stay quiet and catch more fish.

[Matt_Magnone]

took some video yesterday that i hope will put things in perspective for some of you guys getting more and more into bass fishing. most guys with boats already know but as i stated before, this is for the guy thats new and may not get the overall picture yet.

a lot of people think i'm out of my mind when i talk about a stealth entry into a zone i want to fish. it sounds crazy? doesnt it? no not really if you think about it. if you take your time and enter the fish's environment on a more natural plane you'll be amazed at the life that will surround you. you'll see fish cruising, birds working and if you get lucky will see wildlife on the bank that you wouldnt ordinarily see if you peel into a cove with music blaring, trolling motor dropping and compartments clanking. it simply isnt natural. its amazing how the littlest things can upset the natural environment. we all think that if we put the trolling motor on low that we're being "quiet". in actuality the trolling motor is EXTREMELY noisy. after screwing around with some underwater video, i've found it downright repelling. if i was a fish and heard that, i would move straight for my deep water safety zone. now think about when you pull up on a fish and notice that as soon as you get in a zone where you can spot them, they haul butt out to deepwater? was it that they could see you? sure why not? or was it because noise was the factor. im sure of it!

when the fish finder is on does it make any noise? most people think "no not at all". in actuality there is a low frequency tick that is audible and if you put your hand to the base of the transducer you can feel it . thinking about the underwater world. what ticks constantly and puts out a pulse? nada. why not go quiet?

i came down the bank yesterday throwing a ripbait catching fish here and there and came across a flat. went to grab a rod out of the rod locker to rig up a bait and allowed the boat to drift into the brush on the bank. i sat there for 4 or 5 minutes dialing in the bait and glanced over the side of the boat. schools of bass were swimming around without a care in the world. my boat became part of their natural environment. no noise, unecessary vibrations, or visual distraction to make a fish wary.

my brain started turning and it hit me, the bass were using my boat as a kill zone. a hard edge to ambush prey. way cool to see! what were they eating? what were they ambushing? on the shady side of the boat being careful not to cast an unnecessary shade line, i put my head out and looked under and saw fry. they were using the shade my boat created as a safe zone to hunker under. and bulk together. i went straight scientific and started tapping on the boat to see what i could do to make them spook or scatter. its amazing what little noise can do to upset the natural environment. while i'm doing this, the bass had spread out. i sat for a bit and waited for them to get back into a school and a little bit later here they came again. most were 12" some were 3 pounds. the larger fish sat out deep wary; the young of the year were up in the mess. they would just swim in formation around the boat wanting to take charge of the easy meal.

i crawled back to the back deck and got my go pro down from the pedestal. i lowered it into the water and started filming. i made sure to go slow and actually show what i was describing. what you'll see is the fry taking residence under the boat a small school wolf packing and then fish teaming up keeping the ball of bait together in the background. they constantly circle the bait keeping them in a tight knit ball.

keep your noise to a minimum and use the drift factor and without a doubt you'll find yourself catching more fish and witnessing things most people will call you a liar about. happens to me all the time. i see things on this lake and often get into fish that im constantly thought as "just talking".

check the video out. nothing nuts, but a little amateur glimpse into the underwater world. stoked i got to see it.

http://youtu.be/IZLy4PzLXrc

[DoubleTrouble]

Cool video Matt!

[P.A.W.]

.....soooo true! Great timing on this vid Matt, wth the stripers starting to boil. I see guys getting excited and running right into the middle of a boil fish finder on and wondering what happened when the fish all go deep as soon as they get there. And that sport radio talk show playing through your built-in speakers is broadcasting through the hull too.

[Santa Fe Eric]

Very cool! I just learned a lot.
Thanks Matt

SFE

[Cartman]

Thanks for the cool video and very interesting post. Sound carries like crazy under the water.

[Geraldlim]

Nice vid. Matt, if you notice, the video is blurry. Not your fault, it's because the standard housing with dome port goes out of focus when underwater. To get sharp videos underwater you need the new GoPro dive housing with flat lens - $50 at GoPro. Or you can add an aftermarket flat port for $10-30 but most aftermarket flat lenses cause vignetting (cut/blacken the corners of the video).

[Matt_Magnone]

Nice vid. Matt, if you notice, the video is blurry. Not your fault, it's because the standard housing with dome port goes out of focus when underwater. To get sharp videos underwater you need the new GoPro dive housing with flat lens - $50 at GoPro. Or you can add an aftermarket flat port for $10-30 but most aftermarket flat lenses cause vignetting (cut/blacken the corners of the video).

heck yeah! i totally forgot about that. i remember you told me about that last year. i just started trying to do underwater stuff. definitely gonna buy that dive housing. thanks man!

[murphy]

As a shore guy, I hope this encourages the boaters to ease more into the spots I'm close to. Nice vid btw

[skunkmaster]

Cool vid. It's amazing to see all the life down there!