Fish I.Q.

[wolfe]

OK, the last time my 6-yr old presented a question (why do some pike swim with their heads out of the water?) it perplexed many of us. Now Tyler has this question:

Which fish is the smartest fish?

Now I realize we can't have fish take SAT's, but I'll bet someone, some where, at some time tested fish for their smarts (or lack of smarts).

I am completely uneducated on this topic. But I do know a fair shake about other forms of wildlife, and in most instances -- if not all -- predators outperform prey animals in the intelligence category. So taking into consideration our freshwater gamefish / panfish / carp / other well-knowns, my guess would be muskellunge or pike as the "smartest". I do know from past literature that some muskies recall colors and shapes of some lures which have nailed them in the past & will avoid these in future encounters. Pretty impressive for a fish.

Anyway, does anyone have some answers on this? I KNOW we'll have some OPINIONS, at the very least!

W. (and Ty)

PS: assuming John will vote for the carp!

[Canadian Bacon]

The smartest fish is the Walleye Jazman tried to catch on the weekend...

[jazman]

Canons to the left of me.... Canons to the right of me!

I am getting it from every angle... kind of like that story you told!

[RJ]

Oh Jaz.....That was good!...

[SkeeterJohn]

Fish aren't smart but they do become extremely cautious and wary of their surroundings... it's bred in them to survive. I know some waters i have fished in the past a large bed of bait would have the fish swimming to the other end of the lake... and even if while crusing near the surface if they caught a glimpse of you they'd bolt out of the area... Don't forget these are highly pressured fish with people on the bank almost every day.. Infact some areas tend to fish better midweek simply due to the lack of people disturbing them...

I guess the same can be said for canadian waters... my guess is places like the rideau fish far better midweek than on a saturday afternoon... Just an exmaple perhaps but just because fish may seem smart they may just be uninterested in feeding or their surroundings are dictating how "smart" they seem...

As for carp several years ago i saw a fish come into a small bay and pick up and blow out a bait i had placed there... it played with this bait before it would eat it.. as if it was checking to make sure it was safe to eat.... Some of the mega hard waters in the uk have fish that will clear a bed of bait leaving the hook bait all alone... this is something others have witnessed.

Fish may seem smart and reject baits we present because they are just not feeding... i've heard a lot of people say "why can't i catch the carp is see".. mostly people are seeing crusing fish that are sunning themselves or waiting to spawn.. these can be very hard to catch at times and may be misread as being smart fish.

[Markus]

I actually sat in on a few aquaculture seminars when I was in university and Carp were ranked as the most intellegent fresh water fish. They showed the abililty to learn and retain memory.

[SkeeterJohn]

The best example someone told me once was this....

Say every time you walked through your kitchen you saw a juicy steak siting there and every now and then whenever you touched it you'd get an electric shock.. before too long you'd become very wary of this meal and to the extreme leave it well alone.

Perhaps the larger fish are caught on lures that most other people aren't throwing as they have learnt to avoid the dangerous ones... maybe this is why some types of minnows work best depending on where you fish...

[Jigs]

I sometimes question my own IQ going after something with the brain the size of a ??? pea, ?? I dunno.

But, I have had big pike nail a spoon two or three times, and then leave. Used to be frustrating. Now, if one hits it once and doesn't set up, I throw something else:::jig. different colour, minnow, usually they'll hit again.

Course , caint prove its the same fish.

I leave the philosophy to the philosophers; what works, works.

Regards: Jigs

[Canadian Bacon]

Too funny Jaz!!!!

[Seaweed]

The fish I think must be the smartest is the Brown Trout. They are by far the spookiest fish of them all and you have to sneak up on a creek like Rambo to catch them. In my own humble opinion that speaks of intelligent thinking going on there for sure. I have seen people just dangle stuff in front of them too and if they are spooked they won't touch anything.

Muskie fear nothing.... that is why they follow things to the boat a lot.... it isn't thought that is going on there but more like the cat and mouse game.... just try putting some weird action on the lure they are following and see what happens... just a set of jaws clamping down on some lunch.

[fish_head]

I'd have to say, fish, like most animals, rely solely on instinct and the need to survive. Predatory fish such as Pike and Muskie, tend to just be great instinctive hunters, programmed to react when something doesn't seem right. In other game fish, again, the strongest survive. I really don't believe fish actually have the ability to think.

[wolfe]

I don't believe fish are "thinkers" to the comparison of something like a crow, let's say, which can actually problem solve to some degree. But nor do I think they are purely instinctual. I do agree many strikes on lures are based on instinctual impulse; however, I have seen fish "consider" a bait, for lack of better words, and then refuse it. There is some thought process going on in that little cerebral pea.

W.

[M.T. Livewell]

The smartest fish is the one that has never been caught.

Now, as for fisherpeople. Let's see for me ...

$11K for new boat
$30 minum in gas each time out
hours and hours spent chasing little fish only to put them back in the water when I am done.

Which is the smartest fish, I cannot say. Who is smarter, fish or fishermen, that one's easy.

You've got bright kids asking the tough questions Wolfe. They should get more and more interesting from here.

M.T. Livewell

[wolfe]

MT -

There is no dispute as to whether my 6-yr old son is a "thinker"! I've already gotten the following inquiries:

1. What was here before God?

2. Why didn't I get my "baby parts" taken out after he was born (he is a
very jealous older brother!) -- now WHERE did he get that one?!

3. Why do boys have (functioning female chest part starting w/ "N") when
they don't get used?


OK -- I'm sure you get the drift...!

Good point regarding our (angler's) intellectual status...!

W.

[jammer]

i would have to say brown trout and then carp. it has also been proven that an average fish has a 20 minute memory.