I actually have it happen quite often, many times with larger fish following along. This seems to happen more often when I hook larger 18+ inch fish. I think the extreme activity of the hooked bass makes the other fish think there may be an easy meal in the offing. One time, I was fighting a bass about the same size as you had on (13-14 inches long). The water was pretty stained and he went deep right near the shore when he saw me. He got really sluggish and heavy and I thought he had dug into pond slime on the bottom. I striped the line to where I had the rod tip near the water and gently eased him up. When I got him to the surface, a very large 12-13 lb bass had "my" fish over half way in her mouth. When she saw me, she spit him out and casualy swam away. My bass seemed just as happy to take his chances with me (all C&R) as it sure beat the heck the alternative. This really emphasised to me how bass like large baits!

Jim Smith