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Posted

Hi Guys,

This question may of had been asked before but anyway here we go,

I am interested to hear who keeps their sounders on whilst anchored and fishing in shallow water such as Sydney harbour?

I always turn my sounder off while at anchor but have never really tried fishing at anchor with the sounder on as i fear it will scare the fish off. I run a 620 furuno with a 600 watt tranny.

Just curious on other peoples thoughts?

Cheers

Squidking

Posted

Hi Squidking

That is an interesting question I allways leave mine on and in the bait grounds the fish still seem to stay arround the boat however I have noticed the noise it makes under the water while I was swimming near the boat one day I would also be interested in what others think

Arked

Posted

I have heard that the sound it puts out is like a dolphin and scares the fish but its probably an urban myth.

whenever i fish out of my mates boat he leaves it on and we still seem to get fish most times, but out of frustration I have turned it off when the fishing is quiet and the fishing always remains quiet.

Does it affect the fishing? in my humble opinion NO.

Posted

I leave mine off. I ran a charter in Nz for 8 years and every time a boat came past with their sounder on the snapper would go off the bite for 10-15 minutes. A good way to stuff someone who anchored too close, put sounder on full and work up their berly trail.

The ping sent down by the transducer affects the lateral line on a lot of fish.

The only time I left mine on was and is when drifting as you are not bombarding the fish with the ping. Try swimming under the boat when the sounder is on. Even thick skinned people can feel the shocks hitting the skin. Let alone a sensitive fish.

Cheers Rowan

Posted

I've heard this might be the case, and I had a similar situation a few weeks back..sort of. My sounder is always on, but the bait tank pump had some sand in it one day while gathering yakkas at balmoral, on a day when they were little shy, and it was making a grinding noise. Each time I switched it on, the bite went right off, and when off, after 5 mins and some more burley, right back on again. This is in an area normally frequented by boats and people, so noise surely has some effect. Obviously this is different to the sounder noise, which as i said is always on, but that time it made a difference.

As for sounder noise, I can't say i've experimented quite enough to give an informed opinion, but I imagine it would have have some effect.

Dave

Posted (edited)

Its an interesting topic, especially Kiwis dans comment on the his charter.

I have caught all my big snapper in shallow water (35 feet ) at anchor and always with the sounder on

and have bagged out on small snapper (38cm - 60cm) whilst do the same.

And every snapper charter I've been on never turns of the sounder (just the GPS :) ) when your at anchor

All I know is when I got my first hummingbird 100 sounder I caught more fish

When I got my Lowrance X125 i caught even more fish

If a fish has been scared off by my sounder - well, theres always going to be one that gets away,

and I can make up a better excuse than "it was my sounder" :1prop:

Having said that, I'm not using US Military spec, weapons grade, able to belly up whales

on a single pass sounder.

One thing I do take note of though - on the American Pro Bass fishing circuit, where the top guys

make seven figures in winnings and sponsorship, they always have there sounders on, even the guys

not sponsored by marine electronics companies.

if it gave these guys a 1% advantage over their competitors they would probably do it.

Jason

Edited by PPSGT
Guest Big-Banana
Posted

It's a rubbish theory. A complete myth IMO.

Posted

One thing I do take note of though - on the American Pro Bass fishing circuit, where the top guys

make seven figures in winnings and sponsorship, they always have there sounders on, even the guys

not sponsored by marine electronics companies.

if it gave these guys a 1% advantage over their competitors they would probably do it.

Jason

They aren't really fishing directly under their boat though

Posted

Hi squid king ,

I run the same sounder as you , I always turn mine off when fishing for Jewfish or Snapper anchored . Only reason i do this is because a few guys that profish swore that it would put the fish, Jewfish or Snapper off the Bite .

Cheers Dogtooth :1fishing1: ..... John.... :beersmile:

Posted (edited)

Here's a worthwille read regarding sonars...... But turning your sounder off will only work if using a GENUINE 600 watt plus sounder ...

Also im sure you have heard your transducer make clicking noises . As with all sounders they work off the size of the fishes swim bladder , the bigger the fish , the bigger the swim bladder and the more it is affected by your sounder.... So if your chasing Giant jews or Huge reds you dont need your sounder on while your anchored . . Your not going anywhere...

http://www.physorg.com/news102869243.html

Cheers John... :1fishing1:

Edited by dogtooth
Posted

Hi guys,

Some interesting replies so far.

I also think that it depends on what kind of fishing that you do as to what affect the sounder might have,

example if you are luring from your boat or casting weighted baits away from the boat that will have a differance as to fishing directly under the boat as you would for kings.

I have caught all my jewies and kings when my sounder is off but then again i switch it off 95% of the time when anchored.

Regards

Squidking

Posted
As with all sounders they work off the size of the fishes swim bladder.

Sorry John but that is not true at all.

It is a very common misconception but it is baseless.

Sonar works on reflection, a signal is sent and the computer interprets that signals return. That returned signal has nothing to do with swim bladders it is all about time and distance of objects that are in the path of the signal.

Sharks don't have swim bladders but I am sure a decent sounder would pick up a 80kg Mako under your boat.

To the original point, I don't think I have ever turned mine off.. :biggrin2:

:thumbup:

Posted

Sharks don't have swim bladders but I am sure a decent sounder would pick up a 80kg Mako under your boat.

:thumbup:

As you mentioned, very interesting topic.

I, as far as I can recall, always leave the electronics on. (To ensure you have not dragged the anchor and moved off your structure)

The shark issue is quite relevant, when fishing the reefs in tropical Australia. Sharks always seem to come around the boat when fishing depths of 20 metres or less. The bite goes off immediately after the first Reef Shark is caught. I always thought this was due to the sharks presence as the fish go into defensive mode.

Maybe it could have something to do with the sounder.

Would definately like to hear from a qualified person on this subject, that's for sure.

Cheers

Mariner

Posted
The shark issue is quite relevant, when fishing the reefs in tropical Australia. Sharks always seem to come around the boat when fishing depths of 20 metres or less. The bite goes off immediately after the first Reef Shark is caught. I always thought this was due to the sharks presence as the fish go into defensive mode.

Maybe it could have something to do with the sounder.

Cheers

Mariner

Carl.

if the fish are there and your electronics are on then an apex predator shows up and the fish bugger off I wouldn't blame it on the electronics.

:biggrin2:

Posted (edited)

Heres another intresting read.....

As for sharks if you have ever cut one open there livers are very huge and floats so yes you will pick up sharks with your sounder.....

Agreed mate.

The reasons sharks float is the high level of oil in their liver, it is their buoyancy system.

However, the liver of a shark or a swim bladder on a bream is not what makes a sounder work.

If I shaped a Bream out of concrete and dragged it through your sonar cone you would see it, swim bladder or not :)

:thumbup:

Edited by Robbielites
Posted

Agreed mate.

The reasons sharks float is the high level of oil in their liver, it is their buoyancy system.

However, the liver of a shark or a swim bladder on a bream is not what makes a sounder work.

If I shaped a shark out of concrete and dragged it through your sonar cone you would see it, swim bladder or not :)

:thumbup:

I agree that you will see a concrete block but , sounders work off fishes swim bladders and if your using a colour unit , fish will show up differently depending on the size of there swim bladders. . Have a look at the previous links posted . . . I am able to watch a soft plastic dropped to the bottom in 20 metres of water and watch my jig when jigging at the peak . . . When downrigging can watch the bomb perfectly . . . Able to take you in the river sometime for a soft plastic session so you can have a look...

http://www.defender.com/html/fishfinder_info.html

cheers John...

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