By Ben Young
Posted Friday, September 23, 2005
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Did you know that fish can sense foreign scents and tastes on your bait and lures?
I was down at the local pier the other morning and I got talking to an old fisherman. He is in the prime of his life, having worked hard as a machine operator in a factory, he is now retired and goes fishing every morning with his faithful little dog Bosco.
As we were talking he was catching quite a few Garfish, while my bait stayed in the water without so much as a nibble. That's when he asked what I had been doing this morning. I told him that I had been for my morning walk with my wife and our dog, had a shower and a shave before I headed down here for some relaxation time.
His next question astounded me, "what aftershave did you use?"
"Gillette Ice Cool" I replied "There's your problem!" He said, "Your wife might think you smell good with it on, but the fish don't"
He continued to tell me that fish can sense foreign scents and tastes in the water. By baiting my hook after using aftershave, the scent of the aftershave would be passed onto the bait or lure and the fish wouldn't touch it.
Even freshly washed human hands can leave foreign scents on bait. The best way to remove any scent is to mix up a small bottle of tuna oil and water, then rinse your hands with a small amount before baiting your hook, wiping any excess off with a towel so you don't get oil all over your equipment. You only need to use enough to moisten your hands enough for the tuna oil smell to cover any other scents.
Aftershave isn't the only thing that will scare fish off. Having a cigarette, using sun screen and hundreds of other small things we wouldn't think about can drive fish away from your bait.
Be smart, catch more fish, keep your hands free from foreign smells!
More great tips can be found at:
FishingLinks.com.au - Fishing in Australia
Additional Fishing Tips
Tips from Fintalk - One of the main culprits to make a fish stop biting or never bite in the first place is as mentioned in the article above is suntan lotion. I don't know what type of angler is going out fishing and coating themselves with suntan oil. I think if you consider yourself a true sportsMAN - man being the keyword you should leave the sun tanning lotion at home. Now we aren't talking about protective coatings like sun block for your face and nose but the dark tanning oil I see so called serious anglers splashing on to get a good tan. Did you come out here to fish or sun bathe?
For anglers that must wear sunblock I recommend using it for your face only, wear a hat, and wear a shirt. If the sun is your enemy then make sure you cover up exposed skin with light clothing.
Another problem is gas and oil. On any fishing trip in a boat gas and oil is a necessity and these are "odorful" products that anglers must handle. When doing so be careful not to saturate your hands with any gas and oil products because when you bait up the residue will get on the baits. And you can take it to the bank that the fish will smell it.
Ask yourself this "Would you eat a dinner that tasted like WD-40 or 50:1 outboard engine oil?" Heck no you wouldn't, not even at dinner time, even if you were hungry as a horse. And neither will a fish, so make absolutely sure you wash your smelly, oily, or greasy hands before handling bait and lures because you will be wondering of you are the Red Headed Step Child when it comes to getting a fish to bite your hook.
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