Do Transducer Pings Scare Fish?

[Glenn]

Curious what you think.  Here's mine.

 

 

[gim]

I like how you added a little blurb in there about the trolling motor too.  I think there's more to that spooking fish than the ping of a transducer.  Especially when you suddenly increase the power, just as you stated.  Fish can feel the vibration with their lateral lines, but as long as its a consistent pulse, its fine.

[FryDog62]

I have found in most cases the transducer ping doesn't make a difference. However, the trolling motor, particularly the head spinning of Spot-lock, can make a very significant difference.  Bigger/smarter fish that have been caught before seem to remember the whining of the trolling motor at some point in their fight/struggle and repel from it. Talons/Power Poles to hold position especially in shallow water are a major plus over Spot-Lock IMO.  

[gunsinger]

I've had far too many bass jump/feed right beside my boat to think that the transducer impacts them.  I've gone "silent" many times just to see and don't find that I catch more or less.  TM noise, absolutely.

[Bird]

Eliminator Trolling Motor Prop Nut Billet Aluminum Custom Fit For MinnKota 80, 101 and 112 lb Models (GFEL-MK-BK-DP). https://a.co/d/dAul61D

 

Buddy of mine swears by them for dampening trolling motor vibration.

 

[Jig Man]

Nope.

[Reel]

I fish the clear waters of the St-Lawrence river where you can see the fish all around you and the sonar pings don't have any affect on them.  Carps are the most nervous of all and they swim around the boat with the sonar on.  Make a sudden noise and they scoot.

[PABASS]

I typically neve have my sonar on so its hard to say, the pros says it can so when shallow I don't use them.  Pros are making comments about FF pings and they stay 100' of the school of bass..  For me the trolling motor is the biggest culprit, carp are extremally sensitive to trolling motor noise.  When bass are grouped up with carp on a calm day 30-40' carp will spook with the trolling motor which in turn spook the bass...

[Capt Steve]

I do have to agree that the sudden noises definitely spook fish. But I have been curious if fish can feel the sonar pings. I’m sure they must be able to. If you’ve ever been swimming around your boat and get any part of your body underneath a transducer, you’ll know what I mean. you can feel a sort of shock every time it pings. 
It took me a few minutes to understand what I was feeling when it was hitting the top of my foot. 
I’m sure if I can feel it, fish surely can. 
 

But, I think fish are like people and other animals. “One size doesn’t fit all”. Some spook easier than others. 

[T-Billy]

Not in my experience. I've tried turning it off when fishing for spooky shallow fish in clear water. It made zero difference. Trolling motor will absolutely spook them.

[MickD]

Just last week while fishing a shallow canal we had largemouth bass follow caught bass, and we caught the follower a couple times, right below the boat within sight.  While the trolling motor was on spot lock and the transducer on.  It may not always be that way, might depend on the mood of the fish, but it is clear that the motor and pings do not always inhibit the taking of lures.

[WRB]

Big wary bass the quieter less intrusive you are the less likely you will alarm them if your presence.

Sonar pings are just one of several sounds the bass are aware of, they know the boat is there because it displaces a lot of water, big engine getting you nearby the bass can detect prop wash for a greater distance same with Trolling motor prop wash.

Been using sonar since the 60’s. General bass fishing I used it without evidence of shutting down a bite. Trophy bass fishing I didn’t use until leaving the area to check out if any bass are there. It’s mine game and easy to resolve the nagging thought by simply turning the sonar off. Does it matter, only if it bothers you.

Tom

[pdxfisher]

Fish can only hear upto a very limited frequency range, no more than a few kHz and most less than 1kHz.Their hearing has less frequency range than humans.  I don't think it is physically possible for fish to hear sonar. Here is a paper on the subject of fishes hearing range.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7051002/