The fish learn our baits....

[Catt]

Scientific study like bass placed in an aquarium?

Or a study did by actual scientist?

Here's Doug Hannon's Answer from his studies

Plastic Worm (Texas rigged) It's a long, thin shape resembles the profile of a wide variety of forage in the world of the bass, including earthworms, snakes, eels, and baitfish. Its action is almost entirely dependent on the contours of the bottom; and the rod movements of the fisherman, making it very random. It moves with little noise; the noise that it does make comes mostly from the random clicking of the sinker as it hits bottom. Bright colors and larger size can be used to increase its attracting qualities. Because of its basic resemblance to a wide array of living forage, this lure presents very few negative cues, and is hard for big bass to learn not to hit.

[Avalonjohn44]

I wouldn't ignore Mr Hannon's opinions, he's a legend. But I want the link to these supposed studies and real research.  Without knowing how Mr Hannon went about his research, study, and testing, the information he passes on is just anecdotal.  

I'm not trying to be difficult or contrary or a PIA, I am just trying to challenge what is being taken as a given.  I get far more fish on cranks and spinnerbaits than I do on worms.  Over and over again in the same places...

[Raul]

Fish non intersted in your baits doesn 't mean they can 't be caught, it means that you haven 't found the combination of the factors that make the fish bite, it 's not that they avoid the bait, it 's just that you haven 't found the way or you haven 't been patient enough ( stubborn ) to make them bite.

If you dangle the bait in front of their faces for long enough you 'll make them bite.

Just ask me, it took me an hour and a half to make a 6 pounder bite a crankbait and I won.

[Grey Wolf]

Ok,

So if bass do not have the ability to be conditioned to certain lures, why is it that no matter what I throw at these 2 BIG bass I see cruising the shallows at a local pond, they don't so much as even look at what I'm throwing?

I have tried hoping, dragging, swimming, and deadsticking with tubes, jigs and worms. Both BIG lures and little lures

I have thrown swimbaits and nearly hit them in the face.

I have tried finesse baits.

I have tried crankbaits, and spinnerbaits, and jerkbaits.

I have tried both the conventional and unconventional.

I have tried getting a reaction strike as well as deadsticking a finesse jig right on past them.

All the while experimenting with color and retrieve to no avail.

With all options exausted I can only believe these fish to be either totally conditioned to every lure known to man, or they have some menial amount of intelligence.

They get pounded every day with all sorts of lures. To the point that they know what to avoid, and only eat real forage.

Has anyone on here ever seen those "Hawg tanks" that tour the country and are used to demonstate lures and techniques?

The ones I have seen, hold bass that don't eat lures. They just don't. They have been caught so many times that they know what to avoid.

If bass can not be conditioned to lures, why do the ones in those tanks have lockjaw non-stop?

Every bass I have seen cruising the shallows won't bite but it's not because they are so intelligant that they know the bait is a fake. Did it ever accure to you that they were in another mode other then feeding ? Do you eat 24/7 ? They don't either.

[Matt Fly]

I think bass can be conditioned to the moment.

I was thinking about crappie fishing,   You know you can catch a bunch on pink and black and they shut off, then if you throw a different color out there, they start hitting again.

   How a bass and crappie relate, I don't know.

I have had nice summer schools turn off after catching 15 out of a spot that can and has produced 30+ bass from the same spot.

   Most of the time, another color or variation in size gets them biting again.

    Some questions to answer from the experts.

  Why does a bass turn away after following a lure?  

We always say make some subtle changes cause the bass saw something they didn't like.    If thats true, then they are smart enough to make that choice on the fly.

What baits don't have some type of vibrations, rattles, bb's?