We have all been on the water in perfect weather conditions for catching trophy bass. It’s the best time of day, we have the perfect spot that has produced all year around, and our fish finder is showing more bass than you can possibly catch in the day!
Then reality hits and you only catch one. In the process of catching that one, you threw everything you had in your tackle box. Then tell your friends, “well, it was a slow bite today”. We have all been there too!
Some people will tell you to power fish a crank bait; others will tell you to finesse fish a drop shot.
Either method is not necessarily wrong, and may have helped you land a couple more. But what if the fish were smarter than that?
Do fish have memory?
I have heard it argued time and time again, do fish remember being caught? Some claim fishing is all about luck, and being in the right spot at the right time. On the other hand people such as myself claim fish are a lot smarter than we give them credit for!
Fish did not survive as long as they have by just dumb luck. With how pressured the waters across the United States are, they would have been extinct by now.
Luckily for us, research has been done on the subject and has come to some interesting conclusions.
In a 2019 study conducted by Triki, Z. & Bshary, R. (Read the article here) found that fish can remember being caught for almost a year. Also, the more traumatic the experience, the longer the fish can remember the experience.
In this article, (written by Nick A. Romero, a biologist and environmental educator) studies have also shown certain fish can even avoid hooks due to being caught before.
Can fish recognize patterns?
If fish have memory, and can avoid hooks after being caught, there must be some way for the fish to avoid your lure.
In a story from Science Daily, University of Queensland determined that fish use visual warning signals to determine which species should not be eaten due to toxicity. The article went on to state, fish also recognize consistency in patterns, and use those visuals for avoidance.
How to gain the advantage!
Back to our perfect day on the water! This time, with even more reality, your perfect spot has at least 15 more boats in it. Everyone is fishing and trying to catch the prized bass you see on your fish finder.
When fishing, especially in pressured water, it is important to get every advantage possible. One of the best advantages is fishing different!
For this article’s sake let’s say the hottest pattern today is a bluegill. Sure, you can dig through your tackle box and find your favorite lure from one of the popular companies in a bluegill pattern. Which may or may not work.
You can bet that if your lure is a hot lure from any of the major companies, you are not the only one with it. Chances are very good the fish have seen it a time or two, and are aware that it contains hooks.
With a custom painted lure the pattern will always have slight variations, which could be the ticket to getting those trophy bass in pressured waters.
The big box lure companies mass-produce their lures to sell as many as possible. Small lure businesses that specialize in custom baits cannot mass produce their products. Which gives you a twofold advantage. Every pattern is unique, even if they look similar, and there is not enough produced that the fish can easily recognize the pattern.
Check out our custom lures and fish different! Be sure to like us on Facebook and receive the latest news, articles, and special offers!
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