Frabill Conservation Series
www.frabill.com
wild guide: sound underwater
TEST 10
subject: NET
When our fishing
partner succeeds
in setting the hook
into a beautiful fish,
we quickly grab the
landing net in order
to secure the fish safely
inside the boat. In
such situations, the more
impressive the catch, the more adrenaline
increases. You will then see people using
the net very energetically, splashing it
violently into the water. So we did the same
in this test with a 76 cm (30”) basket. This
action is heard with an intensity of 2/10 in
5 and 10 feet of depth. This data decreases
to .5/10 at 20 feet in both cases. So go soft
next time so as not to scare the other fish
in the vicinity. TEST 12 subject: RATTLE BAIT
Do lures with rattles really attract fish
attention? For this stage we used a
LiveTarget Yearling Rattlebait from the
Baitball series with balls inside. One of the
ways to recover this type of offering is to
apply violent continuous jerks. So I threw
the lure over my diver so that it did not go
further than 3 feet beside him. Believe it
or not, the Rattlebait is as noisy as a bilge
pump or a livewell. In 5 and 10 feet deep,
he heard it at an intensity that he rated at
3 in 10. As Daniel told me, I heard it very
well, without even seeing it, which is very
interesting to know. Then at 20 feet, the
score remains very high at 2.5 out of 10.
Amazing is not it? This means that this
type of lure is far from unnoticed. The
test directly under the craft could not be
applied in this specific case. 5 FEET 5 FEET 5 FEET
10 FEET 10 FEET 10 FEET
20 FEET 20 FEET 20 FEET
20 FEET 20 FEET 20 FEET
TEST 11 subject: SONAR
The sonar is undoubtedly one of the best
tools that an angler can possess. Thanks
to its wave-emitting transducer, it can tell
you the nature of the bottom, its profile
and the presence of fish. Have you ever
placed a hand on a transducer while the
sonar is in operation? You can actually
feel small shots that resemble a ticking
clock. At 5 feet deep, the diver felt the
sound emitted at 1 in 10. As for the 10-foot
and 20-foot angled positions, he heard
nothing. However, at 20 feet directly
under the transducer, he clearly heard a
sound that resembled that of a submarine
sonar. This sound has been awarded a 2
out of 10. So it might be wise to turn off
your sonar when you have located the fish
you want to catch directly under the boat. TEST 14 subject: POPPER
The vast majority of anglers are familiar
with “popper” type surface lures. We
opted for a master in this category, the
loud Frog Popper from LiveTarget. I
threw it out and I made it run on the
surface, directly above the diver. Daniel
explained to me that he could hear a slight
displacement under the water, similar to
“tapping”. He distinctly hears “Plok-Plok-
Plok”. According to him, it really gives
the impression of a frog on the move. His
ratings were 2, 2 and 1/10. The test under
the boat can not be applied.
5 FEET 5 FEET
10 FEET 10 FEET
20 FEET 20 FEET
20 FEET 20 FEET
Frog Popper
www.livetargetlures.com
Yearling Baitball
www.livetargetlures.com
TEST 13 subject: RATTLE BAIT
We did the same test with the Baitball, but
this time I was swimming at a distance
of ten feet beside him. While using the
same recovery motion, we obtained very
revealing results. At 5 and 10 feet deep, we
obtained a result of 2.5 out of 10. During
our experiments, the score we got at 20
feet was 1.5 / 10. It must therefore be
concluded that these lures can be heard at
a good distance.