Do we give fish too much credit for being smart?

[Fishin is life]

Fishing a tournament yesterday i was livescoping fish with an a rig. I bring the a rig over a brushpile and see nothing chase it out so i start to reel it in cery quickly when a fish darts out of the pile toward my bait and slams it 10’ under the trolling motor. Doesnt sound odd does it? Id had a flat dead battery with 2 hours left in the tourny and managed to get it jumped but fished the last hour with my big engine idling because i was afraid if i shut it off i wouldnt get it started back. So the fish bit 10’ from tge boat with the big engine running. I didnt notice any difference in the way the fish bit or reacted to the bait with the engine running. In a world where guys are turning off transducers and tip toeing around the boat so as not to spook fish, are we giving them too much credit? This was in fairly shallow water (10-15’) on a lake thats highly pressured.

[NitroZ7]

In my case I dont give fish too much credit for being smart. I just underestimate my ability to fish stupid.

[Mark Perry]

Fishing a tournament yesterday i was livescoping fish with an a rig. I bring the a rig over a brushpile and see nothing chase it out so i start to reel it in cery quickly when a fish darts out of the pile toward my bait and slams it 10’ under the trolling motor. Doesnt sound odd does it? Id had a flat dead battery with 2 hours left in the tourny and managed to get it jumped but fished the last hour with my big engine idling because i was afraid if i shut it off i wouldnt get it started back. So the fish bit 10’ from tge boat with the big engine running. I didnt notice any difference in the way the fish bit or reacted to the bait with the engine running. In a world where guys are turning off transducers and tip toeing around the boat so as not to spook fish, are we giving them too much credit? This was in fairly shallow water (10-15’) on a lake thats highly pressured.

Be careful as someone on here will protest you for the big motor on but no kill switch attached to driver....

[suck my wake]

I always wondered what a fish was thinking when it hit my 3/4oz chartreuse spinnerbait in gin clear water.

[Spot-a-saurus]

Fishing a tournament yesterday i was livescoping fish with an a rig. I bring the a rig over a brushpile and see nothing chase it out so i start to reel it in cery quickly when a fish darts out of the pile toward my bait and slams it 10’ under the trolling motor. Doesnt sound odd does it? Id had a flat dead battery with 2 hours left in the tourny and managed to get it jumped but fished the last hour with my big engine idling because i was afraid if i shut it off i wouldnt get it started back. So the fish bit 10’ from tge boat with the big engine running. I didnt notice any difference in the way the fish bit or reacted to the bait with the engine running. In a world where guys are turning off transducers and tip toeing around the boat so as not to spook fish, are we giving them too much credit? This was in fairly shallow water (10-15’) on a lake thats highly pressured.

I don’t think fish are smart but their instincts can make them seem that way. Imo it all depends on the mood of the fish as to whether you can spook them or not. A fish in the mood to eat doesn’t let much deter it from eating anyway. One that’s not in the mood is pretty hard to make bite in the first place, much less if it knows something isn’t right from the get ie noise or commotion near it. Anybody can catch a fish actively eating, that’s why you hear about days where “we caught them on everything, didn’t matter what you threw!” And also why you hear “we threw everything and never took a bite.” Catching them when they “aren’t in the mood” is what separates good anglers from great ones, just my 2cents of course

[Spot-a-saurus]

The flip side to my comment above is some great anglers are better at locating fish that are in the mood lol

[Transom]

Fish think like a buck chasing a doe in heat.

[5 BASS ASSASIN]

Fishing a tournament yesterday i was livescoping fish with an a rig. I bring the a rig over a brushpile and see nothing chase it out so i start to reel it in cery quickly when a fish darts out of the pile toward my bait and slams it 10’ under the trolling motor. Doesnt sound odd does it? Id had a flat dead battery with 2 hours left in the tourny and managed to get it jumped but fished the last hour with my big engine idling because i was afraid if i shut it off i wouldnt get it started back. So the fish bit 10’ from tge boat with the big engine running. I didnt notice any difference in the way the fish bit or reacted to the bait with the engine running. In a world where guys are turning off transducers and tip toeing around the boat so as not to spook fish, are we giving them too much credit? This was in fairly shallow water (10-15’) on a lake thats highly pressured.

Sounds to me like speeding up the rig triggered him. My first thought in that situation would be to change speeds and or baits. As you picked up speed your rig naturally rose in the water column as well. A slow retrieve to the brush pile and a quick rip and flutter may have been another good option.( for that day) Deep crank bait or a flutter spoon as well.. most “ deep “ fish ( over 10’ for my definition of deep) rarely see a spinner bait..A heavy but yet compact ( short arm/small bladed )spinner bait is a sleeper in my opinion.. as for the sound of the motor running, they hear that all the time and aren’t conditioned to it in the same manner they are when they are being “ snuck up on” .. I feel bass run on mainly instinct, but it has been proven that they have memory and can become conditioned.. take for example all the videos of guys hand feeding their “ pet bass”.. I bet if you went whacking on them for a few weeks with the same prey you were hand feeding them, they wouldn’t be so eager to eat from the hand.... perfect example of both conditioning and instinct. Instinct says that’s dinner. Conditioning says “ something knot right about that..I rarely retrieve anything that doesn’t contact bottom at a steady retrieve ( or without rod input). Even in cold water often times( in my experience) a fast sinking, or very erratic presentation will draw bites when the typical go to’s ( jerk bait with long pauses ,light hair jigs ,a-rigs slow rolled etc.. ) aren’t working because the fish are in a negative mood with a condensed strike zone. I generally start by fishing the “ juice” for that season, water temp, and clarity but I try not to die by it either.. honestly I feel a bass is about as smart as a hammer ( just like a whitetail). Both of which get through life on instinct, which is altered through conditioning.. I also feel like heavy pressure falls under the conditioning category.. in both instances. The difference in the bass and the whitetail is at around 3-4 years of age most whitetail bucks have become almost exclusive night movers(instinctively). With the exception being the rut and the full moon phase..But if you spook (condition) that deer too many times at 1-2 years old you will fast track his instinct to become more nocturnal. One of our local lakes for example is deep and clear with tons of fishing pressure, and lots of boat traffic. It fishes like a completely different lake at night.. more so than any other lake I fish.. sorry I got a bit off track.. the ADD was kicking in..

[Dixie-Raven]

Be careful as someone on here will protest you for the big motor on but no kill switch attached to driver....

Isn't that only if in gear and not in neutral?

[JR19]

There is a ton of variables that effect how fish react to a bait but pressure is the thing that has the biggest impact in my opinion. In your particular situation it sounds like a reaction bite and if you can get a fish to trigger a reaction bite he's going to bite even in situations that will make you think I can't believe that just happen.

On a side note I have done a lot of research lately and I plan on going to a dedicated lithium for my livescope. My almost 5 year old 31 AGM Deka is strong until I start running the scope for long periods. As soon as I get Christmas out of the way I'm going with a 30ah Amped Outdoors battery. Its only going to add arounds 7 pounds to my rod locker and I can get it for just over 200 bones. Per: the chart that shows amp draw of my unit I should be able to run it a full day and still have power. I have read multiple reviews of people going to this exact set up for a single livescope unit and all were positive.

On another side note I looked earlier for the black friday results and I did not see anything posted. Do you when they are going to update facebook?

[Phoenix 920 Pro XP]

fish are smart and getting smarter everyday because of us

[bassdge]

My brother idles around fishing outside edge cypress trees on Santee cooper, puts it in neutral and casts from the driver’s seat without shutting off the engine and catches plenty of big fish doing it.

We used to anchor up at night and striper fish at night. We would run a small kicker motor to attract more bait.

I do think being conscious to the conditions and avoiding alarming noises helps, but they hear boat motors run most days

[Fishin is life]

There is a ton of variables that effect how fish react to a bait but pressure is the thing that has the biggest impact in my opinion. In your particular situation it sounds like a reaction bite and if you can get a fish to trigger a reaction bite he's going to bite even in situations that will make you think I can't believe that just happen.

On a side note I have done a lot of research lately and I plan on going to a dedicated lithium for my livescope. My almost 5 year old 31 AGM Deka is strong until I start running the scope for long periods. As soon as I get Christmas out of the way I'm going with a 30ah Amped Outdoors battery. Its only going to add arounds 7 pounds to my rod locker and I can get it for just over 200 bones. Per: the chart that shows amp draw of my unit I should be able to run it a full day and still have power. I have read multiple reviews of people going to this exact set up for a single livescope unit and all were positive.

On another side note I looked earlier for the black friday results and I did not see anything posted. Do you when they are going to update facebook?

I dont know when they will. Took 17.5 to win, 15.09 for 2nd and we were 3rd with 14.89, then 13 somethin for 4th. Im not 100% positive but i think it dropped to 7-8lbs after that. It was tougher than usual and even though i always fish all winter, yesterday morning was about as cold as ive ever been fishing. I think the cranking battery was original to my 2017 boat so it was due to go and i shouldve already replaced it. How do you plan to charge your lithium battery in the rod locker? Id considered that but would have to have a different charger and maybe take that battery out of the boat to chargw it every trip

[keeferfish]

fish are smart and getting smarter everyday because of us

Smart and conditioned are two different things.

[Generator]

Fish are not smart at all. They only do three things their entire life they eat, sleep and make babies. So when something such as food isn’t what they would normally eat they simply won’t. Baits that they eat that look nothing like their food is ether in there comfort zone and they want it gone or a reaction strike. Dave Stewart (RIP) did a class on this and many studies with Murray state on KY lake. We give fish way to much credit.

[JR19]

I dont know when they will. Took 17.5 to win, 15.09 for 2nd and we were 3rd with 14.89, then 13 somethin for 4th. Im not 100% positive but i think it dropped to 7-8lbs after that. It was tougher than usual and even though i always fish all winter, yesterday morning was about as cold as ive ever been fishing. I think the cranking battery was original to my 2017 boat so it was due to go and i shouldve already replaced it. How do you plan to charge your lithium battery in the rod locker? Id considered that but would have to have a different charger and maybe take that battery out of the boat to chargw it every trip

The battery only is $189 and with a 3 amp charger its $209. I know 3 amp may not sound like much of a charge but a totally dead 30 ah will recharge in 10 hours with a 3 amp charger so that's good enough for me even if it was totally dead. FYI...There is two versions of the 30ah. I plan on getting the tall version because it has battery post that will allow you to screw a bolt into it. The battery charger comes with alligator clips. I plan on cutting them off and attaching ring terminals and leave it attached to the battery at all times via a bolt screwed into the battery terminal. I'm not going to mount the battery charger even though its small an only around 1 pound. In my garage I will leave the battery charger on a shelf next to my boat that has a plug in nearby. When I'm ready to charge I will simply plug in the quick connect plug and then plug in the charger. In the rare event I travel away from home I would simply bring the charger with me.


battery...I'm getting the tall version with the screw in post

https://ampedoutdoors.com/collection...30217923592329

battery with charger

https://ampedoutdoors.com/collection...31534268383369

a picture of the charger is in this link...click on the picture to the right

https://ampedoutdoors.com/collection...tery-4-charger


This is the size battery that ice fishermen up north use all day outside in the cold. Another review I read here on BBC was of an angler who had this in his boat and said he could get in a daylight to dark trip or two normal days fishing on one charge. To be clear I am only talking about powering 1 livescope unit and the black box. If doing multiple units a person will need more than 30ah but for a single LS setup 30ah gets the job done. I figure a little over 200 bones and only weighing 7 pounds is not that bad plus it takes the strain of my main battery.

[Rangerdeepv]

No way..........they outsmart me every day! Maybe that ain't really sayin' much.

[Welaka]

Sad to say smarter than me a lot of days.

[RangrSkipr]

[QUOTE=JR19;12195407] On a side note I have done a lot of research lately and I plan on going to a dedicated lithium for my livescope. My almost 5 year old 31 AGM Deka is strong until I start running the scope for long periods. As soon as I get Christmas out of the way I'm going with a 30ah Amped Outdoors battery. Its only going to add arounds 7 pounds to my rod locker and I can get it for just over 200 bones. Per: the chart that shows amp draw of my unit I should be able to run it a full day and still have power. I have read multiple reviews of people going to this exact set up for a single livescope unit and all were positive./QUOTE]

You mean like this? 14.8V 48AH AMPED Outdoors powers my black box and bow 106 all day long and never drops below 15.2V after eight hours of fishing and hard use and stows nicely in forward storage. I know its advertised at 14.8V but the working voltage is typically around 16.4V to start the day.

[Crabnbass]

Fish are not smart at all. They only do three things their entire life they eat, sleep and make babies. So when something such as food isn’t what they would normally eat they simply won’t. Baits that they eat that look nothing like their food is ether in there comfort zone and they want it gone or a reaction strike. Dave Stewart (RIP) did a class on this and many studies with Murray state on KY lake. We give fish way to much credit.

You should add "try to not get eaten" to your list of things fish do.