Forgetful fish or super memories?

I was working on a friends pond today and it was the first time this year that i had done so. All the carp went to the far side of the pond and were on edge as i was netting debris off the bottom. Yet last year they quickly learned to follow the net for the odd morsel and showed no fear to the extent that they were often netted by accident. So it seems that they have forgotten this was a source of food and not a threat.

So the question is....Do we as anglers put too much emphasis on the memories of the fish to the extent that we think old fish can recall previous ways they have succumbed to baits or methods in the past?

I would guess the difference is a lot of fish are fished for all year round, and so see the tactics constantly. Your friends fish probably havent seen a net in the water in a fair old while, most ponds sit undisturbed over winter, and get cleaned out in spring

I believe that repeated events can be converted to long-term memory even with fish supposing to have a short attention span or short-term memory. Hence, the older fish of a species being somewhat more cautious and harder to catch than the younger chaps.

barbelboi said:

I believe that repeated events can be converted to long-term memory even with fish supposing to have a short attention span or short-term memory. Hence, the older fish of a species being somewhat more cautious and harder to catch than the younger chaps.

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Not so different to us in many respects then are they ?

Seems to me farmed stock fish never learn. The sound of pellets hitting the water brings them in like sheep. Trout and carp especially seem to remember their time in the stock pond and were probably queuing up at feeding time.
Match anglers have known for years that the fish move into the margins in the last hour, usually 2pm to 3pm. I remember my only ever day at a commercial trout fishery where I and many others were blanking. The water was gin clear and the trout were visible but seemingly uncatchable on a wet fly.
I picked up a handful of gravel from the manicured path and chucked it in.
Cast my wet fly and bingo.
As with most species of animals, food is the main attraction and vital to their survival. There are however some species which seem to be harder to catch as they get older and wiser.
Prime example to my mind is the roach over a pound for instance.

S-Kippy said:

Not so different to us in many respects then are they ?

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You speak for yourself Skip....

Yep, agree with big roach Simon - and big chub..............

A good analogy I read a while back was that fish feed like we do when we are at a kids party. The food comes out and the littleuns all buzz about and eat what they can, while the parents/ elders come in at the end and pick at whats left

sheps31 said:

A good analogy I read a while back was that fish feed like we do when we are at a kids party. The food comes out and the littleuns all buzz about and eat what they can, while the parents/ elders come in at the end and pick at whats left

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I like that

sheps31 said:

A good analogy I read a while back was that fish feed like we do when we are at a kids party. The food comes out and the littleuns all buzz about and eat what they can, while the parents/ elders come in at the end and pick at whats left

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But that makes it look like the bigger fish are getting the scraps left behind when in truth they will come and bully the others out the way to get the prize pickings.

We only let the little uns in first because it's a kids party, nature is less forgiving.