Want big Walleyes? Ditch that Marcum

[Lusid]

Troll post is troll.

[mitchell]

I have heard claims that power spooked fish as well but I have never been able to prove it myself. Some really good bass anglers for example turn their electronics off when they are pitching shallow and these guys were top tier bass pros who I respect. I also know other anglers who turn their electronics off when they anchor. I just haven't had any situations where I felt like the sonar was spooking fish that I saw with my own eyes. Sometimes with fishing, we can easily get an idea in our head and than find examples to prove our idea. Not to discredit anybody because I know some great anglers who are paranoid of sonar noise. One of the guys over at Thorne Brothers who is a great angler and a no talk kind of guy told me that catfish are really sensitive to high power when he is ice fishing. I have tried testing fish I could see in shallow water by turning electronics off and on and there was just never any response whether the fish were carp, walleye or perch. Any piece of electronics is going to make you a much better angler if you can see your presentation and see the fish. I love Vexilar products and am obviously biased as they sponsor me but I can't look anybody in the eye and say that the other products spook shallow fish because I just haven't seen it myself. What intrigues me however are some of the really great bass anglers I know who fish the Bass Masters Elite, these guys are top of the line predators and incredibly good anglers in a very competitive world... many of these guys all turn their electronics off and even go so far as using a push pole at times instead of an electric trolling motor on heavily fished lakes. That to me is an eye opener as they are much, much better bass anglers than I will ever be. Interesting topic that might be difficult to find real facts beyond coincidences. With fishing, if you believe something will work or not work... you will find examples that support what you do believe because so much of fishing is confidence but at the end of the day, all you know is what you want to know and you didn't learn anything more.

Dtro, I still want to fish flatheads with you sometime! That looks like an incredible fishing experience.

Jason Mitchell

[FISHINGURU]

Yeah, can't say I can believe the catfish theory either, I have been HAMMERING nice sized cats the past couple years fishing for eyes in a lake that has a channel.

Maybe it's true, maybe my fishing skills are so off the chain I overcome all odds. Can you imagine what would happen if I started bringing the Ol' FL-18 out instead of my LX5?

If any of you guys need a Fishin Guru on your team hit me up.

[brian6715]

Back in the days of the Clearwater Classic we were catching Walleyes on a really shallow lake in Rice County, it was basically a cattle pond but the DNR used it as a rearing pond at some point. Anyway, we weren't good at jigging at the time so we just used two set lines, same presentation essentially on each line (minnow and colored hook). We caught a lot of fish out there, crappies, bullheads, and walleyes... but what we noticed was that the fish were really attracted to whichever hole had the one clearwater classic in it. It was one of those lakes where you would mark a fish about every 10-15 minutes throughout the night, there was never a flury as the fish were not schooled up at all. It was especially true for bullheads, it got to the point where if we marked a fish in one hole, we could move the clearwater to a hole on the opposite side of the house and sure enough a few seconds later a slow moving line would show up in that hole. We could move the fish around from hole to hole, it followed the transducer signal, and eventually if you left the flasher in the same hole long enough it would take the bobber down and about 75% of the time that fish was a bullhead.

There is no doubt they can hear/feel the signal; what effect it has on them and the watts has, I have no idea. I know the clicking of the clearwater's transducer was louder than the clicking of my LX-1.

[CANOPY SAM]

I'll tell you something. I'm absolutely convinced that the above scenario was the result of pheromones on the hands of each angler. I've seen this happen many, many times. It had nothing to do with the electronics.

Example. Last year fishing with a buddy of mine on URL. We were on a hungry bunch of walleyes and I was absolutely spanking fish while he caught nothing. He switched to the exact same baits I was using, right alongside me, and still had nothing biting.

Finally he says, "You put my minnows on for me!" Begrudgingly I started putting his minnows on for him and what do you know, he immediately starts catching fish. It was actually pretty funny. He'd put on a minnow, nothing. I'd take off "his" minnow and put another one on. He'd almost immediately catch a fish.

We were in 8 feet of water, I was fishing with a Marcum LX-3, and the fish couldn't have cared less if we were using electronics. Neither of us had gasoline or oil on our hands. It was just my pheromones vs. his. I've seen it happen time, and time, and time again. Fish just don't like some folks pheromone signature, while they don't even notice others.

I think when these two guys switched rods and reels, and electronics, the guy NOT catching fish got some of the "lucky" guy's pheromones on his hands and gear, and subsequently started catching fish. I truly believe you can see this happening with "great" fishermen as well.

I once fished with Gary Roach (Mr. Walleye) on a small central Minnesota lake. We used the exact same presentations, right down to the same line diameter. While he deftly picked walleyes out of a deep weedline, I couldn't coax a bite! I have no doubt what-so-ever that Gary has a pheromone signature that walleyes just really love!

Call me crazy, but there's science out there that's supported this for years, and I've witnessed it many times myself. I'm blessed to have great pheromones! Just wish they'd work on my wife!

[McGurk]

...He'd put on a minnow, nothing. I'd take off "his" minnow and put another one on. He'd almost immediately catch a fish....

There is a lot to this, but in a different way IMHO. Whatever is on your hands is going to be on your bait and your rig. I try to keep gas off of my hands when ice fishing because it won't go away and it affects everything you touch. Any type of oil can do this including those that come from foods, including chips, jerky, and peanuts. I like to take the first fish that anyone catches and get some good slime on my hands and rub it in a bit (Not northern!), and then rebait. I then try to avoid directly touching any oily snacks while the bite is on.

Subtle things like this can affect your fishing output, and in this sense your story is similar to the one from Dtro. One has to be careful, as correlation does not imply causation. In most cases once a pattern is spotted, anything that backs it up is acknowledged while the rest is ignored.

[walleye44]

I have a Marcum lx3. There might be some truth to this. I know up at LOW, when the fishing gets slower. We all shut off the flashers for a while. The fishing does get better after.

[Chad Holst]

I agree 100% Sam.

I know a lot of guys will read what you wrote and laugh, but fish have an amazing sense of smell. Those little holes you see are not for breathing and don't go to lunges, they are made simply to smell and are wired directly to sensors that detect amazingly small amounts of chemicals. A fishes alfactory system is way beyond that of your dogs, and dogs have been trained and proven to detect such small things as cancer cells inside a living human.

Look at salmon for example, you may think they have a built in GPS unit, but they do not, they can smell the river that they are looking for. Imagine that for a second. A salmon in lake Superior can locate/relocate "his" river based on smell. If you don't think a fish can smell minute chemicals or pheromones on your skin, you fooling yourself.

could it be that putting fresh bait on has little to do with the new bait having fresher smell and more to do with us putting a fresh dab of our own scent down the hole? I don't think a waxies stops smelling like a waxie after being in water for 20 minutes, but every time I put on a new waxie, I seem to get better looks. I don't know, but its a theory.

Time to make a fisherman hand scent system.

[fishgutz77]

My buddies laugh everytime I take a fat head and litteraly smash it and wash my hand with it when I ice fish. That's only part of the fishgutz story. but I swear it makes a difference.

There is something to smell that either repels fish or keeps them unaware of human scent.

let's just call it cover scent!

[DTro]

I also agree that scent is probably the ultimate root cause of what happened in the original post. Not wattage output of a sonar.

[FISHINGURU]

I don't have any problems using normal hand sanitizer. I always bring some with on the snowmobile and portable adventures.

Everytime I pinch a fat head in half I rub the blood and guts all over the hooks, lure, and up the line a little ways.

[aquafang]

All talk. Its just a chance for the vex guys to argue with the marcum guys.

Did u know u will catch more crappies on white and red floats compared to yellow and orange.

[fishgutz77]

Next thing you know Clam will be out with one too, and then it can really start all over again.

[Stick in Mud]

This thread is still going?!?

All I know is my Vexilar LX-5 has caught me lots of big walleyes!

[bak2MN]

Vexilar LX-5?

[CaptainMusky]

Sarcasm is lost on some people.

[CANOPY SAM]

So far my LX-3 hasn't caught me a single fish!

It sure has given me some good insight on when a fish is about to bite though!

[DLD24]

I saw this post on my way up to Red Lake and I was curious to see all the responses haha...After fishing next to a FL-22 all weekend and not many fish coming in the house all weekend I'm convinced it was my buddys loud a$$ FL-22 scaring them away...Its been a while since I've fished next to a vex, I forgot how loud them bad boys are...

[Mid-Lake Rock]

I agree 100% Sam.

I know a lot of guys will read what you wrote and laugh, but fish have an amazing sense of smell. Those little holes you see are not for breathing and don't go to lunges, they are made simply to smell and are wired directly to sensors that detect amazingly small amounts of chemicals. A fishes alfactory system is way beyond that of your dogs, and dogs have been trained and proven to detect such small things as cancer cells inside a living human.

Look at salmon for example, you may think they have a built in GPS unit, but they do not, they can smell the river that they are looking for. Imagine that for a second. A salmon in lake Superior can locate/relocate "his" river based on smell. If you don't think a fish can smell minute chemicals or pheromones on your skin, you fooling yourself.

could it be that putting fresh bait on has little to do with the new bait having fresher smell and more to do with us putting a fresh dab of our own scent down the hole? I don't think a waxies stops smelling like a waxie after being in water for 20 minutes, but every time I put on a new waxie, I seem to get better looks. I don't know, but its a theory.

Time to make a fisherman hand scent system.

I agree that sent can be a huge problem. Especially in the summer when there is insect repellent and sunscreen on hands. In the summer if someone tries to bring spray on sunscreen or repellent in my boat, they are told to leave it on shore. I don't want the spray hitting any of my tackle. Berkley makes a product called ERASE! Odor Killer. I don't know if it really works, but I do wash my hands with it frequently while fishing.

[FISHINGURU]

Spraying your hands with a peroxide and water mixture would probably work well. Scent killer for hunting would probably work too.

I'm heading out in a bit for some eye fishin, should I leave the LX5 at home and take the FL-18?

[brian6715]

Yes, anything red doesn't get taken seriously by fish or fishermen, you would be wasting time with your Marcum.

[pikerliker]

I have caught several walleye 19-24 inches long in 6 ft of water with my old Marcum LX1. Not super tankers but nice fish.

Also near the end of the Crappie boom on Upper Red I was fishing with some guys who told me that I was not allowed to use my flasher in thier house because it would "scare" the fish. Well after a long day of not catching anything the guy who owned the house gave me the go ahead to use it bacause nothing was working. Shortly after starting to use it I iced 3 nice Crappie that were hugging the bottom that I could finally see and tease into biting. The guy that owned the house saw that and then literaly ran and got his Vexilar out and started using it. I thought it was funny.

[Northlander]

Someone better tel that 29"er I got a while back that she wasnt supposed to bite my Tingler because I was using a Marcum.

[Myrt]

I like to wash the gas off my hands before I spray my castmaster with WD-40 haha

Dad and I did the shut the units off thing at Winnipeg last year and caught a couple of eyes

right after. He kept his off(FL8) and I turned mine(LX9) back on, I didn't want to let that

coincidental incident change our mind frame of running flashers up there. Half of the eyes I caught on that trip were 6-7 feet off the bottom in 10-14ft of water.

Maybe there are times when barometric changes, or any of the things that change biting habits of fish, make the lateral line more sensitive to watts than other times? Even if that would be true,

and hard to test for, I believe the percentages are higher with using the flasher versus not.

My personal experience for the past two years in 10-12ft with an Ice 55 has been several

25-27"s and one 30", and the same with a LX9 with one 31", all on Winnipeg.

I think if you're worried about it, turn it off for a while, but if you're really worried about no bites, maybe you should move spots?!haha