Conditioning Time Table

[Gangley]

How long does conditioning last?

I know this is an overly broad question that doesnt account for many variables that affect environment and behavior, so I'll try to castrate the loose ends and leave the scenario as simple as possible.

Scenario:

Lake "A" is approximately 20 acres and during the spring, summer, and fall it is fished 3-4 times a week by a total of 2 individuals. They use identical lures and so the fish are exposed to the same lure quite often for extended periods of time. By the end of fall, we will assume that a large population of the bass have been exposed to, and become conditioned to, the lure of choice and have "learned" to avoid it. Winter rolls around and the lake recieves zero fishing pressure for a time period of approximately 3 months.

Questions:

1. On average, how long will the bass stay conditioned to the lure that was used extensively during the prior spring, summer, and fall seasons.

2. Do the bass become conditioned to the specific lure, presentation, the color, or all the above?

3. If the bass, after going for 3 months witout seeing the lure, are no longer weary of it, then how quickly will they become conditioned to it once exposed to it again? Does the conditioning process interval shorten?

Sidenote:

I know there is no way to account for individual bass behavior, and that larger bass (being primarily solitary) can't really be included in population characteristics, but please try to answer the questions as best you can from an experiance stand-point as well as through information gained through article/research/peer reviewed literature. Thank you.

If I have horribly confused you by giving a scenario and asking questions that are innapropriately matched to eachother, then a very basic question that will ask is: In your experiance, how long do fish stay conditioned to a particular lure?

[dhami013]

Conditioning remains for as long as their memory of the stimulus lasts. How long it's been since they received the stimulus. They are conditioned to the stimulus which causes them to be hooked and experience discomfort. So that could be whatever they tie it to. Most likely the color and presentation. I know there are bass in a pond across the street from me and they're huge. They won't even consider any type of artificial bait. They only go for live bait.

As far as becoming reconditioned, it happens a lot quicker than the initial conditioning. Nothing can really completely return from to their unconditioned state.

[senile1]

There is not substantial empirical evidence to answer any of these questions with a high degree of confidence, nor can one really know if conditioning was the reason a bass did not bite. I always prepare for the situation I am fishing and have rods rigged with lures that fit the season and the environment. If there happens to be one lure that was once a good lure for that situation, but is now not drawing strikes, all I can do is switch to another lure or another presentation of the same lure that fits the situation. I do believe fish can be conditioned to a lure or presentation but I never concern myself with the details of how long that can be because I can't really know for sure why the bass didn't bite the lure or presentation, though I can speculate.

[Gangley]

There is not substantial empirical evidence to answer any of these questions with a high degree of confidence, nor can one really know if conditioning was the reason a bass did not bite.

I agree and really don't concern myself too much because I have never encountered the situation where the bass wouldn't take any lure. However, I thought it would be an interesting topic and was hoping that maybe somebody had at some point came across literature on the subject, but I have been unable to come across any myself so opinions on the subject matter are as relevant as anything else. Thanks for replying, I appreciate it and agree witha majority of what you presented.

[J Francho]

Up here, swimming under ice for 3 months erases any bad memories.

[senile1]

I agree and really don't concern myself too much because I have never encountered the situation where the bass wouldn't take any lure. However, I thought it would be an interesting topic and was hoping that maybe somebody had at some point came across literature on the subject, but I have been unable to come across any myself so opinions on the subject matter are as relevant as anything else. Thanks for replying, I appreciate it and agree witha majority of what you presented.

I agree, Gangley. It is an interesting subject.

[J Francho]

It's the $64,000 question, one I've asked as well.

Best I can say is, it depends. On what? Who knows.

I do know the pond I hit most days at lunch gets stingy as the summer progresses. The fish are there, I just counted 63 decent fish on beds today, many are over 4, a few over 5, and at least one over six, one that looks bigger, but have never been able to catch. Most people only catch the dinks. Seems like big fish are stingier.

[Gangley]

Thanks for the replies everybody, I greatly appreciate it.

[dulouz]

I have wondered this myself, but on a much smaller scale. I fish a small farm pond, maybe a couple of acres at the most. There are some really nice bass in there, as well as the usual catfish and sunfish. I usually go there on the weekends, and there might be one or two other people that fish it on occasion. Sometimes I worry about the fish getting too used to me.