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Can Fish Hear Sonar
By Cory Schmidt

Now this is a topic I like the sound of, fellas. Something most of us have an opinion on, blended just so, with each of our respective observations.

Well, actually, as most of us know, fish hear much differently than we do. This is due to the unique qualities sound exhibits in water. It travels at over five times the speed, and over 100-thousand times the intensity. Of course, fish are also uniquely endowed with a lateral line as well as an inner ear, allowing them to "sense" sounds much more acutely than humans-- or even dogs for that matter.

So, when you drop a leadhead jig on the bottom of the boat, fish will sense it. Drill a hole in the ice the fish will sense it. Slip a transducer into the water . . . you got it.

But back to the original question-- do such sounds attract or repel fish? Many of us have experienced both sides of the coin. Times when drilling new holes seem to attract fish. And other instances when we believe we’re repelling fish because of things like sonar pulses or clanking an anchor too loudly across the gunwales. The truth may in fact be that both of these observations have some merit.

I believe, for instance, that fish actively searching for prey on expansive flats are often attracted into an area by any number of sounds. A reason why rattling spoons, jigs or crankbaits can be so effective in this situation. Many of us have similarly experienced a situation where drilling a fresh hole near an otherwise "dead" area seems to attract a few biters. Might be partially curiosity, though it certainly would appear to be curiosity born out of the desire to find food.

However, when you’re talking about a fish holding tight to a specific structural element, or simply a less aggressive fish, loud sounds often have the opposite effect-- a negative response that appears to "spook" fish. Take bass holding under boat docks-- they may associate odd sounds with threatening artificial activity—causing them to only respond to subtle plastic baits or livebait.

The monkey-wrenches in this deal are of course, US-- users of these aquatic resources. Fish can, and often do appear to "get used to" certain common sounds, ie; outboard motors, loud footsteps on boat floors, and yes, even sonar pulsations. Though they may be no more likely to respond favorably to artificial sounds in a virgin fishery than a metropolitan lake. Each species is different, as is each individual fishery. Ultimately, in this case, fish may neither react negatively nor positively toward such artificial sound.

I do want to relay, however, a practice employed by many of those considered to be the finest anglers of our time. Even seen it happen a time or two with anglers like Al Lindner and Gary Roach. Many years ago, in fact, my uncle, father and I (just a wee lad) hired Gary to be our guide for a day’s fishing on Pelican Lake near Brainerd. Roach had found nice batches of fish in the 30’ depth range. As my uncle tells it, though, soon as we boated our first walleye of what was to be several dozen for the day, Gary immediately switched off his locator, fearing, from past experience, that even walleyes in 30’ would spook with the sound of his ‘Old Green Box.’

Often times, even today, a common practice in fall (when walleyes school heavily in deepwater) is to find fish with the unit, only to turn it off at once as you begin fishing. Is this simply superstitioun? Or a practice born out of experience? I think if you can get a good pulse of the fishery, you’ll go far in determining the relative importance (or detriment) of artificial sound.

The overriding rule of thumb I subscribe to is to avoid creating artificial sound whenever possible. As to the sonar question for icefishing, I’ve seen FAR more situations where a sonar not only didn’t spook fish, but it, in fact, helped me trigger strikes I wouldn’t have otherwise known were eminent. In other words—use the sonar whenever possible for icefishing—it will help you far more often than it’s gonna hurt.

The truth, though, is that no one really knows the specifics of this deal. Will one unit spook fish, while the other goes unnoticed? Likely, fish can sense all transducer pulses. How fish respond to them appears to be related to their activity level, where they are located within the lake (and within a given structural element), and no less important, the relative frequency of such man-made sounds in a given fishery.

(And if you’ve actually taken the time to read this entire longwinded post, congratulations—You May Have Already Won a Million Dollars!)

-a friend called Toad

Red Pine Resort
Ice Fishing on Kabetogama.