Sound and the bite

[Dales]

What is everyones opinion on the noise caused by raking a swim? I know some anglers think that fish are attracted to swims even as they are racked but from my experience the fish run a mile from the noise and commotion.

[robd]

Same as you Dale, can’t see any reason why fish would be attracted to the commotion of repeatedly throwing a rake in. Yet I keep on reading of raking attracting Tench and catching as soon as a bait goes in. Never been brave enough to try though, only raked as a means to clear weed away then fished some time later (days).

 

Also amazes me that ‘matchmen’ make so much noise with dumping gear down, setting up, shouting to each other and runners between pegs, yet still manage good catches….

[Sportsman]

Look at where they are fishing

[Anderoo]

Raking a swim makes me think mainly of tench, and tench are funny things. Skyline one in the margins or jump around on the bank, and they (like all fish) really don't like it at all. But spod a load of bait out, and they really don't seem to be frightened by it. Even on relatively low stock, natural waters, I've caught tench 'mid-spod', and very often get a bite after a recast, which can be a noisy affair at times with a lead + PVA bag.

 

I've never raked a swim, so can't comment on that, but have heard plenty of stories about catching fish soon after the raking. Perhaps the fish that were in the swim when the rake crashed in bolted off, but once the commotion died down and under the cover of all the coloured and stirred up water, other tench in the area wander over to investigate.

[gozzer]

Raking a swim makes me think mainly of tench, and tench are funny things. Skyline one in the margins or jump around on the bank, and they (like all fish) really don't like it at all. But spod a load of bait out, and they really don't seem to be frightened by it. Even on relatively low stock, natural waters, I've caught tench 'mid-spod', and very often get a bite after a recast, which can be a noisy affair at times with a lead + PVA bag.

 

I've never raked a swim, so can't comment on that, but have heard plenty of stories about catching fish soon after the raking. Perhaps the fish that were in the swim when the rake crashed in bolted off, but once the commotion died down and under the cover of all the coloured and stirred up water, other tench in the area wander over to investigate.

 

I've raked swims and you're right Andrew, within minutes of stopping, tench have been bubbling in the swim. I'm sure that the cloud of silt and the food it contains soon overcomes any wariness. Tench usually like low light levels, so I believe that they 'feel' safer in the cloudy water.

On the subject of sound/vibration and it's effect on fish. I was once fishing for chub, and I had a stinking cold. I crept down the bank upstream of a group of chub, lying in shallow water on the far bank, under the cover of a small bush. I had one fish out, and waited for the swim to settle before casting again, feeding a few free offerings. I eventually cast, and could see the fish taking the freebies, and I watched my bait. I felt a sneeze coming on, and tried to stifle it, no chance! When I sneezed, the water erupted, and the fish shot off downstream. This was from cover, about 15-20 yds away. I believe it's mainly sudden noise or movement that disturbs them the most.

 

John.

[Dales]

Cheers guys about the raking, so many people tell me that they catch Tench after or even during raking but it never seems to work for me.

[Ken L]

I suspect that it really depends on the species and the sound. Pacu are well know to be attracted to the sound of fruit hitting the water. The same is true of mahseer. In both cases, it's an instinct that I've exploited to catch fish.

Conversely chub - well, everybody knows how chub respond to disturbance

[Rusty]

I suspect that it really depends on the species and the sound.

I agree, the perch on the K&A canal don’t seem to be disturbed at all by boat noise, they feel it coming a long way off and must be used to it getting louder as the boat approaches. Last week I caught a decent specimen just as a boat was passing to enter the lock, the boaters were amazed because all other anglers they’d encountered had told them that boats ruin the fishing.

 

 

What does completely stop the perch feeding though is the effect on the water as the lock paddles are opened. My favourite swim is proper canal i.e. a lock cut slack water, as soon as any flow is introduced through the lock being used the fish won’t bite, only when the water’s settled again will they show any interest. They’re so predictable that I don’t bother casting out again until the lock is empty and the current & eddies have stopped.

 

[Anderoo]

I remember fishing for perch at a little stream I used to fish a few years ago. On this occasion a canoe came through the swim, something I'd never seen before (or since). It is a very small and shallow waterway, only about 1 rodlength wide and about 2-3ft deep, very quiet, and he made a huge racket as he came though, splashing, paddles scraping along the gravel bottom, pulling on overhanging trees to get through little gaps. I was really annoyed as bites from there were always quite hard to come by, but believe it or not I caught one of the perch only about 20 minutes later.

[RUDD]

Back to Phones post - the only thing sound CANNOT travel through is a vacuum.

As sound can travel through water as vibrations the answer to your post is yes:

 

Fish - just like humans must get used to their enviroment and its sounds, many venues are next to main roads or railway lines.

Humans living near these get used to the sound and tune it out as do wild animals in the same areas - but if there is foreign sound it attracts attention as it is out of place.

 

 

Chub - theres an interesing one, stand on a stick and they are off like a shot, cast in a slug and they are on it in a shot!

Why? Slugs fall in rivers and are food, snapping sticks are caused by large mammals who may be looking for food.