Loss of Naivety to Angling at Different Rates in Fished and Unfished Populations of Largemouth Bass

Recreational fishing represents a coupled human and natural system subject to complex feedback processes. Learned lure avoidance represents one feedback process that may influence a fish population's vulnerability to angling. In the present study, naïve Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides originating from fished and unfished populations were raised in a pond and subjected to standardized angling. Our objectives were to evaluate the initial angling vulnerability and the rate at which naivety to angling was lost for fished and unfished populations. While no difference in initial angling vulnerability existed among fish from fished and unfished populations of origin, individuals from fished populations learned lure avoidance faster than individuals from unfished populations. Cumulative catch events, a metric that incorporates the number of opportunities individuals had to directly and indirectly experience angling, best predicted declining daily catch rates for both fished and unfished populations, suggesting a social learning component of learned lure avoidance. That individuals originating from fished populations learned lure avoidance more quickly than unfished individuals suggests that angling selected for increased learning ability in fished populations of Largemouth Bass. Received February 4, 2016; accepted May 18, 2016 Published online August 12, 2016