Fishing in the Central Valley: Being quiet can help you become a top fisherman

Anglers are constantly trying to improve their game with new lures, better technology and improved techniques, it’s a constant battle of new frontiers. I believe that in this relentless pursuit many fishermen have inadvertently made the mistake of getting away from one of the cardinal fundamental rules of fishing - stealth.

Fundamentals are absolutely key to any kind of fishing but the problem is that it’s easy to get lazy and cut corners. Being highly conscious of how you may be impacting and scaring the fish you’re trying to catch is an art that top anglers relentlessly practice because they realize the effect on their catches. As a trophy striper guide, I believe it’s a mindset that needs to be constantly revisited and scrutinized if your goal is to catch the kind of huge fish others only dream of landing.

First of all, we need to understand that fish are highly attuned to their entire environment and that the ones who aren’t, aren’t around long. The survivors have skills and senses that have kept them out of trouble and the real monsters are masters of staying safe. If you think that luck is the real key to bucket list sized fish- there may be some better explanations as to why some anglers do it all the time.

So, if stealth is so important, and most anglers know this, why do so many fishermen still scare away fish? My observation over the years has been that it’s just plain easier and less work to not have to plan to be stealthy and quiet. If you’re catching as many fish as you want to, as big as you want and you feel you’re doing good compared to others, why improve this part of your fishing?

Sound travels at an airspeed of 767 mph. But underwater it travels at a whopping 3,355 mph.

Let’s look at a few possible flaws that could be sabotaging your results – ones that I’ve had record setting anglers share with me. Let’s start with boaters who run right up on a good spot, throw the trolling motor down about 10 – 20 yards from the structure, grab their poles and then begin casting. No, I'm not talking about tournament anglers here, just regular fishermen. Not realizing that the fish heard the big engine coming in, the trolling motor being deployed, and the movement in the boat. That’s all that’s needed to send the bigger, wiser fish out to deeper water. What’s left are the smaller fish in most cases.

Coming to a good area, stopping your engine some distance from it, then moving in with the trolling motor on low and drifting in from upwind if possible, all take time and planning. Just doing that could reduce your noise footprint by a huge amount. Of course we all agree that taking the extra time and planning to work the spot has a better chance of holding big fish but it takes more work and thought. That’s the rub.

So, have you possibly considered that your sonar might be a culprit in scaring away big fish? I’ve had world record holders tell me that monster-sized fish – like bass and stripers – are very sensitive to sonar. Have you ever left your sonar on while it was out of the water? You can hear the ping on some of them very easily. Imagine if you have multiple units? In addition, I know that some of the new forward facing units put out huge amounts of energy that I think big fish could begin to identify as negative.

Just walking around your boat can send pressure waves out from the hull – that we can clearly see in calmer water. Big fish hunters I know avoid moving around because they know that big fish use their lateral lines to find small bait by water movement. Avoiding movement that rocks the boat even a little – as well the sounds like boots scrapping the hull, moving the ice chest , bumping the sides etc- all are more than enough to warn a big fish that something is not right. How about talking? I sometimes hear guys ranting clear across a lake.

As I said earlier, the problem is that we discount our noise output, even though we believe we’re being quiet. We want to think we’re being silent because we know that any noise can spook the fish- but we actually are not.

Reducing your noise footprint while fishing goes way beyond the few things I’ve covered but being mindful and proactively stealthy in your fishing can help put you into the top tier of fishermen. It will also greatly improve your shot at a big fish since so few really do this consistently. Be stealthy, fish effectively and never give up.

This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Fishing in the Central Valley: Being quiet can help you become a top fisherman."