Are fish 'clever'?

[mjbarnes12]

sorry i left my laptop on and my housemate thought he was funny posting on here, i have had to appologise on a couple more topics!! it is not on i know

[gozzer]

sorry i left my laptop on and my housemate thought he was funny posting on here, i have had to appologise on a couple more topics!! it is not on i know

 

Ah, the old drunken student housemate, with nothing better to do.

Just slap him round the head with the next carp you catch, or even worse, make him wash up for a week.

 

No offence taken, I thought it was a bit out of character.

 

But remember a man is often judged by the company he keeps.

 

John.

[Andy_1984]

That might be why you got into angling Matt, but not all of us .

 

And why would I want to speak of a GCSE in home economics?

 

John.

 

You have to be quicker than that when changing a post mate.

 

only reason i took economics was because i was the only male in the entire class and with all the weed i was smoking gave me the munchies

[mjbarnes12]

thanks for the 58 year old wisdom gozzer yes i will endeavour to get him back in a way only we students can.

[Andy_1984]

thanks for the 58 year old wisdom gozzer yes i will endeavour to get him back in a way only we students can.

 

 

washing up liquid, kitchen floor. need i say more

[chesters1]

yuk !!!dirty boy

[Pangolin]

Enough of the jokes!

I wanted this thread to get people arguing that some fish are more intelligent than others...

 

In my opinion, the intelligence league for coarse fish looks something like this:

 

1. Wild barbel

2. Wild chub

3. Tench

4. Dace

5. Roach

6. Bream

7. Rudd

8. Pike

9. Perch

10. Carp (stocked)

 

Within each species, it follows that an older fish is a wiser fish, so there is a lot of overlap. If I believe that I catch fish that I can outwit, that puts me at around the level of the wild chub!

[poledark]

Absolutely no doubt that fish can become very cautious when feeding on anglers baits. I have seen almost every type of coarse fish, and a few trout, that made a careful inspection of the bait before rejecting it.

 

Rejection usually follows inspection, whereas on other occasions the fish simply eats the bait without any inspection. Maybe to do with the degree of hunger?

 

Den

[Anderoo]

This is an interesting topic

 

I don't think fish are 'intelligent' as such. They are wild creatures and are naturally nervous and suspicious of things which may harm them, and they act from instinct. At the same time, some are more curious or bold than others - and this can be different individual fish of the same species.

 

I would also say that it's not really possible to catagorise them by species, because a wild chub (say) in a tiny, shallow, clear stream will appear more 'intelligent' than a wild chub in a deep, murky, steady river. I.e. it will be much more wary of movement, people, any disturbance which may be a precursor to possible injury. So, in fishing terms, it will be harder to catch.

 

However, I do take the point that some species appear more 'intelligent' than others. Maybe it's to do with memory? The fish with the longest or most accurate memory learn what to avoid in future, e.g. carp with sweetcorn.

 

Another factor in fishing terms is that we may attribute intelligence to fish when we're not catching, when the real reason is that they're just not feeding or we're in completely the wrong place! So we go home thinking, 'ah, they were too smart for me today - I'd better rethink my rigs', whereas in reality they were comatose on the bottom or happily feeding 100 yards away

 

If we take 'intelligence' to mean natural wariness borne of instinct together with accumulated and accurately stored memories (and as Pangolin says, the older the individual fish the more potential memories there will be), I'd order coarse fish like this (I'm assuming they're all wild/naturalised and of a decent size/age):

 

1. Carp

2. Roach

3. Chub

4. Dace

5. Rudd

6. Perch

7. Tench

8. Bream

9. Pike

 

I've left off barbel because I've only ever caught two and have never observed them in the wild.

[gozzer]

Enough of the jokes!

I wanted this thread to get people arguing that some fish are more intelligent than others...

 

Within each species, it follows that an older fish is a wiser fish, so there is a lot of overlap. If I believe that I catch fish that I can outwit, that puts me at around the level of the wild chub!

 

Sorry Pangolin, but I'd rather joke than "argue".

 

Do I think fish are clever?............No.

Do I think fish are intelligent?........No.

Do I think fish are wise?...............No.

 

Do I think that fish (like most creatures in the wild) have a 'survival instinct', that makes them wary (if that's the right word), of anything moving, behaving, smelling or looking different? .....Yes.

Do I believe that the same 'survival instinct' causes then to react to sudden shadows, vibrations, or to movements by other fish in a shoal?....Yes.

 

Do I think that sometimes hunger or other instinctive actions (ie spawning), will cause the fish to 'over ride' that survival instinct and act in a less 'cautious' way?.......Yes.

 

Do I think that fish get to be big because their 'survival instinct' is better than most? ....Partially.

 

I believe that genetically some fish are either quicker to react to a threat, or have a more sensitive lateral line which would pick up vibrations quicker. This would benefit the fish whether it was hunting, or being hunted.

Longevity, I believe depends more on genetics, available food, quality of environment, and the 'extra something' I mentioned above, than to any human trait that we feel inclined to give to fish.

 

 

John.