Same bass in the same area year after year?

[Ctrl_Alt_Dlt]

A friend and I were exchanging bass fishing stories the other day. He kept saying how there is always a 7lber in a certain area and has been for the past few years. He claims he caught the same fish 3x's now. He also claims there is another lake he fishes where there is always a big bass near a concrete wall. Claims he has caught that same fish 2x's now.

Saw a picture posting on here the other day where the owner claims he caught the same big bass he caught a few years ago too.

Not doubting these people, but I am more just curious if this does tend to happen.

What are your thoughts? Do you have a spot where you catch the same big bass year after year? Why is that bass staying in that area year after year?

Thanks.

[SluggoMaster]

I have had that experience as well. Some fish have very unique black spots on them and are easy to see that it was the same fish. I have caught one fish in particular at least four times over the last couple of years and is normally within 100 yards of where I caught it last.

[thatoneguy]

i want to see a pic of the 7 pounder he allegedly keeps catching

[hockeybc69]

Its been a 7 pounder for the last few years?

I need pics on a ruler/scale, otherwise just another internet story.

[RawHog]

Some ashclown today at work told me he has caught the same 63" muskie five times and it eats their bass all the time on a lake in the metro near forest lake. Guy had no pictures.

I hate fish stories but I love them... I hope the story is true, always! Including this one.

[thatoneguy]

I will say that I caught a unique-looking (very dark for this particular part of the lake) bass in almost the exact same spot - within about five feet - three years in a row. Could well be the same girl.

[Duffman]

Saw a picture posting on here the other day where the owner claims he caught the same big bass he caught a few years ago too.

I'm guessing you're referring to the bass I caught a few weeks ago. I'm just guessing that it was the same fish, wish I would've got a pic of the same side of the fish as two years back to compare markings. Obvious structure is obvious, this fish hung out under the biggest deadhead on the pond. Another reason I think it's the same fish is that I probably caught close to a hundred bass total in the two trips I've made there, and it's the only one that was bigger than 12". Could it be a different bass? Absolutely. I might try fishing there again in a couple weeks and I'll see if I can get a better pic (if I catch it) to compare to the fish from two years ago.

I think bigger fish are able to command and defend the best structure on a lake for feeding. The cabin is on a 1700 acre walleye lake that contains a small population of largemouths, I'm happy getting into 2 or 3 bass for a few hours of targeting them there. But there is ALWAYS a bass hanging out next to a certain sunken rock, it must be a great ambush place. In fact if I had one cast and one cast only to try and catch a decent sized bass (3-6 lbs) in this state, that would be the spot.

As a side note, I caught the same 13.5" perch ice fishing and then again the following summer on that 1700 acre lake, besides being large it had a distictive hole in it's tail fin and probably wouldn't have been caught a second time if it didn't have worms.

[IcePro]

How can it be the same 7 pounder every year.

Year two the fish would be larger and year three the fish would be larger, etc.

[fishin58]

7.1, 7.2.....the guy didnt want to exaggerate his story.

[RK]

Hiya -

I'd think it's very possible. Certainly happens with other species. I caught the same 44" muskie in the exact same spot on the exact same lure 4x one summer. Fish had a big white triangle-shaped scare right on the top of its head so no question it was the same fish.

The next summer...caught the same fish in the same spot again...on the same lure. Fish just could not say no to a purple Harasser.

There's abundant research showing that bass will use the precise same spawning location - smallies have been shown to build a next next to the same rock year after year, for example. Don't see why it isn't possible for them to return to the same non-spawning habitat too, later in the season.

As far as size, fish have theoretical indeterminate growth, but their growth rate slows a lot when they hit ultimate size at age. So it might have grown, but it could be measured in fractions of an inch...

[river rat316]

I have the same fish pegged in the test pond, could go out there and catch her every other day if I wanted to, last year she was caught 6 times this year I checked on her twice, she has very distinct markings and is always in the same spot, doesn't hurt she is close to the biggest out there also. I have also witnessed it on the river, we used to catch the same old scarred up mean looking smallie off the same rock pile every summer, he was missing half his upper lip and looked like he caught a boat prop to the other side of his head on the other side, not exactly a pretty fish but mean and aggressive and fun to catch

[Igor Drackenwolf]

I have a buddy who caught the same 51" muskie two years in a row, in the exact same location. We sat with a magnifying glass and compared two photos side-by-side and there is no question that it is the same fish.

[RumRiverRat]

I have caught the same fish multiple times each of the last 2 years.

Juan Grande caught this particular fish 5 days after I did last fall.

It has a very distinctly messed up jaw joint.

It is usually withing 25 to 30 feet of a tree laying in the water.

This year I caught on back to back days. Once on a Jig and the next time on a Pit Boss.