The thread about what to wear while fishing brought this up in my mind and I didn’t want to hijack the thread so I want to hear from everyone what they think about talking while fishing.
Some of you might not relate to this, but after what I considered a very skillful stalk on some feeding carp, and as I was about to do my first cast, a fellow comes up within feet of me and yells: Having any luck? Then fish immediantly went down in a wake of water movement. Not talking about some quiet talking on the streams, but full volume conversation or yelling to your partner 40 yards away. So what are your thoughts?
When I was learning to dive it was pointed out to us how well sound travels in water. As far as fishing goes I believe you want to keep the sound at normal levels, if the fish are used to people walking by, kids yelling etc it probably has less effect than on a stream or lake with little noise.
I put a carpet on the floor of my boat to reduce the noise. I put graphite lubricant on the oarlocks so they don’t squeel. Try to move about as little as possible in the boat. If I can make a cast sitting down I do so instead of standing up waving my rod back and forth.
If wanted to scare a fish I would wave my arms in the air. Perhaps I would throw a rock into the water.
Casting is really just waving your arm in the air.
Throwing out the anchor is the same as throwing a rock at the fish.
In a boat If I am upwind I like to drift to the spot I have selected then gently lower the anchors. I have had guys come out in the boat with me and make a huge event out of tossing the anchor noisily into the water.
If you are quiet and make as few movements as possible I am convinced you will scare less fish and catch more.
Sadly the great unwashed ( non fisherpersons ) do not know they are doing wrong by yelling at you. Mostly they are just being friendly. Stupid to be sure but friendly.
Sound travels well in water, but not from air to water. I believe the difference is in the density of the fluids. Normal talking shouldn’t have much of an effect.
My guess is the carp saw the guy vs. hearing him. Unless he maybe heard the guy stomping up.
You need to develope the habit of talking out loud to yourself …
That way folks will be inclined to kinda keep their distance from you; there will be no more surprises! And those fish will just take it in stride, they’ll hear you coming from afar off and just be accustomed to your comings and goings.
Talking to your self is silly. Everyone knows you only should be talking to the fish and then only after they are caught so you can introduce yourself, ask what they are doing being so small and biting your fly.
The surface of the water acts as a barrier to sound that is produced in the air. Next time you’re at a public pool, and there’s kids yelling and such, put your head under water. The sound is muffled to a huge extent.
However, sound that is produced under the water, like clicking two rocks on the riverbed together, travels really really well. And, sounds you make on the bank, like dropping that stone you just checked for nymphs, can travel through the ground and out under the river and transmit into the water quite well.
Talking like a clod isn’t a problem, but walking and wading like one? Well, that’s a different story.
I’ve read a few trout fishing books where the fellows talk about firing a shotgun over a pool and not scaring the fish. But, to be sure, I’ve never tried this myself.
I agree. I grew up with a swimming pool and lots of screaming kids in (and out) of it. If I was underwater I could not hear anything from those out of the water. I would think this is especially true of streams and rivers where the water is making its own noise to mask the noise of airborne sounds.
Gary
I think comparing human hearing in a noisey pool compared to how a fish with a lateral line senses sounds might be a mistake. Yes, I believe that running water helps, but I have seen many instances of fish reacting to noise only.
You can catch fish talking or even yelling, but you would probably catch more if you didn’t. There is definately degrees of this. On a calm body of water that is very quiet, it might be one way. Fishing the rapids, next to a hwy bridge in a park with many people walking around and talking would probably we something else altogether.
I read a study on walleye, where divers would pick up rocks from the bottom and hit them together. Walleye would “show up out-of-nowhere”, apparently curious or attracted to the sound.
Maybe that type of sound mimics (on a larger scale, of course), the sound of a crayfish’s exoskeleton tapping on the rocks as it moves around?
I doubt if sound travels that well from: air to water and then thru water. But it travels very well from water thru water.
We have a swimming pool and you can’t hear the stereo speakers or people around the pool under water. But you can hear a dime tapped on the ladder very well!!
I say it depends on the fish and the enviroment…I fish the saltwaterflats a lot…I have seen many fish spooked by bad boaters/ultralite airplanes/kayakers/military jets/clouds/birds and once even by my buddy letting one rip:D…these fish are smart but noise only concerns them if it is out of place…I have a buddy who is a fulltime fisherman/crabber…he works his crab pots several days a week…he is very loud and doesnt even try to be quiet…he even pulls right up to my canoe while running the motor and throwing things around…when he takes off he throws a roostertail and his pots are everywhere…once hes in the crabpot zone he stops every 30 seconds…point is, everytime he does this the fish are not far behind…hes like a pied pipper…they follow his loud stinky boat without failure and never more than 2 pots behind him…while hes talking to me they will even come within casting range while we are talking over the noise…I am talking bones/permit/tarpon…I have used this method all winter long and without him showing I have doubts to the fish showing up…I caught 80% of all my fish since Dec07 from following him…even the sawfish I got was less than 5 minutes from him leaving…he was still in sight when I hooked up
On a lake or the flats, sound will carry a long distance because the water is not moving at any real speed. On that type of water I would suggest whispers and hand signals, especially if you are stalking a fish. However, as pointed out, what will make the most noise or disturbance will be your feet kicking around on rocks or something you drop.
On a fairly fast moving river or stream, talking is of far less concern. All those round pebbles were created by the rocks rolling and rubbing together, caused by the very powerful force of the water. All of that debris that is tumbling downstream is being knocked and banged around. That type of water has many distracters or white noise that the fish are always hearing and feeling. Normal talking should not penetrate that type of environment. However, if you find a great looking backwash with slow water, then care must be used.
When our ancestors crawled out of the water and became land animals they developed a middle ear to make up for the impedance between sound traveling in water vs air…worth about 30 decibels.
I have determined that talking to myself when other people are around vastly increases the size of my personal space on the water, which leads to less competition and more fish. Duck decoys and a shotgun have much the same effect, but are harder to carry and sometimes difficult to explain. In July, for instance.
I go fishing to get away from the noise and chatter I deal with all week. I don’t need to talk. I have a few people that AI will not fish with again becasue they could never stop talking.
Sound in air travels at approximately 1130 feet/second.
Sound in water travels at approximately 1500 yards/second with variances dependant on temperature, salinity and pressure.
Normal conversation above the water will normally not affect fish.
Any activity that causes soundwaves IN THE WATER can significantly affect fish.
For example, a pocket radio in your pocket may not have any effect. The same radio placed on the metal floor of a boat may have a significant effect.
—sagefisher—