Study says bass are getting smarter!

[Mattlures]

Well not exactly smarter but harder to catch.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-04/uoia-lbv041409.php

[Big Bait Fishing]

i don't need a study to tell me that , i find that everytime i go fishing !!!  ;D ;D ;D but yeah , most every lake around san diego is HAMMERED 7 days a week . the bass just mostly look at your lures and laugh !!! i guess they are conditioned after a while .  :-[

[Muddy]

Nah fisherman are getting dumber

[Sam]

Animals can be taught to do things, as shown with dogs, cats, birds and fish.

Repeat an activity enough times and an animal will either do or not do what you want them to do.

Consequently, I would think that any animal, including a fish, would be influenced by various baits they have seen or the number of times they were caught.

Homer Circle reports that when he and Glen Lau were filming their bass series, the large ladies would hide when they heard a trolling motor.

Another time a diver who was pounding in a metal pole on the bottom of a lake turned around and was facing many, many largemouth bass that had swam to him to check out the noise.

I think it is more of a condition response than an intelligence matter, but it does exist.  

[simplejoe]

I fish this small farm pond that hasn't been fished for over ten years when I first started going there I was pounding them out of there. A month later the same lures wouldn't work so I changed up a little, could be profile, wobble or instead of a senko I'd throw a ribbon-tailed worm. When I made that little change that's all that was needed, I started pounding them again. My fishing partner uses the same lure ninety percent of the time and he was also catching them at first then the bass got used to it. He goes there and catches 4-5 fish when before he would catch 10-15. He doesn't know that all he needs is a little change and I won't tell him.      I like catching the bass and watching him get frustrated at the same time. One day I'll explain it to him but for now it's fun. ;D

So I seen first hand how a bass can get used to seeing a lure, with no other fishing pressure on this pond but us.

                                       joe

[Eddie Munster]

Sure they can 'learn' to associate a certain lure(s) with a visit to the surface and/or a livewell but how long do they retain that? That's the real question: How long is their memory?

Some fish are caught time after time with the same bait while others seem to be uncatchable. Is it that the catchable fish are just more agressive and will make more reaction strikes or are they just dumber? I choose the later just as with all living things, including humans. When it comes to survival some got the brains, some don't.

[D4u2s0t]

over the weekend i was fishing nightcrawlers off the dock, and caught the same stupid 4 inch perch about 6 times in a row haha.  throw the line in, didn't matter where, and the thing would go and take the hook!  I would see the perch go for it, and try to get the line away but it was quick.  guess the perch aren't as smart.

[Matt Fly]

I like to use the phrase, "conditioned to".

   I think when you combine certain characteristics and traits from other strains combined with high pressured fishing areas equates to conditioned fish.

   

[WRB]

You could make the argument that less aggressive or B personality bass (LV) are harder to catch then the more aggressive A personality (HV) bass. All the bass had to eat prey, the "smarter" bass avoided lures or prey with hooks*.

It's interesting that less than 10% of the population are LV, in this study. It would also be interesting to know what % of bass caught only ounce.

WRB

* the study didn't mention if the fishing was restricted to artificial lures?

[SoFl-native]

over the weekend i was fishing nightcrawlers off the dock, and caught the same stupid 4 inch perch about 6 times in a row haha. throw the line in, didn't matter where, and the thing would go and take the hook! I would see the perch go for it, and try to get the line away but it was quick. guess the perch aren't as smart.

He got 6 nightcrawlers with minimal effort while his perch buddies chased minnows all day. Sounds pretty smart to me.

[SoFl-native]

It was also interesting to read what he had to say about fishing during the spawn:

Philipp recommends that to preserve bass populations across North America, management agencies need to protect the nesting males during the spawning season. "There should be no harvesting bass during the reproductive period. That makes sense for all wildlife populations. You don't remove the adults during reproduction.

[bigfish88]

Nah fisherman are getting dumber

hahaha!!

[D4u2s0t]

over the weekend i was fishing nightcrawlers off the dock, and caught the same stupid 4 inch perch about 6 times in a row haha. throw the line in, didn't matter where, and the thing would go and take the hook! I would see the perch go for it, and try to get the line away but it was quick. guess the perch aren't as smart.

He got 6 nightcrawlers with minimal effort while his perch buddies chased minnows all day. Sounds pretty smart to me.

guess it depends how you look at it.  the article is about how the bass are smart enough to not get caught.

[JellyMan]

And THAT is exactly why I shy away from largely fished lakes. I stick to ponds, private lakes, and those little nooks and cranny's where nobody ever fishes.

8-) 8-) 8-)

[Matt Fly]

I thought Matt and Muddy were working together on this post.

  Matt's the setup man and Muddy delivers one of his famous punchlines.    lol

 Figured Muddy would say something about why bass school, why should they be dumb.

;D

[tnhiker44]

It was also interesting to read what he had to say about fishing during the spawn:

Philipp recommends that to preserve bass populations across North America, management agencies need to protect the nesting males during the spawning season. "There should be no harvesting bass during the reproductive period. That makes sense for all wildlife populations. You don't remove the adults during reproduction.

OK, this is were I am gonna fall into the minority here. I agree with the limited fishing during the spawn. Long story short... 15 years ago or so my partner and I stumbled onto a bass bed field on Lake Kissimmee. He proceeded to ****** the male off the bed, temporarily put it in the livewell and waited for the female to show up to protect the nest. Once he caught the female he threw the male back into the water... but the damage was done. As soon as there was nothing there to protect the bed the Bluegill swarmed in and feasted on the eggs/fry. For the life of me I cannot see how this is in support of catch and release fishing that we all participate in. Since then I will no longer site fish. It is not that important to me to win at any cost, for a lack of a better phrase. Granted, we probably did very little damage overall to the bass population... but if you times that by 50 or a 100 boats then ya, we contributed to the decline of the population. That ain't for me... but I am sure I am alone in this stance.

[Sharpie]

Homer Circle reports that when he and Glen Lau were filming their bass series, the large ladies would hide when they heard a trolling motor.

quote]

I catch more fish out of a kayak than I do out off my bass boat.

[DINK WHISPERER]

And THAT is exactly why I shy away from largely fished lakes. I stick to ponds, private lakes, and those little nooks and cranny's where nobody ever fishes.

8-) 8-) 8-)

This is so true man! My favorite lake was under management(FWC) for years so big fish were very common! It gained popularity so quickly that it got "beat" 24-7, now you can hardly catch anything there!  >

[bigtimfish]

I will TOTALLY agree with that. I firmly believe that fish have a memory. A memory that lasts longer than 15 minutes. if a fish bites a lure and every time he does he gets pulled from the water, well it is going to remember that. i will disagree with whoever it was that said a bass has a memory of only 15 mins. unless there is a difference between a fishes memory and a fish being conditioned.

[IdahoLunkerHunter]

And THAT is exactly why I shy away from largely fished lakes. I stick to ponds, private lakes, and those little nooks and cranny's where nobody ever fishes.

8-) 8-) 8-)

Not me, I like the challenge. It makes you become a better fisherman and learn new techniques everyday.

[RoLo]

It might be "relative".

Bass may appear smarter-and-smarter, as the bell-curve of scholastic standards keeps declining

Roger

[grimlin]

And THAT is exactly why I shy away from largely fished lakes. I stick to ponds, private lakes, and those little nooks and cranny's where nobody ever fishes.

8-) 8-) 8-)

Not me, I like the challenge. It makes you become a better fisherman and learn new techniques everyday.

I like how you think.I have 3-4 ponds around here.Never fished them...pulling a limit on a lake that's got heavy pressure when nobody else is catching is probably my best days and memories.It means I'm taking the information i learned and applying it to what i need to do.I'm doing things right under the heaviest pressure.

That's the whole purpose i come on here learning these things.I can apply the things i learn and take it anywhere.  

I still haven't mastered the worm/stickbait/senko.I honestly believe most bass around here shy away from them as they are more commonly used.