Your Sphere of Influence

No I'm not talking about the influence you have on the people around you, instead I'm talking about the affect you have on big bass in your vicinity.  I have read a few articles that have made me scratch my head about how quiet or stealthy you have to be to catch big fish.

One such article, if I could find it again I would post it, demonstrated how a 10 lb bass loved to hang on a cypress stump, it was tagged and they could follow it's movements on the lake.  An angler wanted to test a theory about trolling motors and the affect they have on fish so they floated via wind or current by this cypress stump and the beeper indicated that the fish was present.  They repositioned the boat upwind again and this time merely bumped the trolling motor on and off at an average distance that you would make a cast.  They were able to follow the beeps of the tracker away from the cypress stump and into the refuge of deeper water.   In that case the sphere of influence changed from maybe 4-8ft to over 50ft.

Here's another article (https://www.gon.com/article.php?id=2352) discussing catching huge bass at night on buzzbaits, this is nothing new but I think lots of people miss this key point.

 “You just want to use your wrist to snap a cast. I believe if you make a big, animated arm motion, you can spook a trophy bass,” he said.

I know you're thinking, well I've caught tons of fish under the boat with the trolling motor running and right while my kids were jumping around in the bottom of the boat.  Not saying it can't be done, just saying that sometimes fish, especially bigger fish, might be a little harder to catch if they know you're there at all.  I started researching this a bit after I had seen some evidence myself, especially at night, where fish would spook from 10-20ft away if I made a hard cast.  Why?  Because of the shockwaves, if you don't think your kayak is noisy mount a gopro to the hull and listen to the sounds it records when you are paddling slowly.  Now imagine what it sounds like when you bump a paddle or drop a rod into the floor, these are all clues to fish that something is amiss in there environment.

I've heard many people say big fish didn't get big by being dumb.  In other words for a fish to get big, it's a cautious fish and one that has likely learned the cues that help it avoid being caught.  Just something to think about the next time you wonder if conseal or seadek might be worth the price.

Now all that being said, there are days when you can throw everything out the window and catch huge bass while dropping a paddle and banging all over your boat, they just don't care.  These days are rare so enjoy them, just don't expect it to be the norm.