I'm in the "fish absolutely learn", camp.....
No, say it ain't so! You mean that they can tell the difference between an AM500 and an AM600 pellet?
I caught a bunch of BG in a local lake a number of years ago on a white twister tail. The BG in that lake just hammered it every time I used it. I put a number of those fish in my pond after I had a winterkill right after I purchased this place. Guess what? Yep. I couldn't catch them in this pond on that same lure.
You of all people know they can..
I have some very particular fish. Standard practice is to feed by hand, once during the evening. I'm normally alone, and since I've been working I'm still wearing my grungy clothes. A couple years after starting the program I began to notice a pattern regarding feeding behavior. Even after ruling out as many environmental factors as I could identify, there was still an issue in play somewhere.
I finally figured out that the fish showed a markedly reduced feeding response when I had someone with me while feeding. I normally feed alone, and I'm quiet. When I had company there was not only an added body, there was also conversation. They don't like that.
The second issue is even more bizarre. I swear they prefer me in darker clothes such as what I wear to work. If I'm wearing light colored shirts, they shy away from the floating feed somewhat. They still eat, but I can see a difference. I put that one down to having good water clarity for much of the season. It sounds crazy, but I don't think I'm imagining it.
