This is a topic that many people touch on from time to time but I am going to show you just how important it really can be. This will put more fish in the boat. I have noticed more and more that people don't pay much attention to how quiet their bait hits the water. (Mainly the guys who are stuck hearing my jokes all day in a tournament). Some anglers take pride of the way they can put a bait where they want it but when it hits the water they might as well be throwing a rock. A bait that is placed in the right spot with a soft entry will not spook a fish as much and get you more bites. If you are fishing a spinnerbait a roll cast will give you the soft entry that you need. If your fishing a lone stump its better to cast beyond the object and bring it to it than smacking the surface right above the object. Pitching and flipping can be key at times but is useless when the bait slaps the water. Quiet is always best. I fished a team tournament not long ago and the guy I was thrown with fished a jig same as me all day. We threw our jig in the same spots. He never hooked up or even had a bite all day. The guy couldn't understand why I could fish the same used water and catch a fish where he couldn't. I told him the he was just warming them up for me. The difference was that when I pitched to a spot I hardly made a ripple and when he did the bait smacked the water from trying to force a pitch. This is something to think about when you consider how many people fish the same fish all day and only a few catch them even if your fishing used water. It makes that much of a difference so shhhhhhh be quiet.

Excellent post Chris.

Quite isn't usually my approach, but I'm here to learn something and become a better fisherman. Thanks.

I agree for the most part with Chris,but when fishing a spinnerbait at night I like it when I hear that "smack" when it lands.....it sounds like a shad on the surface flopping around.I purposely put a little arch in my cast when fishing at night.Fish arent nearly as "spooky" at night and that sound seems to help them find my bait easier.

I'm glad to help them any way I can,you know.....

Yes it's true you,ve got to try and keep the noise down.I've often wondered about the noise of a TM.Seems like it would spook a fish at least as bad as a noisey bait landing.Anyone got an opinion on this?

Just like with any living creature, fish react to sudden unexpected noise negatively.  With trolling motors, I think fish get accustomed to hearing them and don't react negatively unless the TM is banging into logs, brush or rocks.  As for the splash of a bait, I have seen fish turn and react to a bait when I was less than stealthy in getting it to them.  I have also heard professional fishermen advise arch casting a jig to get it through a weed mat and it didn't seem to have a negative effect on the fish.  I think as long as you aren't churning up the water with a lot of excessive noise that it shouldn't be a problem.

I mostly agree that less noise is better, but at times I beg to differ with you.  The biggest difference being when you fish topwater, many a times the lures splashes down and as you wait for the ripples to disappear you get a hit.  That fish had to be attracted by the splashdown..  Also on many times with a spinnerbait I have caught fish that I thought had to follow the lure through the air.  Surely that fish was not spooked by the splash.  That's just my opinion and of course I am not a tournament angler and maybe because I fish noisely is the reason for that, although I did make a living fishing for 25 years  ;DCPR

I learned this the hard way, i was fishing a jig and it hit the water with a big splash and it startled the fish that was their and there was a big disturbance in the water, a second later i see a 6 pounder zooming into deeper water. that was in a tournament too!

How do you cast so the bait enters the water quietly? I obviously need to practice this but I don't know where to begin.  Please describe the casting techniques that I should practice.

It 's difficult to say how quiet is quiet, anybody here has trolled for bass ? I do when moving across the lake from one place to the other with the outboard turned on and still catch fish, what could be noisier than having a boat passing above their heads ?

I picture a secluded cove with overhanging trees and heavy cover on a gin clear lake. A big fat sow that feed earllier that morning is suspended in six feet of water in a relaxed mode, without a care in the world. All of a sudden, a giant Spook just about smacks her in the head. Well, that's when a silent approach might have been a little better option.

If you're fishing on the Tennessee River, crank up that stereo, leave the motor running and if someone wants to jump in and cool off, go right ahead. The river itself must create quite a bit of background noise. The commercial barge traffic is loud and continuous and all those recreational yachts and party boats are a constant distraction. Big fish chasing little fish, jumping all around. A lure making a splash on the river goes without notice.

In shallow water be quiet, the trolling motor even spooks them use a push pole. In deep water  or heavy traffic I agree with Raul & R/W, It don't matter much.

Your baits will enter the water more quietly if 1 you keep it as low to the water as possible. (no rainbow casts). Second thumb your reel gently no abrupt stops. Third raise the rod tip just before the bait enters the water.

I think this one has alot to do with the lake your fishing at. We have some lakes here in Indiana that get so much pressure and boat traffic it doesn't seem to matter how noiser you are it doesn't spook the fish. I've caught fish out from under docks that have had people walking all over them. These fish seem to have become acustome to all the banging and motor sounds and are not spooked at all.

Water clarity is probadly a factor too. In really stained or muddy water you can just about get on top of a fish before they will react to you. I have hit the trolling motor on a number of occations and had a fish fly out of the water or past the boat because the prop almost hit them. I used the trolling motor the whole time to get right next to them but they didn't move until the prop almost hit them.

Im a clear lake or pond that does get much traffic and fishing pressure I do believe those fish will spook very easily. A rod locker banging closed or a lure smacking the water or even a trolling motor will probadly send these fish running for thier lives.

I agree 100% but let me tell you something that has worked for my partner and I. Try pitching or flipping your baits so they hit the water at the same time but on opposite sides of the cover be it a stump, bush or whatever. I m not saying you should make a splash but this seems to really create more reaction strikes when they dont seem to be hitting well.

Chris

I went out today and thanks to you I was alot more careful of how the lure entered the water. I sure could tell the difference. I boated 15. Thanks.