The other day while ice fishing I catch a 20" Rainbow that has a big chunk out of one gill plate that has healed along time ago.
I throw him back in. Less than a minute later I catch him again.
I throw him back in.
In less than a minute my brother catches him from his hole about 30 feet away.
How many times have you caught the same fish more than once in a short period of time?
[signature]
With most fish, pretty rare. It all depends on how much it struggled, how big the hook was and how much "pain" it felt. I will tell you one thing for sure.....with largemouth bass, once you hook a particular fish once, it may be 6 months or more before it will take the same lure again.......if ever again. Once you hook it twice to 5 times within a year period, it will likely never take that lure or anything resembling it ever again if it comes from an "intelligent" gene pool. There are some waters with some particular genes where the bass are "dumber" and don't learn their lessons well and will continue biting again and again for at least a bit more. I can't say where because everyone will go there LOL. But with real big trophy bass you over 20 inches you get one shot with a particular finesse lure and then likely never again will it eat that lure ever again. I have a favorite spot where me and my fishing gal used to go and we named all the bass by their birth marks, head deformity in one fish, and head shape in another as well as a fish that had a greater than, less than > mark in the lateral line. These fish were all 19 to 20 and a half inches. "Bent-head" was the slowest learner and was landed twice before we pulled the hook away from her each consecutive time she went for it yet again in following years. "Scar-back" was duped only once. A giant fish with an elongated head wouldn't take anything for 3 years straight and finally hit one fateful day. It was 6lb 3 oz and likely over 10yrs old by the look of it. Measured at 21"
Some bass beds I've worked in the past it would take 1hr to get the fish to hit and some would never hit anything regardless of what you throw or whatever angle and direction you present it. These days if a fish doesn't take in 5 min I move on to other fish unless it's such a freak giant that demands patience and persistence. And that means it has to be over 20" or I won't spend extra time working it.
So as you can see most fish will never bite the hook again upon releasing it. Especially not that day or within minutes of release. But with that I have an exception. I once caught a green sunfish at willard from out under the same rock with the same ulcer in between its eyes 7 times, and each time it went back under the same rock. I was 100% sure that was the same sunfish and it was THE dumbest fish I've ever encountered. Even it finally quit taking it again. I was trying for the ultimate record amount of times it would hit again lol.
[signature]
I caught the same largemouth 3 or 4 times once and also caught the same walleye 2 times.
[signature]
I have done this once back in the day on Minersville river. It was a very nice pool which had some good cover caught a nice 18" rainbow on the first cast, I let him go and two casts later i caught him again. I could tell it was the same fish because his mouth was still red from where the previous hook was caught in his mouth. So I let him go again, and two more casts later i hooked him a third time. Still same red marks in his mouth (by this time his poor mouth was so cut up i felt bad for him). I repeated what i had previously done the first two times and thought i had the lure of the Century!!! or he might of been super hungry!
It was a memory i will never forget!
[signature]
Every one that fishes for tiger Muskie probably have a picture with the same 5 tiger Muskie in the state .. Haha!
[signature]
I was fishing at Current Creek a few years back. Hooked a nice fish that broke off & ran off with my favorite ice fly. About 5 hours later, I hooked him again and brought im to the surface and he still had my ice fly in his mouth. Got my favorite ice fly back.
That has only happened once that I know of!
[signature]
While fishing Strawberry with jigs we caught this 23 or 24 inch cut several times in a morning. But he was very thin and was blind in 1 eye. The
thing was ready to eat any thing. I don't eat the slimers anyway and would have been put back even if he was healthy.But I love to catch them.
[signature]
In the spring with bluegills it's kind of silly how many times that same fish will bite the same falling chunk of worm time and time again. This is sight fishing so you can see the poor sucker but it is still fun!
[signature]
I pulled up on a river hole one time...and was drifting crawlers down to the top of the hole.
Hooked into something big and it broke me off almost immediately!
Fished up and down from the hole for maybe 45 minutes... and came back to where I hooked him. Sent a crawler down again and must have put it right on his nose because he hit again and I landed him that time. 20-22" fat brown with my jighead from the first time I hooked him still in his mouth[
]
[signature]
That's funny, cuz I find big bluegills to be very suspicious if I can see them and they can see me, unless spawning. If I'm casting to them, not so much.
I've spooked bass wading, seen them streaking off, and vast a worm behind them, only to see them spin round, come back and eat it.
Many times I broke a trout off fly fishing in a creek or river and gotten my fly back 20 min later.
Different fish are different smarts, just like different mammals are. Science shows carp have great memories and problem solving skills, for fish. I've watched them carefully nibble off a doughball all around a hook, taking several passes. Other times they stupidly gulp baits I'd never supposed they would take, like jigs and spinners.
And some fish seem smart, but others just seem cautious and suspicious. Trout fall into the.latter category, to me.
[signature]
Exactly! Fish are just like people, some super smart, some dumb and ditzy as a brick! And then you have all the individuals in between.
[signature]
When I was a kid I had access to a small stream on private land that was full of small Brookies. I would fish it 3 or 4 times a week in the summer. I caught a fat 8 inch Brookie out of one hole and while struggling to get the hook out I ripped a large chunk of flesh out of the side of his mouth. I continued to catch that same fish out of the same hole for the next 4 years. I probably caught a released him 50 or more times. I never caught that fish more than once on the same day though.
[signature]
as they say "ya cain't fix stupid", but I don't care who ya are - carp ain't dumb!
I'll agree fish can be wary, but they're also very trickable. Have hooked and lost, to only hook again on the next pass. Know of many lost lures that have been found, on a second bite.
Sometimes it can be necessary to change presentations, other times - just need to re-present!
But no doubt - more experience fish will be more cautious. They don't get big by being stupid!
WOW!!! flashyfish2 I caught that same fish twice in one day at Strawberry!! It was about 23" and SKINNY!!??
Right out in front of the Marina area??!
[signature]