Matt_Magnone
11-25-2013, 05:23 PM
a lot of people read us all talking about noise on the water and i truly believe it doesnt sink it. its just as important as understanding the correlation between the world above the water line and that of below the surface. everything on the water works together. in the hopes of being more efficient on the lake, us anglers need to learn how to be less intrusive on the water. it starts by understanding noise. noise can be anything from loudly talking to the rev of an outboard. it could be throwing your pliers down on the deck to dropping a rod locker lid. believe me it all makes a difference. right now, the lake is being "chewed up" bad. its all about beating the next guy to a spot. case in point. the last day i was on the water i approached a spot and backed off 100yds upwind from the point and idled in. when i was double a long cast off the spot i shut the big motor down and dropped the trolling motor and let the wind blow me up to the target spot. all i use my trolling motor for is to make my course straight. i literally tap my motor left or right sparingly. once i hit the spot another boater noticed i was approaching and revved his boat up and headed my way. unknowingly his driving 20' off the shoreline was the demise to both of our fishing on the spot. having only had the chance to make 2 of 3 perfect casts across the spot, i picked the motor up and had to leave. what could have been, you never know and epic bite, was destined to end before it even had the chance to start up.
here's a passege from bill murphy talking about noise on the water. i thought it'd be nice for me to type it up for you guys to help you understand the "noise factor". bill murphy has impacted me life in fishing dramatically and a lot of his practices are what i do my best to emulate now on the water.
im sure you'll be amazed at the correlation between our lakes today and the so cal lakes in the 70's and 80's. life's a vicious cycle.
"as tournament popularity grew in the 70's and 80's, moving and hunting evolved into running and gunning. advancements in trolling motor designs and techniques allowed anglers to fish with remarkable speed and efficiency. fishing fast for active "biters" became commonly accepted as the best way to put bass in the boat. fast fishing influenced deep water fisherman as well. instead of working slowly and carefully from an anchored position, the new breed of bass anglers used trolling motors to get directly over a spot and fish vertically, or to follow contours and cast. after a few checks or passes along a drop off, if a spot failed to produce the angler would motor off to another spot in search of a biting bass.
fishing fast proved excellent for finding and catching bass quickly, but as more and more anglers discovered how to find prime areas, fishing pressure tripled in key spots. as a direct effect of this pressure, bass began getting harder to catch and in many cases, wouldn't respond to standard techniques. perceptive anglers who realized things were changing began staying away from the fish, making longer casts and took increasing measures not to spook the fish. trolling motor companies tell you their units are quiet and dont spook fish, and that may be true compared to large gas engines, but ive been anchored on spots in the middle of an excellent bite when someone came down a bank using a trolling motor on full throttle and their intrusion shut of the my fish instantly!
i believe lunker bass react to intrusions similar to the way birds scatter when disturbed. if a bunch of sparrows were feeding in your backyard and you walked out onto the back porch and scared them off, initially it looks like they all flew away, but most birds stay fairly close in the trees and bushes. if you sit down and remain quiet eventually most of the birds come back. when one sparrow flies down and cautiously resumes feeding, a few more come down, and in a matter of minutes dozens of birds are pecking and scratching just like before your intrusion.
big bass react to fishing pressure much the same way after you anchor and remain quiet, eventually the fish become as relaxed as before your intrusion and they begin feeding again as if you weren't even there. the first bite is often the hardest to get, but after one bite it often raises the awareness of other bass and it seems like one bite triggers another. you can look a spot over with a trolling motor or with the big engine running but it doesn't matter because either way your intrusion will disturb the more sensitive fish. but once you decide to fish a spot, you'd be wise to stop moving around and anchor in place. anchoring creates a natural atmosphere. the longer your boat remains in one spot the more of a familiar atmosphere it creates. consequently, if your boat is in one position long enough, the boat becomes part of the spot itself. the sounds you make become part of the natural environment of that particular spot. the bass are aware of your presence, but unless you make unusual noises or movements like banging a tackle box lid or scraping a rod tip, even the rhythmic sounds of waves slapping your boat will eventually seem natural to the fish and they will be relaxed and feed vigorously."
here's a passege from bill murphy talking about noise on the water. i thought it'd be nice for me to type it up for you guys to help you understand the "noise factor". bill murphy has impacted me life in fishing dramatically and a lot of his practices are what i do my best to emulate now on the water.
im sure you'll be amazed at the correlation between our lakes today and the so cal lakes in the 70's and 80's. life's a vicious cycle.
"as tournament popularity grew in the 70's and 80's, moving and hunting evolved into running and gunning. advancements in trolling motor designs and techniques allowed anglers to fish with remarkable speed and efficiency. fishing fast for active "biters" became commonly accepted as the best way to put bass in the boat. fast fishing influenced deep water fisherman as well. instead of working slowly and carefully from an anchored position, the new breed of bass anglers used trolling motors to get directly over a spot and fish vertically, or to follow contours and cast. after a few checks or passes along a drop off, if a spot failed to produce the angler would motor off to another spot in search of a biting bass.
fishing fast proved excellent for finding and catching bass quickly, but as more and more anglers discovered how to find prime areas, fishing pressure tripled in key spots. as a direct effect of this pressure, bass began getting harder to catch and in many cases, wouldn't respond to standard techniques. perceptive anglers who realized things were changing began staying away from the fish, making longer casts and took increasing measures not to spook the fish. trolling motor companies tell you their units are quiet and dont spook fish, and that may be true compared to large gas engines, but ive been anchored on spots in the middle of an excellent bite when someone came down a bank using a trolling motor on full throttle and their intrusion shut of the my fish instantly!
i believe lunker bass react to intrusions similar to the way birds scatter when disturbed. if a bunch of sparrows were feeding in your backyard and you walked out onto the back porch and scared them off, initially it looks like they all flew away, but most birds stay fairly close in the trees and bushes. if you sit down and remain quiet eventually most of the birds come back. when one sparrow flies down and cautiously resumes feeding, a few more come down, and in a matter of minutes dozens of birds are pecking and scratching just like before your intrusion.
big bass react to fishing pressure much the same way after you anchor and remain quiet, eventually the fish become as relaxed as before your intrusion and they begin feeding again as if you weren't even there. the first bite is often the hardest to get, but after one bite it often raises the awareness of other bass and it seems like one bite triggers another. you can look a spot over with a trolling motor or with the big engine running but it doesn't matter because either way your intrusion will disturb the more sensitive fish. but once you decide to fish a spot, you'd be wise to stop moving around and anchor in place. anchoring creates a natural atmosphere. the longer your boat remains in one spot the more of a familiar atmosphere it creates. consequently, if your boat is in one position long enough, the boat becomes part of the spot itself. the sounds you make become part of the natural environment of that particular spot. the bass are aware of your presence, but unless you make unusual noises or movements like banging a tackle box lid or scraping a rod tip, even the rhythmic sounds of waves slapping your boat will eventually seem natural to the fish and they will be relaxed and feed vigorously."