Are BIG Bass Smart?

[RoLo]

Is a 9-lb bass any smarter than a 3-lb bass?

Are bass capable of original thoughts...can they reason?

Are trophy bass the result of a genetic tendency to live in inaccessible cover?

Could they be the offspring of parents that have been conditioned to artificial lures?

What do you think?

[basspro48]

I personally believe that big bass aren't only smarter than little bass they also have sharper instincts. Many biologists and pro anglers have come to a conclusion that yes bass, even smaller ones, can learn to avoid a certain lure or color.  

[JayDub]

I assume the older bass get (which usually means the heavier) the smarter they get also. But that doesn't always mean that a 9 lb bass is smarter than a 3 lb as the 3lb could be an older male. Hopefully I'm right ;D

[Vyron]

I believe everything in the earch (animals,fishes,humans) as they get older they get wiser.

In order a bass to become 9lb it means its smart.

3lb r much more often caught than the 9lb's (u can also say they r more   ) ==> 9lb is smarter than 3lb

[Captain Cali]

Bigger usually = Older which usually = wiser.

Big bass is generally smarter.

[phisher_d]

Like vyron_utd said, for a bass to get that big, it has to be smart.  I also believe that bass easily get conditioned to lures that are constantly being thrown in front of them.  An older (and bigger generally) bass will have seen more lures than a younger bass so they are likely going to be more conditioned, and thus harder to catch.

[Keepin_It_Reel]

They dont get that big by being dumb

[Yankee_Bassman]

To paraphrase somebody I don't remember's famous quote..."there are old bass, and bold bass, but there are no old, bold, bass"......

Bass can't reason, or "think" like we do, but nobody's going to convince me that bass and other game fish on heavily pressured lakes aren't more lure-wary than on lakes with light pressure. I think this could eventually work its way into genetic programming.....I read something about black bears in populated areas being born "knowing" that trash cans were a source of food...don't ask me how the biologists figure that out, just like I can't understand how they can be sure that fish see colors, and deer don't, or at least don't see as many as we do......

As far as "trophy" bass go, I'm going to say that it is genetic, but it's the same type of genetics that limits the number of world-class athletes, or NFL size linemen, who also have speed and agility. There probably wouldn't be sufficient food sources in any given fishery to support a population of all trophy class bass.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Is a bigger older bass smarter than a smaller ,younger bass? So far

Is a bass smart? The fish with the highest IQ is the cutthroat trout with a whopping score of 3!

So,...still think it's a fair fight, just because you bought 4lb test line?  

Go HERE and check your own IQ and see how you compare against your adversary!

[Raul]

Genetics are one of the three elements needed to grow big, the other two are nutrition and environment, in order for the genetics to express the animal needs the other two.

For example, some sort of "geniuses" had the innovative idea to introduce pure bred Holstein cattle in Mexico 's tropical part to produce milk, Holsteins and any other dairy breed have the genetics to produce huge ammounts of milk; the animals were well fed so nutrition was optimum, however everybody scratched their heads when the animals didn 't performed as they were supposed to do, this only proves that the geniuses who had the bright and innovative idea are morons and a retards in all the extension of both words....... why do you think that the animals didn 't perform ? ........ Holsteins may have the genetics to produce huge ammounts of milk, they may have been well fed but Mexico 's tropical part is hot and humid, Holsteins do not have enough sudoriparous glands per square inch of skin to produce enough sweat to cool down their body temperature, they were literally cooking themselves ------stress due to high temperature and humidity--------NO MILK. They skipped one of the elements, the environmental conditions.

[5bass]

Are bass capable of original thoughts...can they reason?

That question can never be answered correctly.Ever.Obviously,nobody on earth has ever spoken to a bass.Until we get an interview with a bass,that will not be known.......in the meantime,I think large bass have been lucky to have either been thrown back a few times or have not been presented with something they felt like eating at feeding time.I believe that larger bass are accustomed to boats,bank-beating anglers etc.....and tend to be more comfortable in deeper water,away from the commotion.

I do know that some bass are more rambunctious and aggressive than others and that most of those are of the smaller variety.They are just learning their role in the underwater world and it seems they want to eat everything in sight.

A larger bass is still an opportunistic feeder but they often feed in deeper water or only move shallow for a few minutes at a time to feed,then go back deep where their comfort zone is.

As studies say,big bass dont like to move very far to eat,in effect,bigger fish are lazy.I believe that 100%.And through the years,those bigger fish have located spots that have everything they need......deep water,quick shallow water access and some type of cover,and more times than not,those special places are very difficult to find.You'll definitely know it when you do get on one of those special spots.

In short,the bigger fish get bigger because of their habits,not their level of smartness.

[Gatorbassman]

When people ask me this same question about deer my answer is always the same. "You must assume they are the smartest thing out there. If you do that your successes will outnumber your failures." Wether a bass is 2lbs or 23lbs they should be considered the smartest fish in the water.

[Cajun1977]

they are smart enough for us to devote a site to them and ponder the thought about it

[basspro48]

Go HERE and check your own IQ and see how you compare against your adversary!

 

I got an 86    

 

[roadwarrior]

Bass barely have a brain, they don't need one. They don't think, they react. They don't "learn", they become conditioned. Big bass are a combination of (1) Genetics, which we don't have in the Midsouth; (2) Food supply, which we do have but not as significant as the protein "popsicles" of California; (3) Environment, which we have 365 days of feeding for some species but largemouth are temperature sensitive, i.e. FL, TX, CA & Mexico.

Big bass live in deep water, near or on structure, even though they are sometimes caught in shallow water and cover. If they are feeding they might be caught shallow, but if there is an option they will be deeper. If a lure/bait comes near them in deep water they may strike. Bass are opportunistic, the only reason most bass fishermen don't catch more big bass is because (1) they are the rarest in the pyramid; (2) your're fishing in the wrong place!

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

So go DEEP or go home!

(oh yea, and keep your fingers and toes crossed too)

 

[Cephkiller]

Big bass are definitely stupid or they would read all the same stuff we spend hours pouring over and they would then do as they are told and they would be easy to catch

[Fishie]

122 just playing around...lol

[dink]

Any trout smart enough to take an IQ test is pretty darn sharp in my book.

[Bass Hammer]

I believe everything in the earch (animals,fishes,humans) as they get older they get wiser.

In order a bass to become 9lb it means its smart.

3lb r much more often caught than the 9lb's (u can also say they r more ) ==> 9lb is smarter than 3lb

Vyron your new avatar is.........................................what did you say?

[Peter E.]

    Well RoLo that is interesting question and it depends on your beleif on innate knowledge for these animale versus imperical knowledge.

    As we know innate knowledge is instincts and the idea that animals even we are born with some knowledge, this leads to reactions and the knowledge like for a bass as to what to eat. That is instinct, none of us doubt that these animals definately rely on instinct, we see this in a reaction strike.

     Imperical knowledge is the knowledge we learn through our senses as the ideas we come to through these stimuli. Bass as we know can be spooked and over time they will cease to hit certain lures or react as well to certain techinques. We all have learned over time that as the bass change in their likes and dislikes we as fishermen must change our techinques and so on to catch fish. These are facts that I am sure that we can all agree to just as easily as icktheologist and fisheries biologist do. Now the question as to rather or not Big Bass are any smarter that smaller bass. Well that depends on who you ask.

     If you ask Doug Hannon whom some of you may have heard of, he will tell you that the biggest bass in a system are the first to be caught because thay are the largest and therefore the most agressive. He backs this up by saying that without this large over grown appetite these fish would not have grown to the huge size that they are. He instead says that we have built up this beleif over time that since we catch so few of these large bass and so many of these smaller bass that these fish muste well, dumber than the big ones. However, he argues that the trick with catching big bass is not as hard as we may think. It is not so much a matter of outsmarting these fish but more of being in the right place at the right time, this may seem vague so let me elaborate. Hannon beleives that to catch bass that make up only say 1-2% of the population you must understand the feeding and reproductive needs of the fish.

     With the feeding you must find a location where the bass can gain the most food in-take with the least energy out-put. In saying this too many people think that big bass are exclusively a deep water fish when in his opinion nothing could be farther from the truth. With very few exceptions like the deep California resivoirs. The ideal places are shallows off of and next to the deepest portions of the lake. Also look for the places where the light penetration is the highest and the weed growth is at the highest, and where the food chain as he puts it "pumps at the highest rate". The way this should look idealy is this: large shallow weed flat composed of multiple weed types with open holes in it 4-8 feet deep. Also things like: A variety of other cover like stumps, brush and so on, with water 20+' deep nearby. An additional bonus is an inflowing creek that will moderate temperature changes. He states that since these fish feed the most and are the most aggressive that you must seek out places that are either hard to get to or receive little to no fishing pressure. Hannon beleives that location determines big bass more than anything else. Hannon has alot of proof that what he beleives is right because in 1969 when he dedicated his life to catching and learning about big bass up until 1980 when he quite counting he had caught over 400 bass over ten pounds, 11 over 14#'s and three over 15#'s. I imagine by now his numbers must be staggering to say the least.

      I beleive that it is a combination of location, innate knowledge, and imperical knowlege that makes these bass so hard to catch. I beleive that the biggest problem is that we as fishermen are our own biggest enemies, because with every big bass we take out we damage the stocks in that pond, lake or section of river. These large females and males offspring are what up the majority of the bass that after hatching have the best chance of surviving because of their parents superior genes. So I urge you please practice either selective harvest or catch and release and with the large beautiful 10+ bass that we all covit so much please take a Kodak moment with the fish and carefully release the fish. That is my personal policy and my policy as a guide. When my customers just have to keep that fish then they pay for it. $150 extra to the price of the trip. I do this because the areas I guide on are small ecosystems that depend on the largest males and females to keep up a healthy population. If a dead fish on their wall is worth it to them then it has to be worth it to me. But if they choose to have a fiberglass mount then I will do all I can to make sure that that fish is represented right. With multiple measurements and multiple pictures taken from every conseiveable angle.

     Well RoLo my freind I hope that that clears some stuff for you I know it did for me.

                   Peter  

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Great post Peter.

way off -topic but everyone please be patient with our international members.  Vyron has some great input, we just need to bear with him.

If anything, this probably helps folks with their English by forcing them to use the language so let's just help them out.

[Matt Fly]

I have seen tank demos with nothing smaller than 8 lbers,  I have seen some of the same fish get caught for 7 days straight, 10 different demos a day.

Doesn't show alot of memory retention.   Studies have shown a fish can be conditioned for a while to certain noises and colors, but will un-condition them selves as time passes.    

How many times have we stuck the same fish bedding.   I have witnessed numerous bass being caught several times in minutes apart only to be caught again later.

Why does a 15lber get to be 15?  Lucky to survive the guys hook who was fishing for supper,  lives in 25-35 ft of water year around in the center of the lake, the least pressured spot, more bank beaters in bass fishing than off shore deep structure guys.

If every fishermen went out for two weeks straight and concentrated on deep off shore contour and structure, you would see a lot of trophy class fish caught in that two week period.   65% of the fishermen I see are bank beaters, dock flippers, fishing the shallow grass edges.      

The door of opportunity is soon to be opening with spawn coming, trophies will move to an area making them easier to locate.  

[FutureClassicChamp]

Is a bigger older bass smarter than a smaller ,younger bass? So far

Is a bass smart? The fish with the highest IQ is the cutthroat trout with a whopping score of 3!

So,...still think it's a fair fight, just because you bought 4lb test line?

Go HERE and check your own IQ and see how you compare against your adversary!

137........good test...thats about my average.

[roadwarrior]

Matt_Fly,

Exactly...

I was at a seminar at BPS a couple of years ago and Mike Whitten, Inside Line magazine's Mid-South staff writer was the speaker. We probably had fifty or sixty guys in the audience and Mike posed the question, "How many of you fish deep water, fifteen feet or more?" I was the only guy that raised his hand.