I used to think I really knew a lot about trout, but the more I fish, the more I realize that trout know a lot more about me than I do them. If you disagree with that then tell me this: How come you don’t catch a bunch of them every time you go out?
I think the intelligence quotient of a trout compared to ours is a lot higher than biologist think. They are always talking about the tiny brain of the trout. Fish Biologists tell us that with a brain that small a trout does most things by instinct and if they learn anything at all, it takes repetitive action and even then, it only stays with them a short time.
I totally disagree. Take the average trout of 12” and his brain. A twelve inch trout will do good to weigh a half a pound – 8 oz. Take the average fly fisherman at 5 feet 11 inches (71”) and weighing around 185 pounds (2960 oz.)
Dividing 12 inches into 71 inches tells us that the average fly fisher is 5.9 times as long as the trout. Dividing the ½ pound, (8 oz), into the 185 pounds, (2960 oz), tells us that the average fly fisher is 370 times heavier than the average trout.
Going farther, a trout’s brain weighs somewhere around 1 ounce. The brain of the average fly fisherman weighs somewhere around 3 pounds or 48 ounces. Dividing 1 ounce into 48 ounces tells us that our brain is 48 times as heavy as that of a trout.
Now, using the formula below, which I invented, not Don Ordes, and which is assuredly better than any formula a biologist could come up with, I developed a very precise Smartness Scale. NOTE: I use the same three variables in my formula for both the average Trout and average Fly Fisher.
For Trout intelligence compared to that of a Fly Fisher, I offer the scientific results below:
Length in inches X Brain Weight % by Body Weight = Smartness Scale Number
Trout - 12” X 1 oz % by 8 oz = 1.50
Average fly fisher - 71” X 48 oz % by 2960 oz = 1.15
1.50 – 1.15 = .35 points higher on the smartness scale for the Trout.
With the resultant .35 advantage on the Smartness Scale, for TROUT, it appears that trout are a smarter than us. I agree wholeheartedly because they fool the devil out of me at least 90 % of the time.
You can argue all you want, but with the small size and weight of a trout, it doesn’t require a large brain to be smarter than the average fly fisher. Heaven forbid a 12” trout ever developing a 3 pound brain. ;-)
