Posted by Cast-a-way on 2002 AM:

LightbulbRe-conditioning, air conditioning all this condition talk..

All this talk these days of bass becoming conditioned too.?.? What do you guys think about that? I guess I believe bass can become conditioned to a bait but in very special circumstances. For instance, I think a small/medium size lake down south that gets fished heavy yr. round is a place where bass can learn (which is what has to happen for a bass to be conditioned) to avoid certain baits.

With that said, I think the bass that we fish for in N.Y couldn't become conditioned to a bait. Why? because our bass don't see any lures (except the ice guys) from Nov. till mid June. 5 1/2 months off. Not a bad gig. That's almost a 1/2 a yr. for Mr. LMB to forget about that funny looking thing he saw last summer.

In my college days had to train a rat to do a variety of tasks. Psy. major. One of the things that I learned is that yes, a small animal with a brain the size of a peice of rice can LEARN new behaviors under the right conditions. One of the keys was repetition (sp?). Only after several repeated trials does an animal become truely conditioned. A stimulus creates a response.

I guess we will all find out this summer and see if the lure of the 21 century....the Senko still catches AS MANY fish as it did this past summer. We all know it's going to catch some fish but will it catch as many??? Take those mental notes guys.
Keep casting................

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Question all as to their ways and learn the secrets that they hold........Ian Anderson

Posted by Ken L on 2002 AM:

There can't be a definite, (the most frequently misspelled word on the Web,) answer to this. I will say however, that when you get into the third week or so of a specific and heavy mayfly hatch the trout become almost impossible to fool. They learn what time of day the hatch comes off and are pretty much dormant at other times. If there is a heavy hatch of a particularly vulnerable mayfly, by the third week the fly that was killing them at the outset becomes virtually useless. If they can seemingly learn what to attack exclusively, there is an implication that they can learn what to avoid.
My best days have always been on lakes that get little or no pressure. FWIW.

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Ken Lyons

Posted by bobn on 2002 AM:

are they truly conditioned or just fearful of new sounds, controled by light, temperature and hormonal changes?--its quiet all winter and then all of a sudden the roar of outboards, the stink of exhaust, the increase in activity, the banging of stuff being dropped on the hull of a boat, shadows passing over head and etc may make them more wary--i believe fish like any other animal can be conditioned-but this takes time-as an example-i have kept sunfish for many years-two of the old babes i have presently are around 10 years old-they were caught in the wild and took some time before they would even accept food--now you can walk past the tank and they won't pay any attention to you--but come feeding time they are raring to go --they know!-conditioning by repetition yes--the same as a dog-over and over again-i'm not sure about conditioning over a short period of time --how many times is one bass going to see the same offering over and over again??--even if a fish were hooked a couple of times over the season it still has to act like a bass-it is programmed to eat, breed and be agressive-it can't help itself any more than your household tabby can help stalking birds-i may be wrong but i don't think seeing a specific lure will condition a fish--i really think it is a combination of things that make it more wary-just my thoughts and .02--bobn

Posted by Ken L on 2002 AM:

One of the biggest problems in examining things like this is that there are so many variables. We tend to view things as simple cause and effect when there are so many other things going on.
Is it that the fish in a pressured lake learn about the things that have hooks in them or do they just get scared of boats? There have been times on heavily pressured lakes when the fishing couldn't have been better. They would hit stuff that would probably frighten them at other times. Why?
Nonetheless the best and most consistent fishing I have found is just beyond the "no tresspassing "signs or in the Adirondacks, especially on the horsepower limited lakes.

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Ken Lyons

Posted by JPBass on 2002 AM:

At a marina in Florida I ran into a dockmaster who kept some "pet" bass around his dock. Although it was in the wild these fish were fed on a daily basis and thus remained in the immediate area.

Tried throwing some small shinners (no hooks) in the water to see if they could be enticed. No interest. Then some shrimp (which is what they were being fed day in and day out) and they blew up all over them. Apparently with no fear of human presence. These are 4lb. plus fish mind you. What I found odd was that they passed up on the shinners (even though they were hungry) waiting for that shrimp dinner that they knew was coming.

So I'd say bass can be conditioned, to a degree, in a semi-controlled environment anyway.

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Posted by JOHN G on 2002 PM:

I agree with what everyone has said!! the story about the shrimp, John, that is a great one! and Ken, you are so right: there are so many variable involved that is impossible to isolate just a few sometimes....and George, there are many people like yourself that are deathly afraid that the senko "revolution" will fade in time...lets hope not.... JOHN G

Posted by earthworm77 on 2002 PM:

Castaway, you brought up two very good points. First, I think bass can become conditioned to certain baits but definately not all of them....I'll explain more in a minute. The second is the growing season around here gives the fish several months to forget that Clem and Stu terrorized them the previous year.
About baits....I feel that noisy crankbaits like Rat L Traps and Rattling Divers, to some degree spinnerbaits because of the constant vibration pattern, are more prone to be remembered by fish than say a Slug Go or jig. Soft plastics and jigs are not intrusive baits. They are natural and rely on this factor to be succesful. Perhaps if you used an orange floating worm to smack the tar out of Spring bass on a particular small pond, they may be used to the color after a while....throw a black floater the next trip and I'm sure you will get bit. Soft Jerkbaits, Senkos, jigs, Ikas, Craws, Worms...God, I can list every bait in these genres. Fish may tire of color but they just won't stop biting softies because they remember.....I guarantee that!!!

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Posted by Cast-a-way on 2002 AM:

Thumbs up

Good replys guys...John, regarding the Senko losing it's fishing catching abilities. Here's how I view it. I've been a pretty serious fisherman for the past 15yrs. or so. I had to learn how to catch them in a variety of other ways to have been successful. Now comes along a "dummy" bait (no offense guys) that makes fishing seem too easy at times. I look at catching all those senko fish as gravy. If they start to turn off to them (?-don't think they will) I already have a plan A,B,C, and D. I think alot of the new fisherman have the wrong impression of fishing after using these baits. It seems like "a peice of cake". Maybe giving them too much of a sense of confidence, knowledge. They have to find out that there are other baits that can be just as or more effective as a Senko in a given situtation. I saw too many guys in my club fish them ALL day long when that was NOT the answer, sometimes... My 2 cents......
Keep casting.......................

__________________
Question all as to their ways and learn the secrets that they hold........Ian Anderson

Posted by Gregg on 2002 AM:

Put down your senko's

Is that blasphemy? People who relay too much on the Senko are doing themselves and their fishing a disservice, there’s more to learn. And more fun to be had.

As for bass people give their little brain too much credit. This is a fish it is reacting to its environment in the only way it genetic make up will allow. Annoyed enough or hungry enough it will bit almost anything.

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Gregg

Posted by Ken L on 2002 AM:

I started using Senkos last summer thanks to you guys. I started using plastic worms diring the Johnson Administration. Senkos aside, I don't think that plastic worms were any more or less effective for me at any time through that whole period. I have seen any number of other baits rise and fall in popularity and effectiveness, sometimes precipitously, does anyone remember the Big O? Senkos are for whatever reason on another level but are they going to lose effectiveness? I'm with EW on this one. (Big risk there huh?)
Incidentally, a plain old Rapala hasn't lost that much either IMO.

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Ken Lyons

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