Does shack noise scare fish?

[Fuzzbient]

I was watching some perch on Saturday when I dropped something on the floor of my ice shack and saw them react and swim a short distance quickly. They came back but I was surprised to see that they would react so much 12 feet down from the shack. Thinking about my luck fishing, it always seems to be better when I'm fishing solo and really quiet, at least for walleyes. When I have fishing buddies out stomping around and talking it's usually harder to get the fish.

Do you all find this to be true in your experience as well? If it's true, I'm wondering if putting a cushion layer or rubber foam layer in between blocks holding up the shack would help prevent this negative effect. It doesn't seem to be such a big deal for pike or crappies, but I'm wondering if the walleyes are more sensitive to this.

[eyebjim]

Yea I have found that noise does effect walleyes especially. More in less than 20 feet. Remember sound travels thru water faster than air and is conducted by water more than air meaning it will lose less volume over distance. Crappies and pike are dumb and dont care.

[Brad B]

eyebjim is right sound is louder under the ice. there was a post on the forum here that talked about the difference between the sound of a chisel hitting the ice and a hand auger and a gas auger. it said that the chisel was the loudest followed by the grinding of the hand auger then it was the gas auger. this makes sense because of the speed a gas auger cuts the ice at thus shorter amount of noise and time the noise is made. this sound issue has been confirmed by ice divers.

[merkman]

When I have fishing buddies out stomping around and talking it's usually harder to get the fish.

[eyebjim]

Yea I was just funnin.

[herefish101]

sound travles so much better under water it's not funny, thus fish spook, that can work agains you or in your favor. I once was watching a walleye on the bottom(with a camera), I was almost hitting it on the head, this fish didd'nt move, then a snowmobile came screamin past my shack, that walleye took off, it came back like a freight train hit my jig and bam, i caught him. only time i'v ever seen that.

[merkman]

Yea I was just funnin.

Don't get me wrong... I like the dumb ones.