Fish getting smarter?

FishDontLikeME · May 28, 2013

Wright County :: Lake Charlotte

i have been out fishing for the last 9 days on this lake getting some great Largemouth and northern, non stop 3 fish for every 5 cast, I was using a original floating rap, the lure has not been off my pole in over a week. Today I went out again, but NO fish!! My question is, Do fish recognize a specific lure after they have been caught a couple times, and they know not to bite it?

PurpleFloyd · May 28, 2013

Maybe their lips are sore from being caught so often

Vitreus · May 28, 2013

It's more than likely a pressure/weather thing. There's been multiple occasions where I've caught the same fish multiple times in the same day (you can tell by size, unique markings, etc.). So, no, I do not believe they've gotten smarter. Their behavior has just changed to fit the circumstances.

Pherris · May 28, 2013

Yes they do. Studies have proven that fish have "memory". They do become conditioned to lure types. Back when I fished tournaments many times a lure that had been working in a specific spot or weather condition would just stop getting bit. In many instances if I switched up baits either with a subtle change (fishing the same lure with a rattle as an example vs one without ) would work and on other occassions they would not start biting until a radical change in lure/presentation like switching from a spinnerbait to a drop shot. Now with that said many times it is not the lure but a change in fishing conditions. A small change in wind direction or a sunny day becoming cloudy. No rain to rain. All of these things can change a bite fast. A habit that I have developed over the years is if I fish a spot that does/should hold fish with one lure/presentation I always try another before moving on. It is amazing how mant times spots you think have no fish are loaded. If you are interested in more on the topic you can do a search on the subject and you will get a lot of info on the topic.

Good Fishing!

Deitz Dittrich · May 28, 2013

This time of the year, fish move quite a bit.. I have seen studies that have been done on very small ponds.. they concluded that hard lures like spinnerbaits and crankbaits did to some extent train the fish not to eat those type lures.. However there was no conclusive evidence that they trained on soft plastics and or live bait.

Not sure how much I believed the study or not.. too many things can change..

my guess, like the other poster, weather got in your way. . or they moved.

Stick in Mud · May 30, 2013

I don't know, but it seems more likely that, for whatever reason, the fish aren't there anymore or they just aren't hungry.

TruthWalleyes · May 30, 2013

Here's what i would find to be most likely IMO.

#1, Fish moved - Unless you've got the technology in your boat to tell you otherwise, the fish likely weren't there. Water conditions - especially in the spring can change rapidly. Wind direction & Speed, Rain, Water Temp, Barometer, Moon stage, Cloud Cover, Bug Hatches, etc... Forage is always moving as well.

#2, Fish change their mood faster than women do (Sometimes). Especially with faster, more aggressive presentations.

Wanderer · May 30, 2013

Let's not forget to mention a 9 day run of slammin em doing the same thing is a pretty good run...

CANOPY SAM · May 30, 2013

I remember seeing a few In-Fishermen articles quite a few years back that discussed studies done on pond raised bass over several years. If I recall correctly they tagged fish accordingly and monitored catch rates of the same fish, repeatedly, on the same body of water.

The study(s) pretty clearly concluded that fish, at least these fish, almost certainly developed some ability to differentiate between artificial baits, and over time would no longer make any effort to chase any artificial presentation, and even seemed to "remember" to not chase these artificial baits several years later.

Does this explain why your hotspot shut off? Not likely. I think the explanations offered above make more sense in this situation. None-the-less, there is some research documentation that suggests that fish do have the capacity to learn, and even remember.