Can fish hear sonars ?

[Valv]

Hello, I'm back with my rookie questions.
I have a Garmin 160 fishfinder, Santa didn't bring me a Vexilar, SHE said I deserved coal....(but she will this year).
The finder works great on a boat, but I have rigged for standstill operation and it does a fair job (you have to adjusted it well).
I use mainly the flasher side of the screen, but, when you pull it out of water you can definitely hear the sonar clicking.
Now my question is: can fish hear the same click underwater ? In this case it might spook fish, especially finnicky or shy ones, while regular flasher like Vexilar or Zercom send pulses 20 to 40 times/sec should not be as "noisy".

[TUMBLEWEED]

Valv, How does that model 160 work for you??I am looking at the 240 model to replace a broken x65 Lowrance.I am wondering how clear is your display in deeper water...say 25-40'
Does it do a good job showing structure and fish??The model 240 has 240x240 pixels,so if your unit is doing a good job in the deeper
water I think the 240 will be my choice since it has even more resolution.Thanks for any input you can give me......

[Valv]

I am pretty happy with my 160, definitely a good finder for the price ($ 130 at Cabelas w. discount for open box).
If I had to choose, I might go with high end Lowrance, but price is higher.
Bottom display is farely accurate, I also use the Flasher option, and it will give me extra infos.

[TUMBLEWEED]

Valv, Well I got my new unit!! I went with a Lowrance X85.It has the same 240 pixels and power level as the Garmin 240 unit I was looking at earlier.It was about a hundred bucks more though.Just before I went down there to buy one,I found a site that reviews
marine electronics(www.boating review something)They had a couple of reviews on the
garmin units and on the lowrance line.Plus I got a "free" temp and speed probe with my unit,along with a "show" price.I guess I'm
pretty satisfied with my choice.I'll drop you
a line this spring to let you know how it works on the water......

[HarryG]

Some fish can hear the clicking of the sonar. I attended a fishing seninar at the St.Paul Ice Show and a I was told by the guy conucting the seminar that Lake Trout can hear the clicking of the sonar. He whent on to say that he didn't think Walleye's had as sensetive hearing, so it should not be a concearn. Just some info I heard