Have you ever caught the same fish twice, or three times even?

[albatross]

 

[albatross]

The above is not me catching the same fish, but myself and a fellow PaFFer...

 

[Sylvaneous]

I caught a large hold-over rainbow in Penns, in the pool where the old washed=out railroad bridge was above Love's Cabin. It was sipping something. Going to my go-to in such situations, I tied on a small CDC caddis emerger and caught the fish. Shortly after releasing it, I saw it sipping and caught it again. No one more amazed than me.

 

[wbranch]

During my 2021 Montana trip I caught the same 21" wild brown three times over a 12 day period and every time he ate the same #16 rusty spinner! I knew it was the same fish as he had a divot in his tail fin. He fought as good the 3rd time as the first as there was always about three days since the last hookup. My phone got wet on my recent trip. If I can get the pictures I will post a picture of the brown trout caught 3X.

 

[JeffP]

I caught a large hold-over rainbow in Penns, in the pool where the old washed=out railroad bridge was above Love's Cabin. It was sipping something. Going to my go-to in such situations, I tied on a small CDC caddis emerger and caught the fish. Shortly after releasing it, I saw it sipping and caught it again. No one more amazed than me.

Love that whole stretch! If they aren't rising there, they aren't rising anywhere!

 

[Tigereye]

Once I caught a stocked brookie that was missing its left eye to what looked like a heron attack. (Large vertical scar on face) . I released it and caught it about 1/2 hr later 100 yds downstream on the same fly (Royal Wulff)

 

[Swattie87]

I’ve caught the same fish twice 3 or 4 different times from small streams that I’ve identified through photos. Probably have more, that I haven’t identified. Don’t recall catching the same one more than twice though. And they were all on different days, though all were in the same location both times.

One in particular I recall was a Brown that occupied a primo undercut in a culvert hole. It went from about 8” to about 14” in 16 months. Impressive growth rate, but it had a really good set up habitat wise. I’ve since caught a different 18” Brown from that lie, so the hole has turned over its occupancy at least once since then.

Also, interestingly enough I’ve been involved in two wild Tigers that were caught twice. One, I caught in June, and later that Summer another board member caught it about half a mile downstream. The second, I was with a board member who caught one, and I photographed it. Another board member caught it about a year later in the same location.

 

[pcray1231]

Yes, numerous times. Not so much lately because I don't take pics as much as I used to.

There was a brookie on a Schuylkill County stream that was very recognizable and I caught it 4 times over a period of 3 years. I called him 3 spot. He grew from about 5" to 8" over that time.

 

[whheff]

I have done it 2 times. Both times the fish were feeding on top on very small flies. One on a Trico which broke me off and circle back to his feeding lane. When I caught him the second time, I got my fly and someone else fly out of his mouth.

 

[FiveWeight]

I fish this tiny creek full of stocked trout. None are super beautiful because they're stocked, but I remember catching this one brown with a big kype jaw that clearly stood out from the rest even though he was stocked, as his colors were simply amazing. Yellow/golden with superb red spots just like a wild. I knew it was stocked because of the clipped fin, but it was a stunner. 2 or so weeks later I catch the same fish with the same kype and spots, and boy did I recognize it.

Had a run on a big brown on the Little Juniata in the Barree area for 5 or 6 years. Caught him in pretty much the same spot each time. Some years I'd catch him 2 or 3 times a year. When I 1st brough him to hand he was close to 20"+- last time I brought him to hand He was just shy of 30" Been a few years now. Kinda like I lost an old friend.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Here is the same wild tiger trout I caught twice nearly a year apart! Look at the markings closely. Same trout at 9 inches and 11 inches! Caught it within 50 yards each time and the same section of stream.

 

[Oregon_OwlII]

Yes, a stocked brown on the Perkiomen with unusual markings. Caught him in early June and again in late September at least 2 miles further upstream. I think he sought out the thermal refuge to make it through the summer.

 

[use2wuz]

Um … yes

This ‘bow caught in the same place, same fly (#18 Sawyer Pheasant Tail) exactly one week apart

 

[Wild_Trouter]

Yes.
It's not common, but happens on occasion. I or a fishing partner have caught the same trout on the same day a few times.

There was one large brown trout in Falling Springs that was caught by three different forum members in three consecutive years (I got him the third time, he was 20").

One year I caught the same 19" brown in Fisherman's Paradise seven times in three months.

I just had this happen on Spring Creek myself. About the same size as yours with a very distinct spot pattern and holding in the same spot. I compared previous photos and it's him. Catches were just a few weeks apart. They all have to eat.

 

[wbranch]

Same brown caught by my Montana partner six days earlier. Same lie. Measured at 23". There is another picture where I am holding the fish with the head pointing to the right. The spotting pattern is identical.

 

[salmonoid]

It probably happens more often than many of us realize. If there's something unique about a fish, it helps to jog the memory that the fish may have been caught before. Or makes it easier to compare photos between anglers or your own photos. I've caught the same tiger as Swattie did on one stream. And Squatch caught the same tiger as a I did on another stream. Both of those fit the bill of unique fish, which made them easy to compare, because the sample size of tigers is much smaller than the number of browns or brooks I've caught on the same stream. And knowing the location of a specific stream in another case, I was able to confirm that Hopback and I had caught the same brownie; it apparently liked green weenies too, since we caught it on the same fly. I've caught the same brown on a mouse at night about nine months apart, with only a dozen yards or so between both catches. Again, that fish was fairly unique, in that it was a night fish for me, so the sample size to compare from that location was about six fish total.

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

I'm sure it's happened. I don't usually take the time for photos or memory-marking any characteristics, unless I'm keeping fish (on purpose). The only tagged fish I caught was #104 in the Loyalhanna many years ago. I pinched the tag onto my vest right before grilling that one. My father-in-law asked if it was #107 when I showed it to him. When we were kids catching one sunfish after another, my dad would tell us to spit on the nose so we could tell it was the same one if we caught it again.

 

[Drifly]

2 years ago I was fishing hendricksons on the Farmington in CT when I saw the largest head in the pool I was in eat a couple of naturals. I threw my knockdown dun to him which he took on its first drift. After a back and forth fight the fish took me around a submerged branch and broke me off. As it was a warm early season day I hung around in hopes of seeing some spinners. When they came sure enough that same fish feeding within a foot of where I had hooked him. This time I won and retrieved my knockdown that was right smack in the middle of his upper lip.

 

[bigjohn358]

I caught the same 20" rainbow about 20 minutes apart this spring on Lycoming. Very obvious it was the same fish. Took a different fly both times though. I also caught the same 25" rainbow a few months apart on a remote part of water that isn't stocked. I actually hooked this fish about 6 or 7 months prior to catching it knowing it was a monster when it jumped. Had to have traveled a great distance to get where it was. The 3rd time it was caught it wasn't by me and was killed.