First off let me say that all of this is information I’m about to share is not based on any scientific studies, just my years personal experiences
I have been asked more than once, “How come bass are so smart? First off I cant see how an animal with a brain the size of a pea could be all that intelligent. However I do know that there has been more than one time in my life that the wile bass has out witted me. I’m sure that all of you have had these days as well. So I ask myself, how could that be? Here I am, what I consider an intelligent human being and this stupid green creature got the best of me, what’s up with that?
Don’t take that wrong, I don’t for one second believe that they possess intelligence like us carbon based creatures do but I do believe that bass, especially the bigger ones, become conditioned to things. I think if they have a bad experience with a certain smell, sound or lure they tend to avoid it.
Think about the lures that caught bass all of the time in the past, then all of the sudden the bass will not even sniff it. Ever notice how the attractant manufacturers are forever changing their smells? Is it me of have you noticed that the ones that always stick around are the ones that smell like natural forage, crawfish, baitfish and even night crawlers but the ones that smell like garlic or black lickerish seem to disappear? One word, Conditioning.
I believe that if you take those lures that used to catch bass then all of the sudden don’t and give them a rest for awhile, say a season or two, then try them again you would be pleasantly surprised to see that they still do catch bass. I know that I have taken lures that caught bass for me 10 years ago and then they sat in the tackle box because something new and exciting came along and caught my eye, out of a whim I tied them on and just wacked the bass on it once again.
I also believe that bass become conditioned to their environment and their surroundings Sounds that are not natural like the hum of a trolling motor, the dropping of something in the bottom of an aluminum boat or even the “pulse” of your transducer when your depth finder is on can make them skittish. They could associate the sound with a traumatic experience, well maybe not a traumatic as we would perceive but one but the last few times they experienced those noises they were forced to go in a direction they didn’t want to go and besides that his jaw kinda hurt. Then they get pulled out of the water by their bottom lip only to see my ugly face, which in itself has to be traumatic. Then if they are big enough, they get weighed, photographed and kissed before being placed back into the water.
Think about this, when you hook a bass where does he usually run? Into cover, because he is conditioned to believe that cover offers protection. Not because he knows that if he runs into cover he can break your line but because he feels safe in there and the fact that he will no longer be pulled in a direction he does not want to go.
Many times I will pull up on a spot, put the trolling motor in the water, turn on my Lowrance, take a look at the bottom, see the fish on structure, mark it on my GPS, shut off the depth finder, ease off the trolling motor and proceed to fish.
One thing that could possibly blow my theory completely out of the water are the resident bass that hang out at boat launch’s on every lake across the world. All the traffic, noise, people slashing in the water should scare them off. They should pack up their bags and move to a quieter place. Here I believe that the bass become conditioned to all of the commotion and accept it as normal.
Another theory I have is the bigger bass hang out there, especially out here in California, waiting for the stock truck to pull up and dump in a load of stocker trout, then its time to put on the feed bag. I have seen many times when the stock truck pulls up, you can see these big shadows start to show up from all directions. I feel that the have become tuned into the sound of the truck and associate it with feeding time. Kind of like a dinner bell.
I also believe that seeing how a lot of tournament release the bass at the boat dock, at least out here in California, they stay in the area because something keeps them there, which I feel is available forage. Think about it foe a second. The launch ramp is made of cement, algae grows on cement, bait fish eat algae, bass eat bait fish. Also, most of the time there are rocks and mud around launch ramps which algae also grows on. Crawfish eat algae, bass LOVE lobster!
Why do the bass in California seem harder to catch? Is it because they are smarter? One word, NO. First off, all of our lakes are very heavily pressured with pleasure boaters, casual fisherman and on just about any body of water in the state on any weekend you will probably find a bass tournament of some kind going on. Next, most of our lakes were built in canyons so they are deep and clear. The old saying, if you can see the bass, he can see you, especially applies out here.
Some people think I give bass too much credit, that they are not capable of learning. Let me state again, I do not believe they learn as we humans do but I do believe they become conditioned to things.
I have been told more than once that I have the ability to think like a bass, I don’t know if that’s a compliment or an insult but I usually take it as a compliment, hmmmm.
Well, that’s my in site on this topic. Hopefully I’ve given you something to at least think about.
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
