fish memory
 

anybody ever read anything on fish memory? how long after a fish gets hooked, pulled out of the water, and released do you think it is til he'll bite again? does he stop feeding for the day? anybody positively caught the same fish twice?

Re: fish memory
 

Not sure.. but I have caught Largemouths and sunfish with hooks and line still attached to them...

Re: fish memory
 

Not freshwater, but witnessed a fluke.break someones line.. then about a half hour later, there was the fluke right back on his line, with the old rig and all. Maybe its because he was never pulled out of the water the first time, or maybe he was just starving.. I don't know for sure, but it was definitely the same fish.

Re: fish memory
 

Also saltwater. Quite a few years ago, while fishing in Costa Rica, I hooked a sail. After fighting it and getting it to the boat, we released it without taking it out of the water. I watched that sail, flip right under the boat and grab another live bait!

Re: fish memory
 

I caught a Rock Bass on a Shad Dart in the Delaware. I let it go & watched it go right bach to the cinder block that I caught it next to I dropped the shad dart to him & he ate it again (dumb fish) Carp are the hardest fish to hook twice acording to In-Fisherman TV show.

Re: fish memory
 

Once missed a smallmoth bass ~ 2 lbs. on a yellow-tailed rubber worm in the Musky. Pulled the hook and worm out of her mouth trying to set the hook. My son with with me and wanted to keep some fish to eat. I continued fishing and caught another bass, ~ 1 1/2 lbs - then another around 2 lbs - both within 10 minutes of each other.

When my son got home and cleaned the fish he found the tail of the rubber worm in the second fishes gullet. - So - this guy only waited 10 minutes after getting almost hooked, yanked 2 feet out of the water, and escaping to feed again.

Re: fish memory
 

I have caught bluefish with a jig still in their mouth...most likely from the same trip and boat

Zero memory for blues

Freshwater species tend to get spooked and hide; however, I have caught a couple of LMB with an old hook in the mouth over the years

Re: fish memory
 

My buddy and I caught the same carp 3 days in a row once. We've had lots of other recaptures too. I have another buddy who caught his PB 22lb pike twice through the ice a year apart.

Re: fish memory
 

I caught a striped bass in the Delaware River, then caught it again on 4 consecutive days.

Re: fish memory
 

Blue Sharks don't seem to have any memory . We have caught the same shark two or three times in a matter of a few minutes . A good wack on the nose with the butt of a gaff before cutting the leader will deter them . We had a small Hammerhead released Saturday night only to be rehooked
ten minutes later . We could see the lightstick glowing from the first release as he came up .