Posted by Jim E (24.116.99.140) on August 22, 2003 at 14:15:05:
In Reply to: Re: Tip of the week posted by Robert McMahan on August 22, 2003 at 08:29:30:
...because it all comes down to what you wrote "simply because they are accustomed to that sort of activity".
I learned that from smallmouth fishing on rivers that are frequented by canoers. I used to stop fishing when a string of canoers came by but after they just kept coming and coming I had to either fish or leave. So I chose to fish and then started catching fish. When I finally started paying attention to what was going I realized why the fish were hitting. The canoes would scare the bait fish around and the smallies would dart in for the kill. The definition of an opportunistic predator. Those smallies were used to all of the canoes and took advantage of it.
I do wonder though if the larger fish of the river would be so brazen as to expose themselves like that.
I do know that the times I've been on the White when the strings of boats would start coming by the only fish we would catch would be smaller than we had been catching before the boats.
There certainly are fish that have learned to hang around the feet of wading fisherman. Even those that aren't doing the San Juan shuffle. I call these fish "welfare fish".
Thanks for the comments,
Jim <*)))))))><