Jignpig, congrats on the great bass. You are right, kinda like fingerprints, LMB all have a unique pattern.
I know exactly what you mean about fishing right before the front hits. It also works for hunting too.
What did you catch that bass on both times? It will be really interesting to see when you get that one again. Keep us informed.
But if you have trophy bass and trophy BGs in your pond, you are doing something right.
First time (2 yrs ago) was on a swimbait. second time (earlier this mo.) was on a jig. both are notorious for producing big bass.
One thing that i have used that will easily help with bass ID is a paint tool that most of us have on our computers. starting with a good pic of the fish, look for a noteworthy sample from it's markings, something that might set that particular fish apart. circle or trace any prominent mark or section of marks with the paint tool. here's an example.
this fish has 8 spots in a row, none of which touch the other. it would be unusual to find another one in the pond like that. if you did, you could start looking at the individual spots within that circle and easily tell if it was the same fish or not. you can even give each of your star fish its own folder, tracking its growth.
right or wrong, i have always felt like being able to positively ID and track the fish which have "potential" (to me that means female fish which show a good rate of growth) is a part of managing for big fish. it always helped me figure out which ones i needed to keep around and which ones needed to become part of a fish fry.
