Do ducks put down fish?

[bigslackwater]

It's happened many times... I approach the water I want to fish and hear a frantic scurry in the tall grass. A family of ducks go cruising through the water...flapping and quacking. I cant imagine this is a good thing, but I fish it anyway. My results on hooking fish have way more factors than just duck activity, so let me know what you've found. The only conclusion I can come up with is that Stocked trout don't care too much. Wild trout will take a hint from the ducks and hide for a while.

 

[dryflyguy]

One thing to remember - those ducks likely live there also. And the fish - even wild ones - get used to them.
Spring creek has lots of ducks around on most of it's sections. And they're constantly swimming and splashing around some of my favorite holes. I've seen them swim right over rising fish, and it doesn't seem to faze them much. Many times, they just keep right on rising. And if they are put down, they usually start coming up again shortly afterrward.

 

[SBecker]

I was fishing a downed tree on Spring yesterday. The tree hid me from anything coming down stream. 6 ducks got scared off the bank by something upstream and came quickly downstream. Only to reach me only a foot away and freak out again and go back upstream. I caught 3 fish above that tree in the direct path the ducks came from not 5 minutes later. So I don't think ducks scare the fish.

 

[Stagger_Lee]

I'm with dryfly that the fish probably get used to the ducks in their environment unless its Aduck.

 

[SBecker]

But that is because Aducker is a water flogger.

Btw Stagger, Jeff enjoys the one "sport" I hate more then soccer.

 

[krayfish]

They do buy just for a minute. If the hatch is heavy enough, the fish ignore them or slide the feeding lane over until they pass.

 

[Stagger_Lee]

ILuvCR7 wrote:

Btw Stagger, Jeff enjoys the one "sport" I hate more then soccer.

Can I get NeckCar for $500 Beck(ham)?

 

[SBecker]

Ding ding

 

[Stagger_Lee]

I agree on wholeheartedly on "sport"

 

[Foxgap239]

I do not think ducks or geese bother fish when they swim by. As a matter of fact I was just very recently fishing the trico hatch and had ducks swim by a fish a was casting to. Not only did the duck not bother the fish but the fish rose and startled the duck!

Now that said, I do believe ducks or geese flying upstream (or down) and then crash landing has an effect. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

 

[streamerguy]

The only bad experiences I've had with ducks while fishing is while fishing small brookie streams. One day last year I had a pair of ducks high-hole me for a good quarter of a mile. Was kinda hoping they'd just fly/waddle away, but nope, they just flew from hole to hole spooking fish. Tried to skip above them somehow but that didn't work.

 

[pcray1231]

Yeah, on larger streams, generally not a problem. I've seen ducks put down fish, but it's usually only for a minute or so. They just go right back to rising. I'd assume the effect is even less when they're not rising. The key is for YOU not to spook the fish while shooing the ducks away, lol.

Brookie streams are another story. I rarely have issues with ducks because there usually aren't ducks there. I have had trouble with herons, and even fawns, who just keep moving upstream as you flush them, spooking everything ahead of you. You have to try to get around them. It is a problem. I'd think that ducks would be the same.

 

[Volksnurse]

Foxgap239 wrote:
I do not think ducks or geese bother fish when they swim by. As a matter of fact I was just very recently fishing the trico hatch and had ducks swim by a fish a was casting to. Not only did the duck not bother the fish but the fish rose and startled the duck!

Was that the day you were incontinent? :-D :-D :-D

 

[Foxgap239]

Volksnurse wrote:
Was that the day you were incontinent? :-D :-D :-D

They were GEESE that day not ducks smarta$$!

 

[JackM]

Animals take cues from the environment, including the behavior of other animals. Ducks in distress signal danger. But they probably do this several times a day. Trout cannot "stay down" that long based upon frantic actions of ducks. They will be more cautious in the immediate aftermath of such a disturbance and a careful stalker will lay low for a few minutes before increasing the alarm of the trout by wading into the water or flogging the top with a fly line.

 

[pro4mance]

I have never seen a duck with a brookie in it's bill, although I had a bird take a run at my dry at the Spring Jam. Now a pelican could do some damage

 

[troutbert]

I think mergansers spook the fish.

 

[Aducker]

SBecker wrote:
But that is because Aducker is a water flogger.

Btw Stagger, Jeff enjoys the one "sport" I hate more then soccer.

LOL I just saw this, you guys......

 

[Chaz]

There may be some spooking of fish because of ducks, but it depends on the circumstances. It's more likely that adult ducks put fish down if they are flushed then a family of ducks swimming. I say this because I'ved been fishing LV streams for a long time and they have loads of ducks, and it doesn't seem as though ducks bother them, and I fish among the ducks. I'm careful not to get too close to the ducks.
Reason being I've caught a few, ducks that is.
I was on the Connetqout on LI once when I was fishing there during feeding activity, when suddenly a small flock of ducks flew in and started feeding right in front of me but upstream a little bit. They got into the weeds and started shaking loosing food and the trout went nuts, and some very large trout were caught for about 1/2 while the ducks were there. Just as suddenly as the ducks arrived they left, while the frenzy of feeding fish took another 1/2 hour to get back to normal.
My fly of choice during the frenzy, a pink scud, I figured that's what was in the weeds. Sever 20 inch + trout were caught in an hour.
So my answer is NO!

 

[PennypackFlyer]

The crash and splash do send them swimming. It only lasts for a short time, then they will be back to normal.
However, Bass and Muskies do put ducklings down.