New Article: Does Your Boat Scare The Fish?

[Stephen Glassic]

I have been pondering this question for quite some time and I have presented similar questions on this forum in the past. This article (see link below) discusses a few things that could possibly make a difference. Maybe some do matter and maybe others don't, Maybe some matter more while casting or trolling. I also have always wondered about playing music and have lately only played music while trolling since the lines may be far enough away that it doesn't matter, but who really knows.

Have any members had any experiences that touch on any of these possibilities? Or do some of you take precautions in any of these areas as a proactive measure?

Have any of you experienced a scenario where you fished many times with the same partner, equally in each other's boat, and it always seems that your partner's boat catches more fish?

I have an older Ratheon FF with 50Khz and 200Khz and I run it on dual mode which gives narrow and wide beams separately on split screen. I wonder if it would be better to use only the 50Khz or 200 Khz under some conditions.

https://www.boatus.com/magazine/2015/april/does-your-boat-scare-the...

[John Jarosz]

Steve...interesting article & a great point of view, although the author does admit to a lot of unscientific studies, but here's what I've seen (or heard) or have also wondered. Sure, they're unscientific but these are my observations.

1. I used to troll almost exclusively with a kicker. As soon as I invested in an electric troller, my catch rate went way up.

2. I listened to a local charter captain's presentation once & he mentioned two things:

    A. He never fishes "in the pack." He always fishes on their fringes.

    B. He always turns off his sonar fish-finder when he fishes. He says most everyone else has them on "in the pack" and, as a charter, he is successful. He swears that the pinging of sonars scares fish.

3. I was fly fishing for muskies in Cassadaga one day & we had 6 follows that day. Thinking back, it was a partly sunny day & the best angle to cast to our lanes was with our backs to the sun. We were facing & casting north. We watched the muskies follow the flies in but as soon as they hit the shadow of the boat, they turned & burned. We haven't had the opportunity to go there again but did decide that we would cast to the south next time, with the sun on our faces. 

4. You think, that with all the boat traffic out there & noise making that goes on, the fish would get used to it. After a while it seems to me that it would become background noise. I don't know.

[Tony Scime]

Not muskies. 

I'm only talking from experience with no scientific data to support me. But muskies are apex predators. When they're hungry they're looking for a meal. They use sight, sound, and vibrations to find those meals. In their natural environment they don't have to be afraid of anything.

I knew a guide at Nipissing who towed a paddle wheel behind his boat to attract muskies. He says it worked. We often trolled right in the prop wash, a few feet behind the motor. (ask Homer LeBlanc if motor noise scared muskies). The lure in the prop wash usually caught the most and largest muskies. When casting I used to slam an oar on the water to attract attention. It worked (not often, but often enough). I would rev my motor in reverse to kick up the weeds and start trolling forward. It worked. Why does bottom bouncing work?

Noise and disruption does not scare muskies, but actually attracts them.

The best harbor day ever was in June of 1996. There were dozens of boats trolling the south and north gaps. Notwithstanding the dozens of motors, zillions of pings, and raucous rock and roll, the muskies went on an all-time feeding frenzy. The havoc didn't scare them away.

The same goes for smallmouths, I think.

[Stephen Glassic]

Thanks for the input John and Tony. I know that it is a subject where any solid conclusions would be difficult to make and even observations that seem to present solid evidence may not be the case all the time. Maybe a particular sound can attract or scare off a fish under certain conditions. But I am wondering if there is merit in some of the things mentioned in the article. I'm sure some species are spooked easier than others and other conditions may also affect whether a sound will spook a fish.

Even the difference between fishfinders pings, such as frequency, wave shape and pulse duration could have an affect. Or there could be unwanted harmonics generated by the transducer or a vibration transmitted through the boat's hull (resonant frequency) by the transducer from one model of FF and not another or on one boat but not another. Just like some sounds to us are pleasant and others are annoying.

[carl schenk]

I’ve looked down the hole while ice fishing in shallow water and watched sunnies and perch scatter if I dragged my feet on the ice but northern pike would remain in place staring at my offering. I’ve also seen fish move away from the pounding of someone using a spud bar. I would assume being quiet in a boat is normally a good idea, but with muskies..

[Frank Stachowiak]

For what it's worth:  Fish with Scott Kitchen, prolific musky angler.  He is generally quiet, except for a rousing: "Here Musky, Musky, Musky" at the top of his lungs.  Sometimes he breaks out in  his rendition of "Mr. Toothy, send me a dream, Make it the biggest Musky, I've ever seen....." I've heard him. It works (for him).