Are Bass smart? 2024

Gomer Pyle reply :

I had a discussion with a friend recently concerning the intelligence of a bass. It seems to me that a 10+ lb bass would have a brain that weighs a few grams (<5 gr) at the most. In this massive brain, where would there be room for cognitive function? Seems to me that 90% of the brain would be preoccupied in maintaining physiological function and not in reasoning on whether a target meal is real or not. If bass were so smart, then how would one explain catching the SAME fish twice? Just my thoughts guys...how bout yours?

Gangley reply :

no, they are not smart, but they are keen survivalist.

They don't know what's a lure and what isn't. What they do know is that certain things hurt when they bite and certain things don't. After a few "hurts" they become keenly aware of what does and doesnt go in their mouth. They begin to single out vibrations and sounds, and associate those individual unique traits with food or danger. Much like Pavlov's dog. Thats why a lure presented one way wont get a single hit, but present it a slightly different way (different look and different retrieve/vibration) will trick a bass into biting.

Again, they dont "think" down a cognitive path that leads them to determine that something is a lure. What they know is that what they are looking at and feeling through vibrations caused them some amount of pain at one time and so they stay away from it. When you change the sound, look, texture, vibration of a lure, it changes what they consider harmful or not. Thats why eveybody is looking for the next big thing, the next lure that hasnt been identified yet, the lure that nobody else is using, because there is the chance that it will be new for the bass and the bass wont show caution when it is presented to them.

Big Phish reply :

Well I have heard, on a few separate occasions, that a Bass' memory only goes back 15 minutes. If this is true it would disprove anything about bass becoming conditioned to any type of bait.

Jake. reply :

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Well I have heard, on a few separate occasions, that a Bass' memory only goes back 15 minutes. If this is true it would disprove anything about bass becoming conditioned to any type of bait.

I don't believe this. In several of the ponds I fish the bass are very conditioned to certain lures. Earlier in the year we caught several on buzzbaits and spinnerbaits, but recently we haven't caught much at all on these lures. In my experiences, if they see a certain lure enough, or get caught by it, they will remember the negative experience associated with it.

Frog Turds reply :

i do believe that all animals at minimum have the ability of simple associations...that is a basic necessary function of survival of any species...

heres a link to where a reporter is discussing a study done...and carp were rated the highest

http://www.mankatofreepress.com/outdoors/local_story_193005618.html

.ghoti. reply :

A sack of bass is roughly as "smart" as a sack of hammers.

fishinfewl reply :

They must be because I'm having one heck of a time catching them.

Mattlures reply :

The 15 minute thing is just wrong. absolutley wrong. No proof and its just bad info that has been passed around for a long time.

Read this article.

http://bassbuzz.outdoorsfanmedia.com/br_news_article.asp?thecat=2&id=257

Catt reply :

Only the ones in California

Mattlures reply :

Well the bass in CA must be smarter ha ha.

because nobody out here who actualy catches big bass thinks they are easy or dumb. Now the guys who dont catch big bass will tell you they are dumb and easy and all you need to do is find them and you can catch them. Well this is true for young inexperianced bass. They make a lot more mistakes then big fish. The longer a fish lives around fisherman the "smarter" it gets. Or the better its survival instincts become. Just like any other animal. If it does something and something bad happens becaus of it, it will learn not to do it anymore.

It may take a few times depending on how tramatic the experiance and of course what kind of animal, but they do learn.

tnhiker44 reply :

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Well the bass in CA must be smarter ha ha.
because nobody out here who actualy catches big bass thinks they are easy or dumb.

I agree with you. But lets remove all the trout and other bait fish out of those California waters and I am willing to bet those big fish get dumb in a hurry. A big hurry. As mentioned, survival is the key. With nothing to eat those big Cali fish would bite a Rooster Tail on 80 pound mono thrown in 6 inches of water.

Mattlures reply :

That would be the same with just about any species. Survival is always the first priority. You take away the regular food from any animal and it will try to eat something else. It has to or it will die. You ever see those national geografic films where the desperate lion tries to kill a buffalo or the one where a starving polor bear tries to kill a walruss? The bear dies from wounds it got from the walruss. If that bear had plenty of seals around it would have never tried the wallrus, same with the lion. Predators, even simple ones like fish learn which prey is the best for them and they aviod the dangerous prey untill they become desperate. So Yes, if you removed all the food from a lake the poor starving fish would become easier to catch. They would also shrink.

PS the trout that are stocked that the bass are feeding on are only in the lakes for 3-4 months in most cases.

Catt reply :

Yea we get it to catch big bass

California baits

In California waters

Thrown by California anglers

All others need not apply

done reply :

I remember reading similar stuff on trout. What it came down to was trout were more skittish, more selective than other fish. The ones who were, lived longer produced more skittish offspring, and so on.

I would think Bass would have some association memory as they adjust to the specific environment and the food, patterns, etc. I would doubt they are thinking type smart, but hey, cannot say i have done any studies myself aside from dragging some hooks through local lakes.

One thing I can say, I have had days where I have throw a spinner onto a bedded Bass dragged him halfway to the boat, lost him, come back in 10 minutes and caught the same Bass in the same spot with the same lure, so if the do have a memory it is not always too sharp.

Uncle Leo reply :

Well golly gee, I hope not.

RoLo reply :

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A sack of bass is roughly as "smart" as a sack of hammers.

Then again, a "used" hammer may have the edge ;D

Roger

bitemyworm reply :

Bass are smarter than me. I'm tricked all the time into buying lures that look like live bait. Unfortunately, the bass often times are not tricked into biting these lures.

Catt reply :

Anglers assume big fish to be elusive and intelligent because they don't catch many of them; in most cases, big fish are elusive simply because they are so rare making up only 1-2% or less of the population.

RoLo reply :

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Anglers assume big fish to be elusive and intelligent because they don't catch many of them; in most cases, big fish are elusive simply because they are so rare making up only 1-2% or less of the population.

And that 1 to 2% of the population is actively feeding only a small percentage of the time.

BobP reply :

Bass don't reason but can be conditioned. And the bass population can pass some of their conditioning to later generations. The more bass we catch on a particular bait, the less likely current and future bass are to bite it. There is variability in the bass population and some bass behave differently than others. The variability is good because it's how the bass species as a whole adapts to new and changing environments. Yes, there are "stupid" bass that will bite a spinnerbait twice in a few minutes. They are caught more often and suffer greater mortality, with less chance of transmitting their genes to later generations. Over the generations of bass, that selects for a bass less apt to bite spinnerbaits in the places and at the times we fish them. We're in a predator-prey relationship. We make them "smarter" about avoiding us. They hopefully make us smarter about how we catch them. We should have the advantage because we can transmit successful predator behaviors through fishing forums ;D

George Welcome reply :

Bass are as smart as the fisherman that is fishing for them which is why I am glad that I am as dumb as rocks.

Mattlures reply :

Catt and Rolo you are correct. The population is less, in the odler class fish. However I was not only talking about the verry oldest and biggest.

Whith each encounter a bass has with an angler(getting hooked) it "learns" or adapts. so there is a learning curve. The more pressure the faster the fish becomes conditioned to specific techniques. So an old bass that lives in a pressured lake is going to much harder to catch then one the same size and age in a vigin farm pond. Also I have gone on a shocking trip with the fish and game in a lake know for small fish. You would be suprised how many fish are down there and how many of them are big. Alot more then people think. I dont remember the exact numbers but we covered probably 2-3 miles of shoreline and caught around 1200 bass. most were 1-2lbs but we had atleast 40 fish over 5lbs. They are in there they just arent as easy to catch as the small ones. There are less big one but they are there and they reject lures all the time.

Catt reply :

Learn: to gain knowledge or understanding

Bass are incapable of learning

Mattlures reply :

How do you know? do you talk to bass ? ;) ;)

I use the word "learn" beacaue its a comon term. I dont know that they dont learn. Whatever you call it, they do do it. Adapt,condition,instinct,learn,react, whatever. If bass were as dumb as you think then everybody would catch big ones and you would have 100's of pics with big bass. ;) ;) ;)

Catt reply :

Adapt,condition,instinct,learn,react, whatever. If bass were as smart as you think then nobody would ever catch them but yet they are caught repeatedly through out their life.

Matt Fly reply :

Bass will eat to survive, thats a given.

How smart can a bass be to be caught numerous times off a bed with a boat setting on top of ya?

Every year? the same routine? Just how smart can a bass be?

If bass are so smart, they would only spawn deep to escape the beating they take. Do they condition to this? WE tend to think the older girls do. Why not all? How come this gene isn't passed to others to spawn deep if it can be passed as some think.

Texas actively stocks bass, Tx biologist believe that only 10% of texas bass see a lure in a years time. I can see where states that don't have the bass populations, or small bodies of water, gin clear condintions, highly pressured, non active stocking program where those bass can be highly conditioned.

Mattlures reply :

Catt thats the beauty of fishing. We have the advantage. we are smarter then them. Plus they are prisoners to thier enviornment. They have to eat, and they have to stay in that lake. Why do they get caught? well thats pretty simple. Because they are not as as smart as us. We beat them we win the battle. we are supoosed to win.

I never said they are sooo smart that they cant be caught. Yes some fish can become almost uncatchable. Just like Dottie. That little lake got pounded day after day. Everybody knew she was in their but nobody could catch her unless she was on a bed. Even then it took extremly skilled sight fisherman to get her and it took a long time.

The more experiance a fish has with fisherman the more it learns to avoid us. This is a fishing fact that has been proven as much as any fishing theory. I would consider it fact.

Matt Fly in most cases out here the bigger fish have "learned to avoid the biggest spawning presure. They do spawn much deeper and a lot of times they do it very early in the season or very late when the presure is at a miniumum. The biggest ones will also use any waether oportunity to spawn. If there is a light rian durring spawning season the big ones tend to move up, do thier thing and get out of there. They also tend to spawn at night.

Belive me they do a lot to avoid us even when they are spawning, at least they do this out here. Also just like most creatures when it comes to mating, other survival instincts take a back seat. All you deer hunters know its easier to find bucks when they are rutting. They make a lot more mistakes.

A spawning fish is not eating. It has not been tricked into eating your bait. It is defending. so even though you catch a little male, you can catch it again because its instinct tells it, it needs to defend.

fishfordollars reply :

No they are not smart, and lately I'm questioning myself.

Grey Wolf reply :

Quote
I had a discussion with a friend recently concerning the intelligence of a bass. It seems to me that a 10+ lb bass would have a brain that weighs a few grams (<5 gr) at the most. In this massive brain, where would there be room for cognitive function? Seems to me that 90% of the brain would be preoccupied in maintaining physiological function and not in reasoning on whether a target meal is real or not. If bass were so smart, then how would one explain catching the SAME fish twice? Just my thoughts guys...how bout yours?

No they are not smart.

Mattlures reply :

For those of you who are saying that big bass are not smart. Well I kind of agree with you. It all depends on what you consider "smart" if you are comparring them to humans then they are incredibly stupid.

However an older bigger more experianced bass is much smarter then a youger one with little experience. Its all relative

Catt reply :

Y'all need to look at how the research was peer reviewed, just because someone runs around in a white lab coat does not make some thing fact.

Using controlled methods

Collect observable evidence

Record measurable data relating to the observations

Analyze this information to construct theoretical explanations

Publish their information so other scientists can do similar experiments to double-check their conclusions

An examination of the brain of a bass show conclusively it does not have the capability of what this types of research shows and that my friend is accepted by 85% of all who have peer reviewed at the facts.

classictackle reply :

The bass bigger than a pound have been smart enough to stay off my hook the last three times out....

BlakeMolone reply :

Im not a very experienced bass fisher but there is a neighborhood pond with some awesome sized fish in it and I know that they are conditioned to some lures. Ive spent a ton of time fishing there and the common baits like shallow diving crankbaits and plastic worms just don't catch fish. The only thing Ive ever been able to catch them on consistently was my mattlures soft bluegill bait (and ive been catching a couple fishing in the rain with rage toads)but i don't have it anymore Ive caught fish on several different baits like jerkbaits and rattletraps but after a few fish get hooked it seems like the rest of the bass leave it alone. So I dont know if you would call them smart but there definitely conditioned to a lot of lures.

tyrius. reply :

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An examination of the brain of a bass show conclusively it does not have the capability of what this types of research shows and that my friend is accepted by 85% of all who have peer reviewed at the facts.

Where are these studies?

I'm not saying that you're wrong but we could likely be talking about two different things.

Catt reply :

FYI on scientific research

Empirical cycle:

Observation: The collecting and organization of empirical facts; Forming hypotheses.

Induction: Formulating hypotheses.

Deduction: Deducting consequences of hypotheses as testable predictions.

Testing: Testing the hypotheses with new empirical material.

Evaluation: Evaluating the outcome of testing.

Degree of Manipulation

The general objective of observation is to record the activity in its natural state, so ideally the researcher should not interfere with the activity.

Sometimes you have to stimulate the object to initiate the activity to be studied. The behavior you wish to study is sometimes so infrequent that waiting for it to happen would cause more disturbance than manipulation would involve, not to mention the cost. However, without reliable theory manipulation would be risky because it easily upsets the causalities that you want to study.

Burden of proof

In scientific research evidence is accumulated through observations of phenomena that occur in the natural world, or which are created as experiments in a laboratory. Scientific evidence usually goes towards supporting or rejecting a hypothesis.

One must always remember that the burden of proof is on the person making the claim. Within science, this translates to the burden resting on presenters of a paper, in which the presenters argue for their specific findings. This paper is placed before a panel of judges where the presenter must defend the thesis against all challenges.

Conclusion

The role of observation as a theory-neutral arbiter may not be possible. Theory-dependence of observation means that, even if there were agreed methods of inference and interpretation, scientists may still disagree on the nature of empirical data.

Catt reply :

The Degree of Manipulation is when needs to be given consideration

As I stated read some peer review of some of the proposed research instead of stopping at what suits your expectations. Y'all may also want to look into anatomy of the brain of a bass and what it is capable of.

tyrius. reply :

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Y'all may also want to look into anatomy of the brain of a bass and what it is capable of.

I'd love to. Can you point me to some?

Mattlures reply :

How about something that PROVES bass cant learn. Or maybe a real pic of aliens or a mermaid

Catt reply :

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How about something that PROVES bass cant learn. Or maybe a real pic of aliens or a mermaid

Proof positive you keep catching them

Lund Explorer reply :

I have a sneaking suspicion that bass are only as smart as each fisherman needs them to be.

RoLo reply :

No fish ever had an original thought in its life, because fish lack the power of reasoning.

To help compensate for their lack of intellect, low forms of life are typically endowed with highly developed instincts

that lend to their ability to become conditioned to positive and negative stimuli.

Since humans beings lack highly developed instincts, the behavior of low forms of life might create the illusion of intelligence.

Roger

ab8aac reply :

I don't care how smart they are as long as they keep biting my baits. Heck they can go to bass SCHOOL and get a phd as long as they bite when I am fishing. LOL Ya'll did know they have schools right? LOL :D

Gomer Pyle reply :

After catching 7 out of 9 LMB on a topwater chugger yesterday in a small pond....it seems to me that the first bass would of gone back and warned his buddies not to bite that funny looking object on top of the water. Not only do I think they're dumb, but they sure don't communicate very well with each other..

90x reply :

If bass weren't smart you'd never get skunked.

CHEVYRIDAZ reply :

If all this is true about bass adapting to certain lures than how can the " Old Faithfuls" be explained.? For example the T-rigged plastic worm and the Rattle trap. They catch fish just about everywhere and anytime for me. Have been for MANY years now. In lakes i always fish and new ones. Big fish as well as small ones.

Bassnajr reply :

Are bass smart....well let's see....

There are a VERY LARGE group of folks out there that spend a tremendous amount of time and money, thought and consideration, and even a little dreaming, trying to figure out everything they can about this fish. And just when you think you have them figured out, you go out fishing with your fancy equipment, fancy boats, and "game plans", and don't catch ONE BASS!!!

The question should be "Who's smarter, the bass or the bass fisherman???

tyrius. reply :

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Y'all may also want to look into anatomy of the brain of a bass and what it is capable of.

Catt,

I still haven't seen any of the studies that support your position here. I've even googled to attempt to find them myself and nearly everything I read supports the position that bass DO learn. Even in aquariums it has been shown that bass will become conditioned to artificial lures. They will strike them to see if they are edible and when they find that they are not they no longer strike them. This is in repeated presentations to the same fish with no hooking of the fish.

You may say that aquarium studies are different and they are, but in this instance (bass's ability to learn) that difference is not relevant. They show that physically bass are able to "learn" what is food and what isn't. The studies that I have read did not cover retention of that "knowledge".

"Smart Bass" is even covered here.

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/smart_bass.html

Another point to consider in a bass's ability to become conditioned, to "learn", is pond owners with fish feeders. When these feeders are set to dispense food at a defined time the fish will become conditioned to this food source. They will "learn" what time to be there. They will all gather where the food will be and will be there before the food shows up.

All of the above shows that bass have the physical ability (the brain function) to learn from both positive and negative stilumi.

They aren't going to be able to do addition or subtraction though.

Lund Explorer reply :

Tyrius,

You bringing up the subject of fish feeders made me chuckle. One of my clients developed and patented one of these things, and while I would agree with the fact that the fish can become conditioned, sometimes that behavior couldn't be exactly be classified as smart.

Case in point was a customer who wrote them about how the fish were not only attracted to the feeder's automatic feeding times, but because the feeder had an manual feeding cycle built in, that the fish also became accustomed to rushing to the dock anytime he walked out onto it. Probably because he often hit this manual feeding cycle, the fish "learned" to trust this guy, led a few of them to an early demise.

That's because one of the local Great Blue Herons "learned" about the easy fishing to be had from his dock. This bird would land on the dock each day, and walk out to the end of it near the feeder. This led to all of the SMART fish to come screaming in from all directions for the free meal, only to become the main course themselves.

I'd say the jury is still out.

Catt reply :

Yelp you're right in the next year or two y'all will not be able to catch any bass because they have became to smart for y'all.

Those links put up about bass learning ask them for the peer reviews of their research and see who has enough backbone to answer. For it to be scientific research they have to submit their finding for peer review and that review has to use the same observations and draw the same conclusions.

Aquarium bass falls under Degree of Manipulation

The general objective of observation is to record the activity in its natural state, so ideally the researcher should not interfere with the activity.

tyrius. reply :

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Yelp you're right in the next year or two y'all will not be able to catch any bass because they have became to smart for y'all.

Somehow I expected more of a response than drab sarcasm.

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Those links put up about bass learning ask them for the peer reviews of their research and see who has enough backbone to answer.

Until I see some studies that refute what they say then I'll put my faith in them and in my experiences. You have stated that such studies exist, but have not posted them.

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Aquarium bass falls under Degree of Manipulation

As I stated the degree of manipulation is not relevant in that you stated that a bass's brain is not sufficient to allow it to learn. A study that shows that the bass can learn that a lure is not a food source is relavent regardless of where it takes place (unless the scientist doing the study somehow implanted a different brain). Bass either have the ability or they don't and the location of the study is irrelavent. This study showed that they do.

Catt reply :

The brain of a bass consists of a forebrain, midbrain, brain stem, spinal cord, and nerves. It operates mostly on instinct that is programmed into its nervous system. In addition the nervous system and organism as a whole operates on a reflex basis depending on environmental stimuli. The brain has a very small cortex; therefore it does not have advanced capabilities for memory as we know them. That is why they seem to forget and can at times hit a lure again shortly after being released.

Gomer Pyle reply :

Catching those "smart" fish really helps to stroke my ego It brings me great satisfaction to come home after a long day of fishing and report to my wife and other select fishing buddies that I outsmarted those smart fish today. I might add, it helps to further justify the $$ spent on tackle, rods n reels, bug spray, etc. Anybody can catch a dummy catfish or bluegill, but a LMB....now that takes some expertise

fishfordollars reply :

Heck no. If they are so smart how come I'm still catching them in the same spots and on the same lures that I did 30 years ago.

If you go out and have a bad day it ain't because you ran into a bunch of smart fish. It's because you(An angler) are not smart enough to figure them out. Lots of times I ain't either.

Just because I dumb down while on the water does not make the fish smarter.

tyrius. reply :

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Heck no. If they are so smart how come I'm still catching them in the same spots and on the same lures that I did 30 years ago.

We can cut out the sarcasm by agreeing that the fish you caught in year 1 are most certainly not the fish you caught in year 30 and you are likely not catching the same fish year after year or even trip and trip.

No one is equating bass with Einstein or that they have an eidetic memory. What people are saying is that bass are capable of being conditioned by external stimuli. This can be equated to learning. They can learn to avoid certain lures for a period of time. Other studies have shown that some bass are more vulnerable to angling than others. So, a bass's ability to become conditioned and then to retain that conditioning varies. This has been shown through numerous scientific studies. Some of which have been linked in this thread.

It doesn't matter if you believe it or not, bass are capable of becoming condtioned therefore they are capable of learning. But, as I've said much earlier in this thread, they're still pretty dumb.

I also don't understand why some people are so dismissive of other's points or why they try and deliberately try and take another's points so far out of context that it no longer matches what that person said. Strange really, if you are so sure of your knowledge then why not post that as response and be constructive?

fishfordollars reply :

When these fish are stacked in brushpiles in 20-30' of water and they produce day after day with out a break, I tend to believe they are basically the same schools of fish.

If, however they were shallower I would tend to agree. The deeper schools tend to stay put once they set up for the summer.

tyrius. reply :

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When these fish are stacked in brushpiles in 20-30' of water and they produce day after day with out a break, I tend to believe they are basically the same schools of fish.

Bass aren't going to learn from each other. They will only respond to direct stimuli. You have to catch a specific bass for it to experience the negative stimuli associated with attempting to eat something (your lure) that was not food and then getting caught. Then you have to repeat that stimulus to that specific bass enough times for it to become conditioned to that specific presentation. Then you have to repeat the stimulus regularly or the bass will "forget".

Like I've said, they're not smart but they are capable of adapting to external stimulus. If you really want to explore this try tagging the fish that you catch and logging repeat catches of the same exact fish.

fishfordollars reply :

We've done that. Lots of taged fish in the lake and yes, they have been caught more than once, by more people than myself.

tyrius. reply :

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We've done that. Lots of taged fish in the lake and yes, they have been caught more than once, by more people than myself.

No one is saying that that won't happen. But, to draw any conclusions one would need more data. Such as time between catches, presentation used to catch the fish, date of catch, etc, etc.

Mattlures reply :

tyrius. It doesnt matter how many scientific studies you find to support bass can "learn". It doesnt matter how many MILLIONS of examples you can come up with from your own experience or all the other fisherman's experiences. All the fisherman are wrong and all the scientist are wrong becasue an "expert" said so.

To answer the question of why we catch the same fish. There are many possabilities.

First nobody is saying they "learn" the very first time. A dog which is much more intelegent does not learn the first time it is discaplined. It takes a couple times and even then that dog may need a reminder every once in a while. But we all know dogs learn and can be taught.

2nd we dont know how long bass retain what they "learn". it is possible they forget after a while. I would geuss it depends of how much negative and possative experince that particular fish has.

Example: you have a pond and you feed the bass shiners for a year. Then you use some for bait. The fish you catch have been eating shiners every day so even though you release them it will most likely take a while for them to figure out not to eat them when your using them for bait.

Now if you werent feeding them shiners and just used them for bait they would figure it out faster. I have seen bass follow up a hooked trout but not eat it and as soon as it was thrown back without the line and hook the bass ate it!. That fish knew to aviod the line and hook.

3rd. fish dont live very long, plus there is a new crop every year, so that is another reason why the same old lures keep working.

fish will become conditioned accoring to pressure. In a small pond you can condition fish much faster to a specific technique or bait. You can litteraly catch most of the population over a short period of time and catch some multiple times. They will "learn" and you will need to change it up. The bigger the lake and less pressure each fish recieves would greatly affect how fast they become conditioned to a bait or if they become conditioned at all.

and last just like other animals some individuals will be more or less intellegent then the others.

Nothing has been posted to prove that bass cant "learn" nothing even clost to proof has been posted. Just sarcasm.

BTW you can replace the word "learn" with instinct, condition,adapt, etc.

Catt reply :

Matt y'all come up with the some old tired wore out research that has been peer reviewed into submission but y'all will not read the information on the peer review because it will disprove your point of view. Y'all talk of science but stop reading at the point that agrees with your belief. I dare either of y'all to send a PM to the research team y'all keep quoting and ask for the peer review and report back here.

This is just like the discussion about fish attractants and Dr. Keith Jones once the peer reviews came out slamming his theories the subject aint came up again.

Mattlures reply :

Catt I have read the articles posted in this thread. I know several fisheries biologosts. I have talked to them about it. You have not posted 1 bit of evidence to suport your argument. You just dodge the issue.

I have conducted my own experiments. I have managed a few private ponds/lakes, I have kept bass in aquariums. I have proven to myself beyond any reasonable doubt that fish can be conditioned to aviod danger. I dont know to what degree but it is obvious that they do this. In most cases they assosiate humans with danger, unless they are pets and they are being fed by them but it doesnt take long if they get caught by those humans.

You talk about peer reviews? Ok show me a peer review that disputes what the original experiments shows. Show me where it says the info is incorrect. That it is wrong. You cant. Matbe you can find something that says the experiment wasnt perfect but that does not make the conclusion wrong.

All you have done is take a stance against all the experiments and all the experiances of the fisherman. You have not provided any form of proof to suport your obviously wrong position.

I have seen thousands of examples of fish adapting, learning, instinct etc. I dont need a scientist to agree with me, even though they all do.

Having this debate with you is pointless. You have lost along time ago.

At this point its like arguing with a traffic cone. I am done with this one.

Like I said before I truley have no hard feelings and I still dont.

Catt reply :

I have a friend who has Bachelor of Science degree, Master of Science degree. & a Doctor of Philosophy in science and he agrees you've said nothing because you read a report to the point of where it agrees with you and stopped right there.

Just because someone wears a white lab coat, horned reamed glass, and plays with test tubes does not make it fact. I've not taken a stance against all the experiments instead I read them all the way to the end something y'all fail to do. The higher the Degree of Manipulation used in research the less that research will be accepted something else y'all ignore.

Talk about disagreeing all the experiences of the fisherman; I suggest you go back through this tread again.

I could post all the necessary peer reviews to support my side but y'all would still not accept it so why not do it for yourself? Because you would have to admit something.

I'll repeat

Yea we get it to catch big bass

California baits

In California waters

Thrown by California anglers

All others need not apply

tyrius. reply :

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I could post all the necessary peer reviews to support my side but y'all would still not accept it so why not do it for yourself? Because you would have to admit something.

Why wouldn't I accept it? I've spent time trying to track down the true answer and have come up with nothing that states that bass are incapable of being conditioned (of learning through their experiences). In fact, what I have found is the complete opposite. All studies that have appeared in my limited searches have supported the position that bass and other fish can learn through their experiences.

I don't understand why you keep posting dismissive and sarcastic comments in response to legitimate questions. If you aren't interested in a meaningful conversation on this topic then why do you keep posting here? I am not going to take your position at face value.

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An examination of the brain of a bass show conclusively it does not have the capability of what this types of research shows and that my friend is accepted by 85% of all who have peer reviewed at the facts.

which is a pretty precise statement that should be able to be backed by something. You keep talking about peer review and degrees of manipulation and other aspects of the scientific method, why don't you apply it to your side of this discussion and show us the information that supports your quote above.

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