Don't Tell Anyone...

[Bankc]

Don't tell anyone... but apparently the secret to catching more fish, at least in east Texas, is stealth.  At least that's what this article suggests. 

 

https://www.ketk.com/news/study-finds-how-east-texas-anglers-can-more-accurately-target-largemouth-bass/

 

I think it's something most of us, if not all, already knew.  But it's also something that, at least for me, need to be reminded of from time to time.  I'm bad about being lazy and pulling up to my spot with my trolling motor running and fish finder pinging while knocking things around in my kayak.  I'd probably do better if I focused more on my noise and have everything shut down and was ready to fish before I pulled up to my spot. 

 

I could probably use a refresher course from the school of Ol' Crickety. 

[gim]

Certainly fishing pressure plays a role in this.  Fish that see a lot of lures and get caught have been shown to shy away from specific types of noise that are associated with those experiences.  I recently read an article about this in In-Fisherman last month.

 

In shallow water, I think its a good idea to back off on the main outboard a ways out from your intended fishing spot.  In the spring, when I am targeting crappies in shallow water, I've noticed this before.  I used to fly into the spot on plane and start fishing.  I wouldn't catch a fish for a while but after a period of time, they started biting.  I am pretty sure I spooked them out of there when I initially showed up.  Learned my lesson on that one.

[Bird]

Something I do is shut the big motor off within a hundred yards of where I plan to fish and simply troll the rest of the way.

 

I never shut off the fish finders but perhaps I should. 🤔 

[Bankc]

21 minutes ago, Bird said:

Something I do is shut the big motor off within a hundred yards of where I plan to fish and simply troll the rest of the way.

 

I never shut off the fish finders but perhaps I should. 🤔 

I know the frequency of the sonar ping should be well beyond the hearing ranges of fish and humans.  But I can still hear a faint ticking sound on my transducer when I pull it out of the water.  It's not loud, so I don't know if it's something the fish can actually hear.  But I also know that once I've located a spot I want to fish, I don't really need the fish finder anymore, with a couple of rare exceptions.  So why not? 

 

And I know the trolling motor is pretty quiet.  But is it quiet enough?  I mean if the fish are moving away due to the sound of an outboard, are they not at least getting a little skeptical around the sound of a trolling motor, should they be able to hear it? 

 

Or maybe I'm overthinking it all.  I mean, there are plenty of jetskis and party boats out there this time of year.  And cars driving by and planes flying overhead at all hours.  It's not like I'm the only man-made sound they hear.  

 

Whatever the cause, it does seem to me that fish are getting harder to catch in the last couple of years.  And during that same time-frame, there are more people out on the water, and out there more often.  Now, correlation doesn't equal causation.  And the weather's been pretty funky too in that time period, so that could also be the cause.  But what's it hurt to try to be a little quieter? 

[king fisher]

I'm all for being quite and I'm sure there are many noises that spook bass.  I always try and be as quite as possible, and make long casts.  I also believe  bass can't run and hide every time they hear a noise that spooks them.  Bass are very in tune with their environment.  I'm sure they know when your boat or kayak is near them no matter how quite you tried to be.  Tolling is an excellent technique to catch bass.  If a bass is terrified of every sound we make, why would you be able to literally run right over the top of the fish with your outboard, then catch the same fish 30 yards directly behind your boat?  I believe they can hear you, and may get scared, but they wont completely freak out and stop eating every time they hear a scary noise. 

[Catt]

Watch Todd Driscoll of Texas Parks and Wildlife interviewed about the study on Ken Smith Fishing on YouTube. Look under Playlist, there's 18 videos giving us the whole study.

[Tennessee Boy]

I’ve always been amazed at what spooks fish and what doesn’t.  I’ll give you a recent example.   I saw a group of fish about 25 feet from me that were positioned in the shade of a tree.   I couldn’t tell for sure if they were bass.   I made several cast with different baits.  None of them moved.  I decided to troll over to get a closer look.   They were bass.  I just kept moving slowly closer to them.  I got to about 10 feet from them and they still hadn’t moved.  There’s no doubt they could see me and hear me. I reached to put my rod down and I dropped it to the deck of my boat from a height of about 3 inches.   That noise made them scatter.

[scaleface]

Evidently crappie are not scared of noise because most of the crappie anglers around here make no attempt whatsoever in trying to be quiet.  

[A-Jay]

Always an interesting subject and one that gets bounced around here from time to time.

My version, especially when focusing on plus sized brown bass,

which is most all the time, starts and ends with stealth with the main purpose being to remain undetected.  I do not want to worry about what might or might not 'spook' a big bass, if she has No Idea I'm even there.

I will not get into the time consuming specifics of the steps I take in an attempt to accomplish this,

but the reality is it pales in comparison to what a trophy buck hunter is willing to endure to remain undetected.

While neither is a guarantee of success, I totally believe and have pictures that indicate

it just might increase my odds a little bit. 

So I think it's worth it. 

A-Jay

 

 

[Pat Brown]

I can assure you that bass not being aware that people are around is vastly favorable when trying to catch them - YMMV etc

 

Happy for anyone who can sit on fish and make noise and catch the heck out of em but that ain't my situation at all.

 

I'm always trying to make as long a cast as I can and still set the hook.  I move slow.  I turn things off.

 

Y'all know I catch good fish on small bodies of pressured water.  Stealth is a huge deal.

[Zcoker]

This is why wind, rain, even darkness, any such natural disturbance or condition is a good thing because it mask out our human presence. One can be as quite as ever but still have their sonar pinging away. Not only quiet, but shadows spook fish, the shadow of a rod casting, many such conditions to consider besides stealth alone. 

[Americanzero]

8 hours ago, scaleface said:

Evidently crappie are not scared of noise because most of the crappie anglers around here make no attempt whatsoever in trying to be quiet.  

Gotta think though, most of the crappie that get caught don’t get a second chance at hearing a boat 

[Mobasser]

I have to be stealthy to catch bass in the lake I fish. With the clear water, I make long cast and stay back. Shadows also spook fish so boat position is important.           And, feathering in cast so your baits enter quietly.                  These things can help you in catching bass when you need to be stealthy.

[Catt]

Darkness covers up an angler's presence and most of all his mistakes. 

[GRiver]

When I’m going after DD, trolling motor up, electronics off and I push pole in. I go in quiet as a church mouse, stick pin myself in position, then fish.

Still haven’t caught a dang DD, bet they’re down going “ and he thinks we can’t hear him”

[FishTax]

I've seen fish spook from my rod with casting, and from a jig sailing through the air which I guess they think is a bird. 

[LrgmouthShad]

Building up speed in the kayak by pedaling and then gliding within casting distance of a spot I want to fish is one of my go-to tactics. I will occasionally turn off my electronics as well. My pedal drive developed a squeak a while back so I am getting a replacement part from Hobie covered by warranty… all to be a little quieter

[Woody B]

As most of you know I have an aluminum boat.  Aluminum boats "can" be noisy.  I'm constantly tightening, adjusting and lubricating stuff on mine.   One of the BIG plusses of having FFS is watching Bass react to noises.  Dropping something on the deck will make them scatter every time.  So will a squeaky seat, hinge or trolling motor.   I also believe shadows are important too.  Whenever possible face the Sun so your shadow in behind you instead of going over the area you're fishing.  

[A-Jay]

45 minutes ago, Woody B said:

Whenever possible face the Sun so your shadow in behind you instead of going over the area you're fishing.  

OR, 

I will position my rig so it's between the sun and the fish. (so sun's at my back)

This has the fish looking straight into the sun when checking out my bait. 

That no eyelid thing starts coming into play, especially when throwing topwater.

😎

A-Jay

 

[roadwarrior]

Not the case on the Tennessee River.  This is a busy commercial river with big boats

and lots of activity.  Our fish are there to party! For example, you need a big splash when

casting to get their attention.  Stealth rarely comes into play.

[softwateronly]

One of my favorite things to do is throw in the wake of pleasure boats that cruise over the fish I’m anchored on. On busy water, I think trolling motors can be a bigger negative than loud outboards.  
 

scott

[Catt]

@roadwarrior When fishing Milfoil, Hydrilla, or Coontail I throw a 1/4 oz Texas Rig unpegged. I want that commotion caused by it hanging & me working it free.

[WRB]

Mike Lembeck performed a 3 year tracking study in 3 San Diego area lakes with about 200 bass back in early 70’s, Bill Murphy worked with Mike as noted in Murphy’s In pursuit of Giant Bass book.

What they learned is big bass tend to group up off shore over deep water. The bass acted like individuals coming and going randomly rejoining the same group.

These were undiscovered bass until this study located them. The study showed 1 big bass would leave and swim to the closed dam area when the lake opened to boat traffic and didn’t return until the lake closed for the season.

Murphy was calling these bass the new frontier and learning how to catch them when he passed away.

FFS is a tool today that can exploit Murphy’s frontier suspended bass over deep water. 
The big bass in our local local lakes definitely shut down from boat traffic during the day. Night fishing we tend to move around less and more slowly in turn we are quieter fishing. I learned to make long casts during low traffic periods to up my odds catching big bass. I believe some big adult bass are wary of noisy bass boats. 

Tom

[Fishing_Rod]

Greetings All,

Non-typical sounds appear to be a significant factor influencing fish. Most of us have read the phrase, "scared fish don't bite", which may have an aspect of reality. I do tend to catch more and better fish when things are calm in the area. Those special days when I'm able to be on the water during the middle of week are generally more productive than the busier weekend and holidays.

 

These observations also support using smaller bait presentations. Less disturbance entering the water. I'm still trying to find that balance of letting them know to pay attention to the bait presented while not startling them.

 

Yup, I need more data, guess it is time to do more field research, right? Be well and Cheers!