If you’ve been fishing for any length of time, someone may have told you to be quiet so you didn’t scare away the fish. Perhaps you’ve even told that to someone else, such as your kids. There’s a very common theory that talking or making loud noises scare fish away. The question is, is that true? The answer really is, it depends.
Talking or making loud noises will only affect your fishing success if the fish perceive this noise as danger. Talking or making loud noises will scare fish if those noises are unusual to fish and startle them, or if the fish associate the particular noise with trouble. However, when it comes to noises the fish hear all the time with no negative association, it’s very unlikely that they’ll be scared. Further, there’s a good chance fish won’t even hear noises that are made above water as they don’t penetrate water very well. On the other hand, noises that are made directly into the water or that cause vibrations are much more likely to be heard by fish, potentially spooking them.
Having said that, it’s always best to try and be stealthy when fishing so you don’t spook fish. After all, it’s one of the few things you can control, so you should! Let’s explore some of the more common noises you might try and avoid while fishing, and ones you probably shouldn’t sweat over.
It’s All Condition Dependent
First of all, let’s clear something up – not all noises are going to spook all fish the same. Generally speaking, fish are going to be more likely to scare in clearer water or when they are heavily pressured by fishermen or predators. If the fish are already on edge, it doesn’t take much extra noise to spook or scare them. If, for example, you see a bay full of cormorants resting on the surface, it stands to reason splashing noises would scare the heck out of fish.
On the other hand, fish that are conditioned to certain noises being “normal” probably aren’t going to be bothered much by them. I once went with my friend on his pontoon boat to a very popular cove in Lake George, NY. There must have been 30 boats there with people swimming, splashing, jumping, hollering, and playing music. It was a zoo. All the same, I had no trouble whatsoever landing several fish right in the midst of all this with a drop shot. The reason was simple. The fish were conditioned to this noise and didn’t associate it with danger. The fish in this cove probably heard all the talking and music for weeks with no one bothering to wet a hook before I came along. As a result, these fish weren’t scared by music or loud noise at all and were willing to bite.
As a general rule, the greater the fishing or predation pressure, the quieter you should try to be so you don’t scare away fish or spook them out of biting.
Some Noises Don’t Penetrate Water Very Well
For a noise to scare a fish, it first must be perceived by them. Not all surface noises do a great job of penetrating below the water. Don’t believe me? Go jump in a busy pool sometime. While there may be kids hooting and hollering above the surface and making a giant scene, the instant you dunk your head underwater, much of that sound disappears.
If you can’t hear those kids making a racket, chances are the fish aren’t going to hear you and your buddy talking about the ball game while you fish.
Talking Is One Thing, But What About Music?
While talking quietly probably won’t scare many fish, will loud music? Well, I’d argue probably not, and for the same reasons. Again, much of the music is going to have a hard time penetrating the water in the first place. Unless you’re playing dubstep or something else with heavy bass, fish might not even hear it.
Secondly, we again must ask ourselves, “even if fish did hear the loud music, would they perceive it as a threat and get scared or spooked?” Here too, the answer is “probably not.” If the waters you’re fishing has its share of bowriders or other party boats, it has its share of music being played by folks who aren’t wetting lines. The fish might have heard music before, but they don’t have many opportunities to associate it with danger, as most anglers are trying to stay quiet and not blasting tunes.
Noise In Direct Contact With Water Travels Very Far
While most airborne noise has a hard time penetrating water, noise made within the water travels very far indeed. The Scientific American claims that sound travels about 4.3 times faster in water than it does in air, and I have no reason to doubt them! Thus, noises like dropping something heavy on your boat, using your trolling or main motor, or splashing weeds off a lure are all going to create noise that fish will quickly hear. Some of these sounds may even spook them.
If a sound penetrates the water well, it’s one you should consider avoiding or minimizing so you don’t scare away fish.
Common Noises That May Scare Fish
The most common noises that fish are likely to hear and likely to have a negative association with are trolling motors, sonar, and splashes. This is because these three noises are directly correlated with them or their buddies being hooked or eaten. If any noise is going to scare a fish, it’s these. Let’s explore them in more detail and what we can do about them.
Does the Sound of a Trolling Motor Scare Fish?
Trolling motors are used by exactly one type of person: anglers. While they are fairly quiet at low speeds, if you crank it up or get a bunch of weeds on them, they make quite a racket. So here we have a sound that can both be heard by fish, and that fish have ample opportunity to associate with danger.
The common advice with trolling motors is to avoid shutting it on and off as this is startling and abrupt. It is considered much better to just keep a constant low speed on your motor as eventually it will fade into the background just like white noise to fish and won’t spook them. Even if you have to leave it blasting on full speed, such as when you’re trolling for chain pickerel, this is better than turning it off and on.
You should also avoid getting weeds on your trolling motor as these increase vibrations that can be perceived by fish. A weed-choked trolling motor also requires more power to keep your boat going with all that implies.
Further, it is good practice to ensure your trolling motor is securely attached to your boat. The bolts on these can loosen over time, which increases the noise. This is also good practice to avoid having that expensive trolling motor litter the bottom of some lake!
Does Sonar From Fish Finders Spook Fish?
Your fish finder works by utilizing sonar, which is the emission of a ping or noise which then bounces back as an echo to the finder. Depending on how loud this noise is, fish may hear it. Given that sonar is also a sound that has a chance for fish to form a negative association, it’s one more thing that can hurt.
On the other hand, every bass boat in a tournament has at least one sonar display, with many these days having three or four. While they do emit sound that could possibly scare fish, sonar displays come with such additional benefits that they outweigh this risk.
Having said that, sonar becomes much less useful in shallow water. When you’re fishing a bay, you’re really not finding fish with a fish finder – you’re just finding submerged weeds. If the water is clear enough to see these without the finder, why stack the odds against yourself? Turn it off before the noise from the fish finder spooks the fish!
What About Splashes in the Water?
I have mixed feelings about if splashes in the water scare fish. On the one hand, fish are used to hearing the splash of giant carp breaching, or fish hitting a bug on the surface. Surely, these sounds would be no cause for concern. On the other hand, another major source of splash noises are predatory birds like cormorants and eagles. Fish learn very early that one of their greatest threats comes from above, so to the extent you’re making splash noises that remind them of birds, you may scare or spook away the fish you hope to catch.
Another reason I have mixed feelings about splash noises is because of direct experience, and one you probably have as well. Often, a bass will hit a lure the instant it hits the water. On the other hand, you’ve also probably seen the boil of a fish startling and fleeing from where you cast. It seems to matter on what they perceive the splash to be at any given moment – an opportunity, or danger.
To further complicate matters, there are certainly some lures, especially topwater ones like buzzbaits, that are deliberately designed to make a lot of noise and commotion on the surface. These lures work, and their splashes certainly don’t hurt. On the other hand, one of the main reasons folks pitch or flip lures is to minimize the splash they make when they enter the water.
Really, it’s a coin flip, but it’s one of those things you can control, so you should. Unless you’re specifically trying to ignite a reaction strike or feeding frenzy with splashing lures, I recommend disturbing the surface as little as possible. I wouldn’t add extra noise letting fish know you’re there and potentially spooking them if I could help it. Consider other methods of removing weeds from your lures than smacking them against the water!
How to Avoid Making Noise While Fishing
If you’re worried about noise scaring fish, you can take some easy and common sense steps to reduce the amount of sounds you make. Here are a few tips.
- Avoid motoring full blast into your fishing spot. Cut the motor well ahead and either drift into your targeted area or use your trolling motor. Note, you’ll have to balance this against the threat of someone else swooping in.
- Try not to drop things or stomp onto the floor. While talking or music is unlikely to scare fish, the sudden *THUMP* of your pliers banging onto the hull might. Remember, the hull is directly touching the water which means that sounds will transmit more easily from it.
- Remove weeds from your fishing lures by hand, rather than splashing the lure into the water. This will have the added benefit of letting your lures last longer as well, which is always a plus.
- Keep your trolling motor free from weeds. There are products which can help make a trolling motor weedless or semi-weedless. The less weeds there are on the motor, they less vibrations you’ll make and the lower the speed that will be required to move your boat forward.
- Make sure all your motors are securely attached to your boat to reduce vibrations and the sounds that come from them.
How Long Will Fish Stay Scared or Spooked By Noise?
There’s a phrase that works for fish as well as men: “life goes on.” While some sounds may spook fish or put them on edge for a bit, they need to eat eventually, so they’ll get over it. When I’ve motored into a particular rock point or such, I’ve sometimes found it takes a couple of minutes for the fishing to heat up, but if they’re there, it eventually does. You just need to allow the fish a chance to settle down and process what they heard, come to terms with it, and move on with their lives.
In Short, Try and Be Quiet, But Still Have Fun
Fishing is a sport filled with variables, many of which are beyond our control. How much noise we make is one of the few things we can control, so we should. While talking or playing music is unlikely to scare fish, clanging objects on your boat’s or blasting your motor right through your fishing spot can spook the fish you’re trying to catch. Do your best to stay stealthy while still having a fun time, and don’t worry too much if you scare a few fish away. There are more around. Trust me.
Thanks,
John Paxton
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