I have fished the San Juan River in N.M. and I believe those fish have been caught several times each, so they come in quickly because they know they will be released.....
Maybe they have a memory? Maybe they are trained? They bunk against your legs so that you move quickly and stir up the bottom thereby causing the "SAN JUAN SHUFFLE" I don't know if they are smart or trainable? phxflytyer Phoenix,AZ "Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government take care of him; better take a closer look at the American Indian." Henry Ford On Sep 12, 2014, at 6:20 PM, J Balmer <[email protected]> wrote: > While I agreed w/ most of the points presented, there is some anecdotal > evidence of learned behavior in some fish species, & predators in particular > seem to possess greater intelligence than bait fish. I truly believe that the > reason we catch more juvenile fish is more than just because there are more > of them. Why, for instance, will a more mature fish spend more time observing > a lure or fly before taking action, including backing away? The more time you > spend studying fish in their habitat, the better your chances of enticing > said piscatorial foe into catching a lure, and "out thinking" is an overused > term in that regard but that doesn't mean that fish don't learn. > > J > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of Jack Harford > Sent: Friday, September 12, 2014 12:54 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [VFB] Are Fish Intelligent? > > Virtual Fly Box Collaborators - I would be interested on your feedback on > this article published in the Armchair Angler a few months back. Tight > lines.. > > Are Fish Intelligent? . . . or are Fishermen Stupid? > > Fly Fishers through the ages have allotted great intelligence to fish in > general and the harder it is to catch a fish the smarter it must be. However > the question remains, "are the fish really smart or are the fishers dumb." > Since few people are able to accept or admit that they are not intelligent > (in some area) they tend rather to accredit great intelligence to the prey > and grant themselves the title of "even more intelligent" when they happen to > land a fish. > > If one admits that a fish has but a pea sized brain and relatively simple > cognitive skills, they must also recognize that, though humans have a > grapefruit size brain and complex cognitive thought processes, we often > remain quite stupid when it comes to thinking like a fish. > > Some fishermen have interesting irrational thought patterns like: > "That looks like a nice spot I'll fish here." > "I think this is a beautiful fly, so I'm sure the fish will like it too. > "Wow . . . That is a beautiful fly rod, if I have one of those I'll bet I can > catch a lot of fish with it." > "I caught a fish." > > I would surmise that the only ones who have "caught" a fish with a rod and > reel are the ones snagging fish in low water with a bare treble hook on the > end of the line. In all other instances the fisher did NOT catch a fish; > rather the fish caught the fly. Fly rods, no matter how beautiful or > expensive do not catch fish; fish catch flies. It makes little difference if > the fisher thinks his flies are beautiful; it only matters if the fish thinks > the fly is food or is endangering their space. There are many beautiful > stretches of water that contain very few fish - the old 80/20 rule - 80% of > the fish are in 20% of the water (or even 90/10). > > What matters to the fish are three things: > · Food - is there a source of nourishment > · Shelter - am I safe here > · Oxygen - can I breathe freely > Fish are very sensitive to these three things . . . sometimes very sensitive. > And maybe a fourth would be reproduction. They are very sensitive to their > spawning time. The author's opinion is that these sensitivities are not so > much learned through intelligence, but are the God given instincts that all > fish are imbued with. > > The fish have an instinctive ability to perceive if they are safe or on > danger. They will avoid places and situations where they feel unsafe and > gravitate to places where they feel safe and protected; we call these places > structure. > > The fish have an instinctive ability to sense how much dissolved oxygen in in > the water. If they cannot breathe freely they will look for a place where the > water has greater oxygen content, like below a riffle, in colder water, or > beneath waves. > > And fish instinctively know when they are hungry, what items are food, and > maybe, and this may be a stretch, even which will give them the most protein > for the effort it takes to catch that food. Sometimes when fishers say, "the > fish are so smart today and won't take any of my flies," the fact of the > matter may be that they are not feeding at that time of the day. > > Since fishers are not fish, they do not instinctively think like a fish. If > fishers believe the fish think like humans they fall into self-deception. > Perhaps, if a fisher can get out of himself and begin to think like a fish > (and each species has different instinctual characteristics) then maybe one > can be lucky enough to offer a fly in such an enticing way that the fish > cannot resist the urge to catch the fly. > > Like the oldtimers often say, "That's why we call it fishin' and not > catchin'." > > Good luck and tight lines, > Jack Harford, > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en > > VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VFB Mail" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en > > VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VFB Mail" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. 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