had a forktail. Any ideas on what would be taking bites out of these fish?

On 1/15/2019 at 12:24 AM, J Francho said:

Look again, the tail looks exactly the same. That is the same fish, for sure. The fraying can happen very easily, and only takes days to heal. The 2.88 oz. difference in weight is nominal. In the OP's question, I think he found a spot that holds big fish.

Don't rule out some pathogen.

It's really common to see infections in the fins -often a fungus- esp on the tail. These can result in big chunks literally rotting off. Could be a bite, a split fin from sharp cover during a chase, or from abrasion due to resting on the bottom or in cover. Deep scarring can last for sometime.

I've spent some time trying to video sleeping bass, and finally got some great shots. They commonly rest propped on their tails, so their lower edge of the tail fin gets abraded. (You can see this very thing on @Frog Turds gorgeous fish above). And it could then get infected. An upper tail fin like your fish could be a bite, that infected, but may be more likely from abrasion against something in a resting spot she frequents.

I recapture individuals fairly frequently, since I fish such small waters. I've also shot so much UW video in some of those waters that I can ID individuals on video too. In one 3ac pond, the largest bass in it (unless there's someone out there I don't know about -which I feel is doubtful) I've video'd several times over the last 3 seasons. I've never caught here though.

It's funny, I feel I can even recognize some by their faces alone! I've yet to go through and verify this though. Eventually I'll do a video on IDing recaptures, and over time, may be able to talk about individual fish's lives some.

the reel ess reply :

My dad and I caught the same fish at the same time once. He said "I got one!" I said "Me too!" Then we reeled it up right between us.

MIbassyaker reply :

Not the best pics, but I caught the same fish twice a couple years ago 1 month apart almost to the day, different spots a few hundred yards from each other along the same weedline. Hit a buzzbait in june, and finesse worm in july, and gained a 1/3 lb in a month. I only realized it was the same fish when I noticed the individual scale markings on the side were the same in the pictures:

David Moore reply :

It is likely not the same fish but it is probably another one. If fish did not look so identical, it would be much easier to tell. I for one have caught the same fish before. I like to put the initials of my name on my lures with a marker or etching pen for this very reason. I use funky handwriting on purpose. Just a quick initial on the top of a crankbait or any hard bait. I lost a chartreuse crankbait to a decent fish. I decided to call it a day. Later in the week, I went back to the same spot, tied on another one of the same baits in a different color, caught the same bass with the chartreuse lure still in its mouth. The lure had my funky initials on it still. That fish had a rough week. I let her go and got both my cranks back. Will never forget it.

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