Rich,
I'm not going to disagree with a textbook definition, but doesn't this
just come down to semantics? These instincts are based on experience of
"a" bass, maybe not the particular bass we are currently fishing for.
(Really, this reply is for the sake of argument, that definition wasn't
even part of my thought process before your post)
Do we fully understand the timetable of the evolutionary process,
meaning how long before strict catch and release will make it nearly
impossible to catch a bass?

"is often a response to specific environmental stimuli" - What
constitutes an environmental stimuli? We (as fisherman) are now
environmental stimuli to bass, so this gene pool will pass down their
experiences so there will be a generation that will eventually be inborn
with new patterns based on those experiences. In my mind I would think
it would be fair to say (depending on beliefs ) that evolution can
change inborn behavioral patterns??

Again evolution and time frames were never in my original post, so I
don't want to pass it off like this part of the argument was what I was
trying to say the whole time, because I have had to change my argument
slightly based on new facts :-).

Chris

RichZ wrote:
Chris Rennert wrote:
Instincts are based on experience,


No, they are not. Instincts are genetically implanted.

From the American Heritage Dictionary... "An inborn pattern of behavior
that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to specific
environmental stimuli"


Conditioned responses are based on experience.




Fishing pressure does alter the instincts of a bass population, because
those with instincts that make them easy catches tend to have shorter
life spans, and contribute less and less to the gene pool over a period
of time.