I have read multiple times in various places that many anglers will turn off their electronics, especially in shallow water, as an additional step to keep quiet and not spook fish.

On the other hand, Lowrance states that the frequency used by the electronics is beyond the sensory range of both fish and humans to pick up.

Is there a 'right' answer on this topic?  

I doubt they go oh my gosh it's a depth finder    

When I turn my sonar on and the 'ducers out of the water I can hear an audible tick, tick, tick. How does that sound in water?

idk much about this stuff but if water is a good conductor of sound then i think the fish would notice your transducer sending the sonar wave things

I have no idea, BUT If I'm on a lake I know well, I turn it off just in case. Otherwise the benefit of me knowing what's down there outweighs my fear of spooking the fish.

If I don't need it, it isn't on. They have to be able to hear that clicking sound in shallow water.

If my boat is wet the depth finder is on

Why do y'all fish rattles on a Jig? I know Catt to simulate the clicking sound a crawfish makes.

How would a bass know the difference from a crawfish, your jig, or your fish finder?

The bass may hear/sense the sound of a depth finder but it does not know what it is; the big daddy bass doesn't freak out say fish finder everybody move to Rayburn.

Yes one wants to be quit while fishing but more important one want the sound to be constant not suddenly on then suddenly off then suddenly on then suddenly off.

May I suggest purchasing Dr. Keith Jones' book, Knowing Bass, the Scientific Approach to Catching More Bass?  It will make a wonderful Christmas present to yourself and some very interesting reading this winter.

On page 115 in Chapter Four, Hearing and Vibration Detection, here is what Dr. Jones penned regarding the bass:

Given their sensory equipment, bass seem better designed to detect acoustic transients (that is, sudden changes) than perform complex frequency or intensity analyses.  Natural sounds are rarely continuous. Rather, they occur in series of beats and pluses intermixed with dead spots. The regular tail beats of a swimming shad and the thump a crayfish makes flicking its tail to escape have two distinct rhythms. By focusing on the rhythm rather than the actual sound frequencies, bass could potentially discern one prey from another, or prey versus non-prey.

If Lowrance says that the bass cannot hear its trolling motor frequency they may be correct. But I would surmise that the bass could feel the rhythm of the motor.

Uncle Homer Circle and Glen Lau have stated in their literature that they have seen the larger bass head for cover when they heard a trolling motor.

If you want to continue your studies of the bass, I suggest the five (5) videos by Glen Lau and Uncle Homer Circle, Bigmouth, Bigmouth Forever, The Feeding Habits of Bass, Surface Lures and Buzz Baits and Bass in Heavy Cover.

You can order them via the Wildlife Foundation of Florida.

So read, watch and decide if bass actually "sense electronics."  

So read your depth finder, watch for bait fish, chunk a lure out there, and decide if bass actually care  

So read your depth finder, watch for bait fish, chunk a lure out there, and decide if bass actually care

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Just go out and fish and don't worry about your trolling motor.

We have caught a lot of fish with the trolling motor running.  

There is no doubt bass are aware of man's presence and may for a moment become spooked if they come in close contact but from a distance or depth I don't think they are that concerned. On Toledo Bend there can be hundreds on boat on the lake at any given time and yet the bass still bite.

My point is don't over think it