Dumb Question -_- 2025
Bostonstronggggg reply :
So... fish that have NOT been caught before... Do they know what fishing is and that they're at risk of being caught? Like... if they see the fishing line, do they even know what that is? LOL.
bigturtle reply :
why would this matter?
Bostonstronggggg reply :
On 4/18/2015 at 8:08 AM, bigturtle said:why would this matter?
Just wondering... I said "Dumb Question -_-"
gulfcaptain reply :
So the ones that get caught over and over.....do they know or do they just like being picked up by people to see the world above the water?
Do they only bite for the guys that are going to throw them back?
Do the depressed fish commit suicide by bucket fisherman?
I just figured I'd add a few more to this thread.
Ozark_Basser reply :
Impossible to know for sure. Highly pressured fish in clear water are probably going to be line shy. Some fish are probably smarter than others just like any other species. In reality, if your hooks, weights, and weedguards aren't bothering them, your line won't either.
RSM789 reply :
I am not sure that bass "know" anything, for it is arguable that their behavior is driven by instinct. For heavens sake, they will eat a turtle shell and all - what sentient being would willingly submit themselves to that gastronomical nightmare (besides some people I know)??
rippin-lips reply :
I'm so confused right now. Episode 3 of MLF is on. Gotta go!
WRB reply :
Some bass never get caught, other bass are so aggressive they get caught several times. It's aggressive bass we try to find and catch. Bass vision isn't microscopic, like trout for example, the bass eyes see the big picture very well, small details are not that important to a predator with a big mouth!
The bass has a brain about the size of a pea and smarter than some anglers!
Tom
SirSnookalot reply :
If fish were truly smart they'd never hit an artificial lure. I fish the same places all the time, use the same lures, much of the time it's in small ponds that hold just so many larger fish. Good chance I've caught many of the same fish multiple times, have seen distinguishing marks to back that up.
Several years ago, I posted the pics here, I caught the same bass with a brown spot on it's lip. Caught it in the same general area using the same lure and did 3 days in a row.
Crestliner2008 reply :
Fish don't think. They react to a given set of environmental conditions and physical needs. You are giving them way too much credit.
smalljaw67 reply :
I read a book and if I remember the name of it I'll post it. Anyway, it was about fish biology and how different freshwater species live and the bass chapter was interesting. The author writes that the part of the brain responsible for memory is extremely small and they don't have the part of the brain that is needed for reasoning, which is what you are referring to. The fish lives solely on instincts and just like some people are smarter than others, it is the same with fish and some have better instincts than others as well, that explains why one fish gets caught multiple time and another fish doesn't get caught at all. During certain seasons like pre spawn, these instincts change and they focus on eating much more in preparation for the stressful act of spawning and at that time they are more venerable to being caught. The fish isn't thinking, it is reacting to its environment and its instinct is to be an opportunist when it comes to feeding but what it perceives as prey is based on its instinct and some have better instincts than others. In the Berkley lab they discovered fish have a memory span of about 10 minutes but they can become conditioned to things like color and even scent, they don't remember that they were caught on a purple with blue flake worm after 10 minutes, but after they've been caught and see a purple with blue flake worm multiple times, their instinct changes and they will ignore it completely and while it isn't know for sure, some researchers believe that certain instincts will be passed on to the next generation.
frogflogger reply :
On 4/18/2015 at 2:58 PM, WRB said:Some bass never get caught, other bass are so aggressive they get caught several times. It's aggressive bass we try to find and catch. Bass vision isn't microscopic, like trout for example, the bass eyes see the big picture very well, small details are not that important to a predator with a big mouth!
The bass has a brain about the size of a pea and smarter than some anglers!
Tom
I agree - I've read in several articles and books that a certain percentage of a given bass population are never caught -
OntarioFishingGuy reply :
On 4/18/2015 at 7:21 PM, Crestliner2008 said:Fish don't think. They react to a given set of environmental conditions and physical needs. You are giving them way too much credit.
Exactly. We catch the same rock bass here 4-5 times in a row on the same bait. As soon as you release it, you can pich back to it and it will bite again. They aren't the smartest creatures.
Mccallister25 reply :
Don't have anything to add to this topic but love hearing what you guys have to say. This is interesting.
kingmotorboat reply :
Somewhere cheech and chong are smiling
Tmmytomato reply :
The bass that get caught repeatedly are mostly blonde, are easily fooled and lean to the left.
retiredbosn reply :
On 4/18/2015 at 7:03 AM, Bostonstronggggg said:So... fish that have NOT been caught before... Do they know what fishing is and that they're at risk of being caught? Like... if they see the fishing line, do they even know what that is? LOL.
I'll try to find the link to the article I'm referencing. Basically it was a study of a controlled population of fish in a pond. All were tagged, identifying markers recorded, etc. The fish were all adults that were caught by biologist using electrical current from different reservoirs. It was a multi-year study. Anyway long story short, a certain portion of the population was caught repeatedly utilizing numerous baits (all artificial). Another percentage were rarely caught and only under certain light conditions, and only one or two presentations worked. The final portion of the population were never caught, these fish were easily spoked, apparently line shy etc. The study concluded that about 65-75% of the population of any lake were catchable bass, of that percent only 25% were easily caught. Of the ones easily caught their behavior remained that way throughout their life. Made no difference if they were a pound or ten pounds, these fish never learned. The group that proved difficult to catch remained that way throughout their life as well. They never showed any capacity for memory though and could be caught throughout their life. The group that proved to impossible to catch, remained that way. The percentage of catchable fish remained constant throughout the years. Spawn after spawn.
Here's where it gets interesting. Finally the pond was drained, the uncatchable bass relocated to a different pond. They were isolated from the catchable bass in order to study them further. Amazingly their offspring exhibited the same characteristics and were not catchable period, not even live bait worked.
In the other pond that contained the catchable bass. The population remained fairly constant, until they started removing the hard to catch fish, then the population experienced a shift where most fish were easily caught.
Finally the ponds were drained all the fish went into one large pond. The biologist then opened the pond for fishing, the only requirement was the fishermen were required to keep their catch. Within a couple of years the easy fishing ended, all that were left were the difficult to catch and the impossible to catch
The study concluded that liberal bag limits are very detrimental to fishing for sport. The overall population of bass remained constant, but catch rates dwindled.
scaleface reply :
Unpressured bass are a "lot" easier to catch than heavily pressured fish.
Alonerankin2 reply :
On 4/19/2015 at 7:28 AM, kingmotorboat said:Somewhere cheech and chong are smiling
Yup, up in smoke baby!
retiredbosn reply :
On 4/19/2015 at 10:12 AM, scaleface said:Unpressured bass are a "lot" easier to catch than heavily pressured fish.
Very true, but is that due to the lake experiencing a shift in population? In other words the stupid easily caught bass were harvested, leaving only the difficult to catch bass. I thought the study was interesting.
Alonerankin2 reply :
Doug Hannon proved FLMB do not remember the 7" plastic worm, ever! He caught the same large fish over & over again... Studies suggest hard baits for whatever reason seem to provide at least some negative cues.. Bass Eat, seek comfort and spawn. That's what they do,they are not capable of intellectual thought or reasoning..it might be interesting to see one trained to jump thru a ring of fire though, lol..
scaleface reply :
Bass learn . Ive experenced it. I had one spot where the bass never seen a lure and followed me around. I caught and released them. Each time I fished the spot it became more difficult.
SirSnookalot reply :
There are no dumb questions if one hasn't the answer. The way I have found to answer a question I may have is to get out there and fish. Whether it's buying equipment or learning how to fish certain lures, time on the water leads to experience and experience leads to results. That experience coupled with some good old fashioned common sense, is the very best weapon one can have in their arsenal.
retiredbosn reply :
On 4/19/2015 at 10:50 AM, scaleface said:Bass learn . Ive experenced it. I had one spot where the bass never seen a lure and followed me around. I caught and released them. Each time I fished the spot it became more difficult.
I respectfully disagree that the bass learned, there is to much evidence that bass do not learn. There is some anecdotal evidence that show bass will have a temporary negative reaction to hardbaits. What's more likely is that the fish u caught 1 either died (there is a small percentage of mortality no matter how gently the fish are handled) or more likely 2 had moved from that spot. There are spots on a lake that always hold bass, but its not always the same bass. Individual bass move throughout the year, abandoning one locale for another, other bass will move to the recently vacated spot quickly. Ever wonder why pros go back to the same spot day after day? Because they know that other bass will claim the spot.
gulfcaptain reply :
I don't know if they learn but they can be conditioned to certain things. My fish in my fishtank are conditioned that every time my auto feeder kicks on they all swim to the corner where the food is. City park fish and well small lake fish around here are conditoned to the easy meal of rainbow trout that are dumped in. They camp out and wait for their free meal just as fish that are fed by feeders in ponds learn the feeders kick on and supply a free meal.
scaleface reply :
Call it learning , conditioning , accustomed too whatever. Bass know that after barge waves slam up against the rip rap banks on the mississippi river that a feeding opportunity exist and they become active. They react positively or negatively to a lot of different things.
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