I hope I'm allowed to post this video. I'm not affiliated with The Fish Whisperer or trying to advertise for him in any way. This video is very educational. 

 

 

Great footage 

One summer when working around a small pond I conditioned LM bass to eat bread off my thumb.  Started with them about 5 feet away and slowly moved them in closer until they would eat it off my thumb.  Then one day, I plucked a big one right out of the water.  And released it immediately.  

Was that ever a question?

23 minutes ago, j bab said:

Was that ever a question?

 

I like to think of bass as a sort of dingy cat.  They do things instinctively and they do things just because they want to and if given the right stimulus they can be trained.  

Very cool shots... like the bass version of Shark Week.

38 minutes ago, j bab said:

Was that ever a question?

Once upon a time somebody said bass could only remember for fifteen minutes and it has been repeated ever since like it is fact .

3 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Once upon a time somebody said bass could only remember for fifteen minutes and it has been repeated ever since like it is fact .

Exactly

Ever been to a private pond with a feeder spreader? If the feeder just starts humming before it starts actually tossing pellets the fish get riled up into a frenzy. They know what that sound means.

I've watched a lot of his videos.  There are awesome slow-mo shots in all his videos!

I saw a video of a lady who goes into the shallow water and feeds an alligator.

 

The gator swims to her when she enters the water and sits about five feet away waiting for his chicken.

 

So if an alligator can be conditioned to swim to a lady, not attack her, and enjoy some chicken, I see no reason why a bass, or other fish, could not be conditioned to do whatever you want to have it do if you repeat it over and over again.

He has done nothing more than create a controlled environment. No different than a fish tank. The bait shops on the waters I fish will do the same with the dead minnows in the tank every morning. The fish are not sitting there all day waiting for a meal. It is no secret that fish follow their foodsource. Animals are creatures of habit. If they are used to a feeding stimuli at the same point every day, they will respond. 

1 hour ago, slonezp said:

He has done nothing more than create a controlled environment. No different than a fish tank. The bait shops on the waters I fish will do the same with the dead minnows in the tank every morning. The fish are not sitting there all day waiting for a meal. It is no secret that fish follow their foodsource. Animals are creatures of habit. If they are used to a feeding stimuli at the same point every day, they will respond. 

Good point here. It's a controlled environment. Ever seen a farmer feed cows? As soon as the food truck enters the field, the cows start walking towards the truck, even if their 500 yards away! It's a controlled environment. Animals and fish live for food. It's survival. They go where the food source is every time

Pavlov’s fish?

13 hours ago, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

Ever been to a private pond with a feeder spreader? If the feeder just starts humming before it starts actually tossing pellets the fish get riled up into a frenzy. They know what that sound means.

I've been to bluegill ponds where the fish get riled up anticipating feeding as soon as people show up on the shore.

We have some trained bass in a pond at work. I have also seen them trained in a swimming pool that had turned green. Bass ate all the tadpoles quick then became trained on minnows 

This is illegal for tournament trails correct? 2 years ago two teams fished 40lb bags back to back weeks, from the same large fishery but it has not been done since.... 

Just wondering for personal knowledge

It's unsportsman like. If there is an unsportsman like clause in the rules, then yes, you can be DQ'd if it can be proven.

Read an article a while back on another forum where the gentlemen didn't like when the tournament crowd came to fish beds during the spawn. So, he trained the 5lb female off his dock to not attack his bait. He said he would throw tons of hookless baits at her. He said after about an hour or two she wouldn't bite a thing. Not sure how true it was. Could have been a fish story, but I thought it was interesting.