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View Full Version : Boat Noise and Barra



BR65
19-11-2009, 08:57 PM
OK, first up, Im a stealth freak. I hate the sound of the steering motor on the electric, the squek of the chair drives me insane, and if another boat comes with in 50 meters - well, Im aint happy Jan!

So, how come the boy smacked a nice fish from the bank 5 minutes after a 40HP and a 50 HP were both throttled at noise to beach the boats?
How come a metery was hit 2 cranks in, after i motored into a snag pile.
How come one of the spots I have been succesfully fishing the last couple of trips sees more boat trafic than the local ramp.
How come I hear stories of barra being taken at the dirt ramp at Monduran. Ive personally seen platypuss swimming at that dirt ramp!
Are these fish becoming immune to noise?
Am I only seeing the dumb fish that stayed, and not the majority of fish that fled?
Interested in others thoughts on this one.

cheers
brian

tiges
19-11-2009, 09:29 PM
Same and same Brian. Always do my best to be as stealth as possible, but have seen similar scenarios.

Last time I was at Mondy, saw a couple of guys motor up full blast towards a bank. Pull up abruptly, put their lures out, and hook up before the boat had moved 20m.

Seen it happen too many times to be coincidence. One theory I've got is that there is a number of fish in the area at the time. Perhaps some of these fish are startled, and move or react, and some of the other fish misinterpret this as the trigger of a feeding period.

Which takes us onto another topic. Fooling or triggering the fish into thinking a feeding period has started.

PNG1M
19-11-2009, 10:01 PM
Mate, if your a stealth freak maybe you shouldn't stay at Suki Lodge in PNG to go after black bass & barra...

We caught loads but it wasn't due to the stealth factor (unless we were drifting & casting).

The available motors were well used and noisy - little or zero maintenance - usually 2 strokes with a wringing tinny sound, rattling away (brrrrang-a-tang-tang-tang) with blue smoke and oil slicks surrounding each motor.

At times it was a struggle for the motors to idle smoothly enough for a slow troll. They'd generally conk out or at least break down at least a few times each trip and they were high on the list of grievances when having our fishing club trip 'de-briefs'.

But we did catch plenty of fish. I think though - if the motors were quieter we'd've caught plenty more.

robersl
20-11-2009, 06:52 AM
Hi Brian Think about it mate they hear noise all the time they get used to it look at the trollers in the basin all in a line going over and over the same spot as they do in the rivers yet the boat in the middle will pull the fish i think in some cases stealth helps but not in all cases but i can not hurt i was with gunna up the first cattle yards in winter we hit a stick next minute fish were going every where pete cast out and was straight on but got bricked you had the guys at the muster haveing barra swim straight at the boat so no ryme or reason to it

shane

gav73
20-11-2009, 09:53 AM
Im a bit of a stealth freak and on a hot day at Faust tied up to a snag jumping in and out of the boat(2 boats). Got back in the boat electriced about 20m and landed a 114cm barra. I have a mate that has his stereo roaring(you hear him before you see him) and he catches plenty . Don't know what goes on under the water but long as they chase my lure down first. Cheers Gav

Peter4
20-11-2009, 11:17 AM
I think a fair bit depends on the mood of the fish and the time of year. In October 2007 in south B at Mondy the fish were chewin' there heads off despite over 40 boats in the area (water level was 18%).

No-one was being stealthy, trollers were working hard and travelling boats were roaring through. We watched many within 100m of us pulling fish regularly....

Almost a year to the day in October 2008, same area, we were quietly sneaking into a bay under electric power and spooked a heap of fish with the steering noise of the leccy. Not another boat in sight. Didn't manage a single bite that day...

King_Kong
20-11-2009, 11:26 AM
The fish must just get use to boat traffic, look at Somerset Dam , skiers going passed at 500 miles an hour and you still hook up, Mick8-)

warrior
20-11-2009, 06:55 PM
i think it comes down to the barras atitude on the day ,stealth saturday morn no fish ,saturday arvo pushed thru lillies spooked a few fish out next 30 minutes landed 3 in same area, as one other fella mentioned i think its a feeding trigger at times hardest part it to work out when to use it

aussiebasser
20-11-2009, 07:33 PM
I'm a stereo up sort of person. Sudden loud noises are a different thing.

BR65
21-11-2009, 07:51 AM
'Basser, was that you on Creek to Coast or similar a ways back, trolling with AC/DC blasting on the boat radio?

NAGG
21-11-2009, 09:57 AM
:-/
The fish must just get use to boat traffic, look at Somerset Dam , skiers going passed at 500 miles an hour and you still hook up, Mick8-)

BASS ....... silly fish ::)

Watched Matty Mott with stereo blasting smack em & win comp

However - I'm yet to see a consistent barra angler do that :-/

Chris

Steve B
23-11-2009, 10:16 AM
'Basser, was that you on Creek to Coast or similar a ways back, trolling with AC/DC blasting on the boat radio?


Yeah I remember that episode too Brian..was that you Dale, if so it was pretty cool!:D

As for stealth. I remember some words from Johnny Mitchell here on this subject a few years back, to the effect of ' you might catch a fish after a big racket, but you will never know how many others you spook prior to that fish...there may have been 3 times as many fish available for the taking before the noise'....or a similar message.

or Brians words from the similar thread ' make as much noise as you like, just do it quietly'!!

Stealth is required full stop...especially in the pressured dams.

Pete, I remember that weekend well hey!! it was amazing....but Mondy has changed MASSSSIVELY since then!!!!

Cheers Steve

woolybugger
23-11-2009, 01:45 PM
Fish are like woman, if you can work them out you will be a millionaire!

I agree with fish moods etc, again if you nag the wife continuously, she will give in eventually. Fish hear and live with boats all the time and get customised to a degree. One of my hottest Saratoga sessions, I caught around 20 within an hour and a half and boats were continuously driving past at speed.

However your chances are steadily increased when everything is on your side i.e. stealth. I have caught many! more fish than my fellow fisher, weuse the same techniques and fish the same areas, the only difference is that I am a stealth freak and he isn't.

aussiebasser
23-11-2009, 06:04 PM
'Basser, was that you on Creek to Coast or similar a ways back, trolling with AC/DC blasting on the boat radio?

Yep, that was me in my old Hornet with Martin Bowerman. The Stratos has a better stereo.

BR65
23-11-2009, 06:09 PM
Yep, that was me in my old Hornet with Martin Bowerman. The Stratos has a better stereo.


You had it cranking that trip, good viewing.

BR65
24-11-2009, 10:31 PM
As for stealth. I remember some words from Johnny Mitchell here on this subject a few years back, to the effect of ' you might catch a fish after a big racket, but you will never know how many others you spook prior to that fish...there may have been 3 times as many fish available for the taking before the noise'....or a similar message.


Cheers Steve


Yeah, remember that Steve, and like a lot of barra tragics, it drives that insiduous internal voice that demands absolute silence whilst I lure cast a bay.

I spose where I was going with this is are the fish becoming immune to day to day noise?
If the fish move, following bait, water conditions etc, there would be no stable popultion in an area to become acustomed to day to day traffic, so the fish from these noisey areas are potentially "fresh" fish?