"Fish are smarter than we gave them credit for," Andrew Colefax, a student at Queensland's Center for Marine Science, said in a news release. "In high-intensity fishing areas, smaller fish that could not engulf the hook fed first with larger hook-susceptible fish hanging back and observing."

"By contrast, in nearby low-intensity fishing areas, the larger fish moved in quickly and attacked the bait," Colefax explained. "A small change in where you fish might greatly increase your catch."