Does the Noise From a Gas Generator Scare/Disturbe Fish

[MNSnow]

I'm planning on using a gas generator for the first time this weekend and was wondering if anyone had first hand knowledge if the noise they produce scare the fish? The generator I'm using puts out between 47 and 68 decibels if that helps.

Thanks much!

[walleyeking19]

the one we bought this year doesn't seem to scare any of the fish. it may be because we are deeper. but we won't be able to use it for a while because the chord broke off it so we can't start it.

[hoppe56307]

There were a couple of people using them on the lake i was fishing this weekend, and didnt really seem to bother the fish any.

[ThinIce2006]

It doesn't seem to be a problem if you're fishing in water over 20' deep, but when fishing shallower I'd stay away from it. Compare it to fishing out of a boat. If you are fishing stationary in shallow water, would you leave your motor idle?

[cat-man]

i don't think it bothers them if ur in deeper water , i fish in 30 plus feet too . I also have 100 foot cord that i run out then keep the generator in the back of my truck to keep the noise and vibration to a min.

[LABS4ME]

I run mine on Red at least a couple hours every day. It never seems to disturb the fish and that is only 12-14' of water.

I had to run my diesel 40 out of 48 hours this weekend and being parked within 10' of my house and idling didn't deter the fish... and I bet that's louder than a generator!

Good Luck!

Ken

[MNSnow]

Thanks for the replies. We're going to be in shallow water (Upper Red). So I guess we'll see if we can figure out a way to keep it up and off of the ice to limit the noise or just run it at night so we can run some fans to keep the air moving around the sleeper.

[late night]

I've seen people set there generator on a old tire on the ice. Might keep some vibrations down. That was on Red.

[dilleyo]

A buddy of mine used to have a permanent on West Rush and whenever the fish stopped biting, we'd fire up the trucks and it seemed to get the bite going. Maybe it was just a coincidence ?? We were also in deeper water, 30ft.

[LODFFB]

I run my truck in the evening. I have a 12V quick connects on a pair of jumper cables to charge my batteries.

[mike morris]

If you have a cord long enough, keep it on the tailgate of your pickup.

[Tom Linderholm]

Another thing to keep in mind if you are keeping it a distance from your shack and not in the back of your house is to put reflective material on it. Several years ago we had one close to shore with 200 feet of cord on it. Well marked with a flag and reflective tape and someone still managed to almost hit it on their snowmobile at night.

As for spooking the fish, didn't notice any difference.

[talltines]

Dilleyo, a few years back I was laid off from work so I fished alot. I had a wheel house out, and spent many nights on the ice. One night was real slow so my buddy was going for a rip on the sled, a couple min. after he started it 2- rattle reels took off,2-eyes. When he came back he let it idle when he came to see how I was doing, ding,ding,ding, again 2-eyes. Shut the sled off and nothing for an hour or so, I started the sled and a few min. later ding,ding,ding, again 2-eyes. needless to say we did this often over the next few days with similar results. Been trying it ever since and can't get a bite with this method, done with it now. Things that make you go hhhmmmm!!!! Generators, I've had no problems, I put it 75' or so away from the shack.

[iceman16]

i always run a cord from the shack and then put in the back of my truck open the windows in my topper and shut it and let er buck. cant even hear in in the shack. doesnt seam to bother the fish.

iceman

[michaelpettersen82]

I personally believe that the noise from a generator has no bearing on fish biting.Last year on red we had the generator 10'-15' from the house and you could barely fish both your lines, so the next day we put the generator in my buddies truck bed and ran it about 100' from the house, same thing about 9:00 am you could barely fish both your lines.On mille lacs this year you cant buy a fish, generator on, off, 300yds from the shanty, 30 yds from the shanty, levitated 50' in the air, it just doesn't matter what you do.My point being,that if fish are hungry they will eat, if they are not they will just sit there and look at it for 15 sec. and swim away. i think it has less to do with the noise from a generator and more to do with feeding patterns, pressure, and mainly available forage.Just my 2 cents.

[Tom Linderholm]

I should also add, while it's a bit of a different sound. This winter while fishing the St. Louis bay over a 4 hour period the only time I had active fish down my hole was when the Coast Guard ice cutter ran thru the channel 100 yards from my shack. Both times I hooked and landed 2 fish. 3 being eyes and the fourth a sturgeon. It shows that maybe there is something to the vibrations of ice moving or the humm of a generator.

[blueroof]

Whenever fishing LOW, every time a bombardier drives by, it seems like one of us gets a fish. I think the occasional rumble gets them into strike mode. LB

[Tripleplay]

Not alot of experience with the generators but I actually love it when the bombers drive up and stop at the house on LOW as somebody usually catches a fish. I've even complained to the drivers that they aren't stopping often enough so that we can catch more fish or that their "trained" fish need to visit us more often!

[FishinChad]

I am thinking that the noise or vibrations dont really make the fish bite or not bite, basically I think it just makes the fish start to move around, so if you dont have fish under your house but there are fish around you somewhere, the noise/vibrations will get the fish moving and some will wander under your house. I have even heard of people speeding around there fishing spot with an outboard motor in the summer to "stir up" the fish. Not sure if it works but I guess I can understand the idea, and its pretty much the same deal on the ice. Inactive fish that are just sitting around moping may be activated or at least move around some by noise/vibrations from above.