Do they ever forget?

Minnesota will be a long shortly to answer that.

I have thought about this. Why do some lures catch fish tremendously and then die off and go away? Do the fish learn? I have doubts about that. On top of that, the population of fish turns over relatively quickly so shouldn't old colors/lures be new to the fish today?

I suspect fisherman create a buzz on a new lure and everyone throws it, another new product comes out, and we all rush to that one. That is before FFS. Now everyone throws minnow baits on jig heads. (Relax, I am just fooling on the last statement (kind of)).

You would think with the way things change some old school techniques would pop back up. I still throw a buzzbait every once in a while but I couldn't tell you the last time I got a bite throwing one. Now, I probably throw a whopper plopper/choppo more now and I get bit on that. So maybe it's better but similar tool doing the same job.

I've been serious bass fisherman for about 80 years and have never had a conversation with a bass.....but....if I can talk to a fish in the after life,first question is gonna be "can you see mono line better than flourocarbon/"....

I am too poor to fish with all the fancy new gizmos and trinkets anyway, so I hope they never learn. Of course, my favorite lure has been, and probably always will be, a swim grub on a lead head. Not a FFS fisherman, it just has always worked for me. My other favorite lure, which is supremely effective on Lake Travis for whatever reason, is something none of you will ever throw for bass anyway, so I don't have to worry about that one! Still, everyone has been throwing a green pumpkin worm for a bajillion years and it still works, and I haven't seen anything like them in the water, so I have given up on trying to figure out what these stupid bass think. Heck, my buddy catches most of his on a hot pink worm, and I caught my 10 lber on a blue and silver worm. Have you ever seen a 10" long blue and silver worm in the lake? Anyway, God love these fish for being stupid and hungry!!!

Yes they came... They prove it to me everyday... Dan

That is a fair point. Color wise, green pumpkin and watermelon have had some staying power. I am showing my age but I remember June bug, motor oil, red bug, and even purple with yellow tail scoundrels.

How old are you? 90's?

To the OP.

I think bass get conditioned away from some lures due to being caught on them. Lures that trigger a reaction bite, like cranks, spinners, lipless rattling baits, are easy for bass to become conditioned to. So to answer your question, I don't think they necessarily remember, but they do become lure-shy to baits that wiggle the same way all the time.

That's why so many bigs get caught on a soft plastic bait a high percentage of the time. Their movement is more random in nature.

John Fox, the "American Angler" wrote a book in the 70's or 80's and said bass have a memory of 7 seconds. I have no idea how he came up with that.

I’ve seen crappie eat minners that they just spit up and were caught on.

I’m absolutely positive bass never forget though, that is why it imperative you buy baits from japan or chyna (6th sense). Our bass are mesmerized by those paint jobs.

Like any animal, they have instincts. The fight to survive is strong and they DO get conditioned to certain lures/techniques/times. Of course the need to procreate during the spawn can sometimes overpower their survival instincts.
Fayette County and Fork are two examples of lakes that are highly pressured. Fayette specifically, if you go on a Tuesday-Thursday, you'll have better odds of catching a bunch of fish than on a weekend when there are a hundred or so boats on the lake.
I've used older baits such as a jitterbug or buzz bait and have had success as they are baits fish don't see a lot.

So the bass know what day of the week it is?

I agree 100%