Spooking the fish

[zelmo]

If I am catching fish in an area and get hung up while using a soft plastic with or without a jig head I will just break off.  My attitude changes as the price tag on the lure goes up.  If it is and expensive lure I am probably going to go after it and not worry about the fish.

 

How skittish are SM to going through a relatively shallow area on the TM?  If they scatter how long before they return and are willing to bite?

[PaulVE64]

30 minutes is my guess.

[newapti5]

Within 30 mins, according to my wade fishing experience.

[zelmo]

16 minutes ago, newapti5 said:

Within 30 mins, according to my wade fishing experience.

 

So you know what I am talking about on the Susquehanna.  On a related subject it amazes me that guys keep catching them in the community hole over the winter even as many boats are constantly roaming over the area.

[Deleted account]

It varies, sometimes fish get skittish and won't bite for minutes or hours, and sometimes the louder the rukus, the more they like it. Water clarity ofetn has a big bearing on this. If I hang up in a spot I think is good, I'll leave the lure there and pick up another rod, and get my lure back when I'm done fishing the spot. 

[Basser2021]

8 hours ago, Deleted account said:

It varies, sometimes fish get skittish and won't bite for minutes or hours, and sometimes the louder the rukus, the more they like it. Water clarity ofetn has a big bearing on this. If I hang up in a spot I think is good, I'll leave the lure there and pick up another rod, and get my lure back when I'm done fishing the spot. 

What he said

[Sphynx]

13 hours ago, zelmo said:

 

So you know what I am talking about on the Susquehanna.  On a related subject it amazes me that guys keep catching them in the community hole over the winter even as many boats are constantly roaming over the area.

The bass don't have a fridge, so they kind of have to feed when they have the opportunity, probably a reasonably large population, lots of competition for food works out well for us, also in rivers something I learned fishing for trout on a flu is that they tend to be much more decisive than lake fish, because that food is moving on down stream and there's not time to think too long about it.

[Blue Raider Bob]

I was catching Smallies and Spots on the Cumberland River yesterday. A barge went by and the bite completely stopped for at least thirty minutes.

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

When a barge passes me below the Pickwick Dam the fish are stimulated

and we usually get a quick bite. 

[FryDog62]

On 4/23/2022 at 8:16 AM, zelmo said:

How skittish are SM to going through a relatively shallow area on the TM?  If they scatter how long before they return and are willing to bite?

I'm of the opinion that the number one thing that spooks fish is Spot-Lock. Don't get me wrong, its a great tool, but the squealing and repositioning it makes (especially in shallow water) has become an alert/alarm to fish. Especially the bigger ones that have been caught before and have probably been conditioned to equate that sound with someone nearby that wants to rip their lips out. 

[cyclops2]

If the ships cause different foods to dart out of the path of a BIG spinning prop ? 

 

Dinner time !!!      

[padlin]

New to a TM powered boat...

 

How about the folks that use their TM to putz around the shore while they fish? Is there a speed where the TM scares fish away? Would a stock prop be less intrusive then a weedless?

[FryDog62]

3 hours ago, padlin said:

New to a TM powered boat...

 

How about the folks that use their TM to putz around the shore while they fish? Is there a speed where the TM scares fish away? Would a stock prop be less intrusive then a weedless?

The best speed is slow and steady... which is better than stop/start, Spot-lock, etc. Sudden moves, or loud vibrations put them on alert and/or they just move away with no interest in a moving lure even if presented. 

[gim]

3 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

The best speed is slow and steady... which is better than stop/start, Spot-lock, etc. Sudden moves, or loud vibrations put them on alert and/or they just move away with no interest in a moving lure even if presented. 

And don't come roaring in on plane with the outboard either.  Slow down and ease in slowly, especially in shallow, clear water.

[BassNJake]

6 hours ago, padlin said:

New to a TM powered boat...

 

How about the folks that use their TM to putz around the shore while they fish? Is there a speed where the TM scares fish away? Would a stock prop be less intrusive then a weedless?

Anytime I'm putzing around the shore I'm fishing a good distance ahead of me

So I'm not concerned about trolling motor noise directly under the boat

 

I also live on a lake with heavy traffic.

If I had to give every spot 30 minutes after a boat/jet ski went by

I'd make about 2 casts an hour max.

In the heavier traffic I fish deeper and tighter into to the structure/cover

[Blue Raider Bob]

On 4/25/2022 at 9:53 AM, roadwarrior said:

Hmm...

When a barge passes me below the Pickwick Dam the fish are stimulated

and we usually get a quick bite. 

The area I was fishing was narrow and the barges really stir up the river. There was mud and trash everywhere after it passed. It takes several minutes for the water to calm down and smooth out. Actually the little ones I was catching needed no stimulant. They were eating like sharks! caught 45 in four hours but biggest were still just shy of 15" but what a blast!

[cyclops2]

Ever attend a big cook out ? 

 

FOOD is ready !!!!      Like hungry sharks.    ?

[Kirtley Howe]

On 4/23/2022 at 9:16 AM, zelmo said:

If I am catching fish in an area and get hung up while using a soft plastic with or without a jig head I will just break off.  My attitude changes as the price tag on the lure goes up.  If it is and expensive lure I am probably going to go after it and not worry about the fish.

 

How skittish are SM to going through a relatively shallow area on the TM?  If they scatter how long before they return and are willing to bite?

I think a lot has to do with what the fish are used to.  In rivers I fish regularly there is a lot of boat traffic. I think the fish have become conditioned to the noise, so for the most part having a boat come through the area, or putt through with the trolling motor does not seem to bother them much, unless the boat is right on top of them...then they will disappear for a short while. but come back in 15 min to 1/2 hour. But...on smaller rivers or creeks where boat traffic is minimal, a boat going through can shut things down for hours. Just my observations....your results may vary. 

[zelmo]

On 4/25/2022 at 1:16 PM, FryDog62 said:

I'm of the opinion that the number one thing that spooks fish is Spot-Lock. Don't get me wrong, its a great tool, but the squealing and repositioning it makes (especially in shallow water) has become an alert/alarm to fish. Especially the bigger ones that have been caught before and have probably been conditioned to equate that sound with someone nearby that wants to rip their lips out. 

 

Define shallow water.

 

I have heard that before but is there any hard evidence that it is true?  I have fished the same spot using a regular anchor and Spot-Lock.  Sometimes it is on fire and sometimes you can't buy a bite.  I have experienced both situations with both anchoring methods.

[FryDog62]

I was just at Bull Shoals last week with my Spot-Lock on several times and watched fish around me part like the Red Sea a couple times. Could see it happening on Livescope in a few creek arms too. No, it doesn’t happen every time, but again, the bigger smarter fish that have been caught before do get triggered by certain survival instincts - certain sounds, vibrations bouncing off their lateral line being a couple primary. 

[gim]

14 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

No, it doesn’t happen every time, but again, the bigger smarter fish that have been caught before do get triggered by certain survival instincts - sound, vibration bouncing off their lateral line being a couple primary. 

I've experienced this on Mille Lacs when smallmouth fishing.  On a sunny, clear day, I've come across enormous schools of brown bass, only to watch them all scatter.  I marked it on my GPS and went back there later, approaching it from a distance and making long casts.  Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.  The point is that in highly pressured, clear water, if you can see the fish, they can also see you.

[zelmo]

30 minutes ago, gimruis said:

The point is that in highly pressured, clear water, if you can see the fish, they can also see you.

 

I guess that is my point.  If you can see them scatter are they moving because they saw you or because of the spot-lock?  I am not dismissing the spot-lock theory, just asking the question.

[gim]

6 minutes ago, zelmo said:

 

I guess that is my point.  If you can see them scatter are they moving because they saw you or because of the spot-lock?  I am not dismissing the spot-lock theory, just asking the question.

I don't have spot lock on my bow mount.  It was introduced a year after I bought my boat and I haven't upgraded yet.  Is it possible that the fish are spooked by the hum of my electric motor?  Sure its possible.  I am inclined to think that they physically saw me or my boat because that is when they often scatter, but that is just a theory.  I am never out there when its very rough so my bow mount isn't thumping real hard either.