Browns are NOT smarter than other trout

[rgfixit]

Hey..Guys....SMART FISH

These fish grow thumbs when I wasn't looking?

They swim...they eat..they flee..they make little fish....that's about it for the brain functions of fish.

RG

[USMC130FE]

Very well said RG.  kinda questions our smarts arguing about the smarts of fish   

[TroutFishingBear]

Hey..Guys....SMART FISH

These fish grow thumbs when I wasn't looking?

They swim...they eat..they flee..they make little fish....that's about it for the brain functions of fish.

RG

I was gonna say that when I was doing my post, but my hands got tired from typing
Thanks for saying it for me, I agree wholeheartedly

[howey1176]

They might not have thumbs but some species do "remember" better than others. I don't think all species of fish exist on the same intelligence level.

[rgfixit]

Sorry guys...they're not clever nor do they remember...both theories imply a perceived intelligence...They are not intelligent...they do not have cognitive reasoning nor personal awareness. THEY'RE FISH!

These are the basic differences which separate Humans from all other living things.
I like my place at the top of the food chain...It's good to be da king!
RG

[wny angler]

Wny angler I do not believe you caught the same steelhead 3 times in one day that just sounds rediculous to me.. I have been fishing lake ontario tribs for steelhead for over 20 years and never even seen/heard of something like that happening..

Brown Trout are the most adaptive fish in the trout family there eyesight is much better than the rest of the trout family also, not that this makes them smarter but it sure gives them advantages... Brook trout, to me anyway shouldn't even be mentioned for being smart, in the lakes and ponds I have fished for them they act moronic at times, I have seen them fight over a cigarette butt..  Big Trout are smart thats how they get  big... In the streams I fish a brown over 20 inches is a very respectable fish and these fish are usually very selective and lie in heavy cover, you pretty much have to work for them..Another thing is if the fish are wild or not, if the state throws a 25 inch brown in a stream and it has been hand fed its whole life  do you really think there is going to be a challenge trying to catch it???Fishing pressure plays a role also in how smart fish act...

iv'e had it happen countless times where iv'e caught the same steelhead in the same day,iv'e even caught e'm with 2 or 3 flys stll stuck in thier jaws.  iv,e caught fish that broke me off earlier that still had my hook and egg sac in thier lips.i mostly fish lake erie tribs  but have had that happen on ontario tribs also.
20 years steelheading and that hasn't happened to you??? maybe it's the fact your fishing those ontario tribs,wading out right in the fish holding water or fishing elbow to elbow  on those crowded streams.you probably would think 50 fish days sounds rediculous too but its pretty common where i come from.

[MickeyFinn]

Wny angler, I'll have to take that statement back I did see a guy catch the same steelhead 3 times but it was foul hooked the last 2 times he caught it.. I have caught fish with hooks in their mouths and judging by the rust on them they had been their for a couple of days..50 fish days are great when the fish are all 24 inches but me personaly I would rather catch 5-10 trophies in a day.. Outside of the salmon run steelhead fishing here can be done with out seeing another person on the river all day.. If you say you caught the same fish 3 times  then you did, but I would have to see it to believe it, once you hook a steelhead here they hunker down and move out of the way when a fly or egg sack goes by them again, or they just leave the holing area or run..

[wny angler]

i usualy fish areas of the stream where its to deep to see the fish ,i figure if i can see them they can see me ,i don't fish the spawning beds either ,wouldn't know if their moving out of the way when my bait drifts past.it's kinda tough to try and lift e'm when ya can't see e'm  .as for 30 to 50 fish days --the steelys average about 6 lbs with enough 8 to 12 pounders to keep things interesting-not to mention the 22 pounder i pulled out of a lake erie trib a couple years ago,besides i'd rather catch the 6 pounders    those big trophys wear me out

[MickeyFinn]

I fish the same water,but every once and awhile on the walk back to the car I will stop at one of the bridges or pools where the guys bunch up and watch someone try to catch a fish that was just caught, Its hysterical...Thats a huge steelhead for Lake Erie its bigger than the Ohio state record of 20 lbs and something ounces I believe??? I could be wrong though...Too bad you were not fishing out of Ohio it would have gone down as the biggest steelie out of Lake Erie in the last 10 or so years...

[wny angler]

i must have been hallucinating again -forgot to take my medication..
    we usualy only catch 2 or 3 steelhead a day in the lake erie tribs if were lucky-i only wish i could catch 30 to 50 fish a day-the fishing here is lousy but i did get a big one once.no need for anyone to make a special trip to fish around here,the lake ontario steelhead are more plentiful and a whole lot bigger

[MickeyFinn]

I know how you feel, I forget to take mine evey now and then, but the strange thing is I like the halucinations..

[JasonN]

I've found that browns tend to be a little harder to catch on average, but it's not a matter of intelligence so much as preferred habitat, behavior, etc, that tends to make them a bit more elusive.