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| I have an older motor guide trolling motor on my 17' deep v and the trolling motor when you turn directions it makes like a kinda loud noise like if you can imagine a robot moving. So I'm wondering if that has any bearing on when I raise a fish it to never take the lure. I don't turn the trolling motor if there is one following, but if I hear it must transmit to the water n fish might stay away from that noise?n its kinda loud out of the water maybe the fish still hears it n gets spooked? Does anyone else's do that or have advice? |
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Posts: 2326
Location: Chisholm, MN | I turn it off everytime the bait gets close to the boat. They for sure can hear it and it scares them away most of the time in my opinion. |
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | Yes, I've seen them spook fish on many, many occasions. |
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| hows is that a trolling motor can scare them. but when your trolling they can darn near chew on your prop and not spook. |
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Posts: 2326
Location: Chisholm, MN | Who knows? But they definitely hate the sound of a minn kota! |
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| you even turn it off on windy days when boat control is tough every time the bait gets close? |
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Posts: 574
| I think the on/ off gets their attention... I leave it on, or try to leave it off.. But I won't turn it on or off with a bait approaching the boat..
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Posts: 531
| I have had fish hit my trolling motor prop before, but I have also had fish spook away from it... |
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Posts: 572
Location: Maplewood, MN | My trolling motor broke down the first day of the season, I have gone all season without a trolling motor and I feel that I am fishing stealthy. I never like fishing with people who run it constantly or move quickly with one. Sure it sucks when the wind doesn't favor your fishing spots but I feel as though I've moved more fish not using it. jmo |
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Posts: 243
| I ask myself the same thing all the time. Have caught fish on the 8 with my foot on the trolling motor and have had a lot turn off at the boat. Really haven't noticed any difference either way, but one of the best musky guys I know takes his foot off and shuts it down the second half of every cast.
If a fish is really hot, I don't think it matters much. Probably a lot of variables, including average boat traffic on the lake, water clarity, etc. |
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Posts: 2326
Location: Chisholm, MN | If its windy I do tend to leave it on more but I move the boat when the bait is out of the water or far away from the boat for the most part. Its a lot harder in the wind though but i think with all the waves making noise it may not matter as much. |
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Posts: 43
| I had a mid 40s tuck up behind my trolling motor propeller as it was spinning at about 50%. That fish stayed there until my partner brought his lure past it. It then chased his lure a couple times thru the figure 8 before leaving. I am a firm believer to leave it on or off and that the act of turning it on or off is probably what scares the fish. |
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Posts: 253
Location: On the water | Like sixdeuces said, retrieved a lure, do an L and start another cast when I see a ski right under the trolling motor, dropped the lure back into the water and caught a 37 incher. I've had fish run into the boat trying to get a bait, and have prop washed trolled a few feet from the prop and caught fish. In my opinion I don't it matters. Good Luck, Tom |
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Posts: 546
Location: MN | This summer I actually "ran over" a fish that was sunning its self. that definately spooked it |
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Posts: 177
| Like others have said the trolling motor spooks them but my prop for my 200 merc at 5mph attracts them still can't figure that one out |
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Posts: 531
Location: Hugo, MN | Who cares? What are you gonna start fishing from a sailboat? Generally, if a fish follows in while the trolling motor is running, I'll leave it on. I've spooked more fish by suddenly turning it off when they're boatside. Now, if we see a fish coming from a good distance out, I kill the motor. I don't feel like it has cost me many fish, but on the flipside, using my trolling motor to maintain good boat position has accounted for a ton of fish. You've gotta take the good with the bad sometimes. |
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| Well, I messed up and didnt buy the Biggest trolling motor I could afford at the time ( And I been told numerous times to buy the biggest I can afford) so my trolling motor is basically usless when it's really windy, but back to the question, I think It does spook them, I've seen it time and time again from fishing in back of the boat that upon a muskie doing a close follow ,The guy in front hits the trolling motor and the Muskie does an about face and dissappears, So Thats my Opinion on it and I keep off the motor while reeling in my lure. |
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Posts: 1289
Location: WI | I had a follow turn and snuggle up to the trolling motor shaft. Good vibrations I guess. I think it's a non-issue. Maybe in clear water or high fishing pressured waters it might make a difference. If it squeeks, oil it!
Prop wash either from the trolling motor, or main motor creates current and turmoil. The perfect situation for a predator to scoop up an easy meal. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | I'm sure a trolling motor can spook fish. There's no doubt they know it's there, can hear/feel it making noise. But I really don't think it bothers them. If they can hear a tube being twitched through the water, what does a 17 foot boat sound like moving through the water - trolling motor or not? Can't tell me they don't hear that too. I always run into the wind for better control, and I've never felt like it hurt me. The fish the followed and spooked going into the figure 8 I credit more to myself moving too much, herky jerky movements, or something else. I figure the better boat control having the motor on catches more fish than the one here and there it might spook. Turning the motor off or on with a fish sighted is something I would avoid though.
As far as turning the motor - I'm not sure if I have ever had to do that with a fish following. I guess I would not try to turn the boat during a figure 8 if I could help it, mostly due to scaring the fish from boat movement more than the noise a powerdrive makes when turning, but you never know!
Tucker |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | My previous positioning motor was a auto pilot that was continually clicking to adjust and I had numerous large fish just hammer it and shake the whole boat. This has not happened with my current motor. 30 years ago I had a little Shakespere electric that had a red prop that was struck several times. I leave my positioning motor on constantly at the slowest speed that will work in the conditions and with the way sound travels under water I don't think turning off half way through the cast would make much difference. I do some small stream fishing and some fish turn off at the sight of a soundless canoe. If we had all the answers would it be any fun. |
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| I guess ill give shutting the trolling motor off a try. I fish stained, shallow, heavily pressured waters, so I'm thinkin any advantage I can get would help me out. But I have fish turned away the second I see them. N its hard to hold back the excitement but I do it pretty well n try n do a easy fluid quite figure eight. But the trolling motor is the only thing I can think of why day after day ill raise fish n they dissappear as soon as I see them. N I mentioned the water has like 2' visibility at best so I cant see them coming unfilled they are there. It jus getting frusturating |
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Posts: 829
Location: Maple Grove, MN | I'm not sure if it matters much on the waters I fish. I often have Muskies tuck in behind my auto-pilot trolling motor and follow along. Last weekend, I had six Muskies at one time just following along under the boat behind the trolling motor. I felt like the Pied-Piper. Every now and then one of them would come up and follow the lure on the figure-8 and then go back down. Not sure if it was the shade or the trolling motor that was attracting them, but one Muskie really seemed to like the trolling motor and followed along for a good hundred yards.
It seems that anything will spook the fish on some days and nothing will on others. Sometimes the fish come in hard and fast without any regard to anything but the lure and other times they seem spooked just by the boat. Not sure how to fix that problem. Maybe paint the boat to look like the sky?
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Posts: 11
| The only thing I've found that REALLY scares the muskies is when I wear a zombie mask... gets em EVERY time!
Edited by Stine Ball 9/19/2011 3:22 PM
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Posts: 531
Location: Hugo, MN | The answers provided here only prove one thing: It "sometimes" matters, but "sometimes"doesn't. Nothing in fishing is true 100% of the time. Take measures to be reasonably stealth in every aspect and you'll catch more fish. You still won't catch every following fish. Then again, what fun would that be? |
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Posts: 661
Location: Roscoe IL | I can remember on Pewaukee last Fall, we had the TM on Auto Pilot working a shorline at a pretty good clip, and the CD player blasting Led Zepplin so loud you could see the ripples coming off the side of the boat from the soundwaves. We got 3 that day on suckers just beneath the boat. When they are are on they are on. Next day you couldn't buy a fish no matter what you did or didn't do. |
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