Noise

[slonezp]

I think that the fish get spooked more by the boat moving close to them than by noise.  I bank fish about 1/3 of the time, and when I run off a bass in the shallow water I know it didn't hear me walking in the grass.

So, how do you explain the dolphin like characteristic that bass have. Countless numbers of times I have been in gin clear water and have had bass follow along with the boat. I can speed up the trolling motor and they follow along. granted these are usually juvenile bass and more than likely non catchable. It doesn't discount the fact that they are an inquisitive species. 

[slonezp]

Whats the deal with Terrova's ? Are they noisier than others  ?

Terrova and PowerDrive, are Minn Kotas electric steer motors. The difference between a cable steer and an electric steer motor is the cable steer uses the pedal and a cable to change the direction of the motor. It is, for the most part, a silent operation. Electric steer motors use an electric motor to change the direction of the motor. The electric motor makes noise, although I believe it is negligible. One of the benefits of the electric steer motors is the ability to use GPS features to control the motor direction as well as the Link option which allows you to interface the trolling motor with the Humminbird graph and map cards to enjoy hands and foot free control of the motor. Almost a set it and forget it option. There is also an anchor mode which can be compared to using shallow water anchors in an unlimited depth of water. Poor satellite signals do affect the "automatic" controls of the electric steer motors and they will need to be controlled manually   

[Catt]

Empirical: based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic.

There is plenty of empirical data for both cases to be firmly made; I believe this is another subject that can not be resolved until we sit down and interview a bass.

From my youth until today I'll not only walk the bank at water's edge but will often wade calf to thigh deep and still catch bass.

On the Louisiana side of Toledo Bend at about mid-lake is Fort Polk, the Army's only Combat Training Center. On certain days they have live fire pratice with M119A2 105mm Howitzers, not only can you hear it but you feel it in you chest and it vabrates the entire landscape under the lake.

Does not effect the bass in any way

[WRB]

I have good success fishing in and around marinas while boats were motoring by, rental boats banging into docks etc, lots of noise. Same lake in a quite zone with no boat traffic the bass are easily spooked by only a trolling motor running. Bass get conditioned to the underwater sounds and react if a sound alarms them or attracts them.

Being quite is rarely a negative.

Tom

[scaleface]

^^ this

 

I dont know of a fish as spooky as a carp . But where is the best place to catch them on the Mississippi river  . That noisy spot where they fill the barges with grain .

[Josh Smith]

A recent study showed sharks are (very!) attracted by death metal played on underwater speakers.

I'd think bass would have an analog to that.

Josh

[Choporoz]

'It depends' is probably the best answer.  Depends on the fish...the fish's experiences, age, etc....depends on the noise...steady or stacatto or single loud bang or off/on/off/on trolling motor and electronics...I am sure there are times like mentioned above when a certain noise got bass curious and maybe more 'catchable'.

 

But, I also am sure that less noise is generally better than more noise.  I gotta think that as you're running into a shallow back bay, you're going to increase your odds by turning off the TM and electronics....and not dropping the pliers....Maybe the numbers will be the same, but I suspect that the bigger, older, wiser, bass are going to be a little harder to catch when the noise coming from you and your boat is greater.

[Deleted account]

Fish get conditioned to sounds and vibrations, as well as other factors. If there is consistent noise from boat traffic, bridges, etc, the fish will ignore it. Drop it on fish used to being undisturbed in a remote body of water, and they will move or shut down. I've got a local spot where military jets and Helos zip around at low altitudes, even disturbing the water surface, and the bite isn't affected. I also fish a spot where I have to sneak up on these things, so put me on the depends column.

[Bob C]

One of my biggest catches was next to a swim area marker with several kids yelling and splashing a few feet away in very clear water. I was at a stream watching a guy trying to catch trout. The water was less than 2 ft deep and crystal clear. He was using a spark plug for a weight and it would make a huge splash as he would cast close to them. They would spook and move about 10 ft, turn around and go back to the same spot to check it out.

[garvin]

I occasionally bank fish at a park with a small lake around 60-70 acres. There's a fenced in dog park on the lake that opens up to the lake so dogs can swim around and fetch stuff. I frequently catch bass off a clump of grass that grows maybe 20 feet from where dogs are splashing around.

[Ratherbfishing]

The mere click of the thumb bar on my reel has been known to give bass lock-jaw. Some kinda medical condition I suppose.

 

I think, sometimes, that they can hear it when I cinch up a knot in my line.  Monofilament is especially squeaky.

[everythingthatswims]

I caught an 8ish lb largemouth trolling a crankbait out of a paddle boat. We call it the stealth boat      . We sometimes get right over a beaver hut and drop jigs in between the branches, still catching fish.

[everythingthatswims]

I caught an 8ish lb largemouth trolling a crankbait out of a paddle boat. We call it the stealth boat      . We sometimes get right over a beaver hut and drop jigs in between the branches, still catching fish. 

edit: This summer I had to speed up my floating hardgill to keep a beaver from running into it...fish ate it when I sped it up.

[livin2fish]

Guess my take on this thread is, some bass will spook, some will be curious, some will spook then be curious, some will not care about the noise.  No matter what we believe, we are probably right. LOL

[Paul Roberts]

I guess the only people who are worried about noise are the crowd that doesn't like Terrova trolling motors, which is what triggered me to post this topic. I believe that most predatory species are not scared of noise but inquisitive. A little banging around in the boat or a radio or a TM turning or the splash of a jig are all things that warrant investigation. It's not like we are throwing cinder blocks into the lake.

Bob Underwood, in his scuba diving with bass, said that electric motors did not spook fish as much as rowing did. He attributed the latter to the pulses of water movement created by oars, compared to the consistent beat of the motor. 

 

He also said that scraping the bottom of the boat got every bass's attention within 100 feet; they all turning to face the sound. But I'll bet that doesn't happen where boat bottoms are as think as lily pads lol. Bass are "curious" and what curious means is attentive to things in the environment that might spell food or danger. Thus, responses may vary.

[WRB]

Mike Lembeck, California DFG biologist, performed radio tracking studies in 1974-1977 on dozens LMB ranging from 4 to 14 lbs making over 800 observations. He concluded nothing in the basses environment had an effect on bass location, not bright sun, rain, wind or noise would make bass change locations, they moved as individuals, gathered into groups, stayed together and dispersed for no apparent reason.

One big bass would locate in the marina area just after the lake closed for the season and left the marina opening day, each year he tracked this bass. Individual and unpredictable behavior is the hallmark of big bass. Largemouth bass in the 1 to 3 lb range tend to be more predictable.

Tom

[BaitMonkey1984]

I do not believe that noise is that big of an issue. I try to not make a lot of noise, but I do not go overboard. I always have music on usually talk throughout the day to my fishing partner. I don't let the fear of making noise ruin my day. But I do not go out of my way to make a lot of noise, barring a lost good sized fish where I feel entitled to throw the rod down on the deck. 

[bigbill]

I'm in stealth mode. I cleared my throat once and watched a large wake on the surface going away from me from the shoreline. I'm fishing off a 9' drop off. Man-made dam.

In the early mornings at 4am in the dark I'm very very quiet. I'm so quiet nothing knows I'm there. I close my spinning reel bail by hand.

I'm afraid to use casting reels because of the click when the spool engages. Maybe I can grease them to soften the noise.

[scaleface]

I do not believe that noise is that big of an issue. I try to not make a lot of noise, but I do not go overboard. I always have music on usually talk throughout the day to my fishing partner. I don't let the fear of making noise ruin my day. But I do not go out of my way to make a lot of noise, barring a lost good sized fish where I feel entitled to throw the rod down on the deck. 

Talking , playing music... is not the same as slamming tackle boxes closed .