Does lifting a line off the water cause noise that puts down fish?

[randyflycaster]

In the current edition of Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide Lefty Kreh writes that lifting the line, even a foot of it, off the water will cause noise underwater that will put down fish. He recommends, therefore, retrieving line so that only the leader is lifted off the water.

This idea is new to me. Any thoughts?

Randy

[DUB]

I think it's a valid point. We are always talking about fish having phd's when it comes to fly patterns, but rarely do we talk about their education in sounds.

I think trout, especially heavily pressured trout associate sounds to danger. Be it walking along the water crunching gravel, lifting the fly line off the water, and even talking to a friend.

When fishing by myself I have caught as many as a dozen trout out of one small hole. When with a buddy, and we start cheering after the first couple of fish, the fishing usually dies down. It doesnt happen all the time that way, but enough to raise an eyebrow.

So yes, I would have to agree with Lefty.

These are just my opinions, I have zero proof to back any of it up.

[JohnScott]

... on the situation.

But generally, I would agree that ripping a fly line off the water will likely put down some, if not all, the fish in the immediate area. The softer the water, the more likely that will happen, the rougher the water, the less likely.

Regardless of the situation, I do take care to not make any more commotion with the fly line than is absolutely necessary, and consistently let it drift downstream as far as possible, including letting it swing in below my position, before starting to lift it. I'd rather have fewer casts over the course of the day, and probably increase the prospects of catching some fishies by taking a bit more time between casts.

I have seen people pick up a fly, ripping the line off the water, and cast back immediately to the same spot, or very close to it. That usually makes me cringe and laugh at the same time. Can't say I have observed that often enough or closely enough to figure out if it makes a difference in the catching department for them, but I do think they are stacking the deck against themselves.

John

[CoachBob]

Depends on the fish.
Trout are as everything shy as is possible for fish to get.
Bass don't care and are attracted to noise.
Large panfish don't care enough to leave for more than a few seconds.
Redfish and speckled trout (sea trout) don't care and are attracted to noise.

[thorarinna]

If the fish get put down, how long time does it take for them to become active feeders again?

Thorarinn

[Silver Creek]

In the current edition of Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide Lefty Kreh writes that lifting the line, even a foot of it, off the water will cause noise underwater that will put down fish. He recommends, therefore, retrieving line so that only the leader is lifted off the water.

This idea is new to me. Any thoughts?

Randy

My question is how does one NOT lift the line off of the water? Even if I reel the line in, doesn't the line "lift" off the water to get only the leader ON the water? Secondly, if the line you retrieved is at you feed in the water, it is "lifted" off of the water when you cast again.

It sounds like hyperbole to emphasize that some sounds can spook fish in some circumstances. I suggest going back to videos of Lefty Kreh actually fishing. I'll give you 10 to 1 that most often he does not reel in all the line before casting again. It just wastes too much fishing time. He means to get the line away from the fish you are fishing to so you won't spook them when you recast.

Does Lefty really lift all the line out of the water before recasting?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwyckWvMadk

[Chuck S]

I'm betting that Lefty has it right and under actual fishing conditions adjusts his cast to prevent the spooking of fish. By the way this isn't a new idea as I believe I first read it in the study materials for the Masters test with the FFF, as well as many other places and have known about it for years. Has a lot to do with the species, the pressure, the cast itself, whether or not the water is moving, and much, much more. A line curving off to the right or left of the casting line will tend to make more noise than a line that's straightened out first. A long length of line will increase the ripping sound over a shorter length with all else equal.

[Uncle Jesse]

In my bald ole noggin it would be very difficult to truly determine what sound attract wild fish in a stream and what sounds spook them. The B.A.S.S. folks or some of their acquaintances did a study years along about outboard motors, etc., they found the sound of the outboard props and exhaust actually attracted fish under some circumstances but the sound of the trolling motor spooked them. Some of bass fishermen's favorite lures are very noisy, rattletraps are full of BB's, buzzbaits churn the water, I still have one that is tuned for the blade to nick the wire and make additional noise, jitterbugs, they even add rattles to plastic worms.

Trout on smooth water are pretty finicky most the time. If I see a trout rising I will surely let the line float downstream past it before picking the line up again. Picking the line up is going to cause some vibration, which equals sound. The vibratin should typically be slight and die out before traveling very far. I would suspect the movement of the line would cause more fish to disappear than the sound. Drop your forceps in the bottom of an aluminum boat, that will spook fish about everytime.

[Bobinmich]

I was much smarter back in my younger years. Thought I knew everything until one of my fishing buddies showed me a little trick for this situation. If you let the fly drift a little past where the fish rose, then pull back a little line with the rod tip and make a sharp little forward cast like you would in a roll cast, the whole fly line and fly will pop straight up out of the water with relatively little noise and you can execute a normal back cast with the line never touching the water. It's cute, try it next time you have a chance. You will not spook fish that may be lying close.

Bob

[Silver Creek]

Bob,

Depending on the angle you flip the rod, you can even bring the fly right back at you. It generates a wave down the line and lifts the fly into the air. See this trick Gary Borger showed me. PS this does spook the fish!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kIMVKEiF7I