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[TheFishingLad]

Question:
     Would having mosquito juice on your hand when handling a spinner/whatever metal youre chucking affect the fish's willingness to bite?


Backstory: 

     So my GF and I went fishing on Sunday (She's really eager to learn) and using the exact same setup, I managed to get 10 fish to shore in a span of 3 hours while she didnt get even 1. She posed this question above to me on monday and I wasn't sure how to respond. It sounds logical, but to have such a profound affect such as this? Im skeptical.


Thoughts? Queries? Hell, article's with studies?

Regards,
     
     Mike

[Spoonman]

http://www.leeroysramblings.com/Scent.htm     

[Jeff_]

I would say it could be a variety of factors that could affect the bite rates and that includes scents. Depending on the setup it could also have been slight differences in presentation, retrieval speed, or even the spot you're standing at. I would certainly not rule out the scent driving them off but there could also be a multitude of other factors at play. Fish are definitely able to smell but how much insect repellent affects this I'm not sure. One thing I like to do when I use insect repellent is use the back of my hand to apply it, that way I have less of a scent problem and avoid having the repellent weaken my line.

[TheFishingLad]

http://www.leeroysramblings.com/Scent.htm     

This guy loves his Lemon Joy.

Big ups to this article though. Thanks for the share.

[mojo7]

http://www.leeroysramblings.com/Scent.htm     

Does anybody remember Charlie Whites fishing videos?  He used video equipment to film salmon striking lures in the ocean. He studied how different lures and action as well as scent affected the strike rate. He claimed that using two identical lures, which the salmon can be seen checking each one out, that the lure that was dipped in bilge water vastly out produced the non scented lure by a vast margin.

I saw Charlie White's film as a naive youngster and believed his stories "hook, line and...". As a more...uhh...mature person I can possibly conceive that old Charles might have been telling a "fish story" in order to sell product. Was any of his claims reproduced and was he legit?

[firstlight]

No question in my mind that scent makes a difference.
I give Charlie more credit than most.
Im not a huge fan of scent as much as I am a fan of covering the human scent.

[Ian Forbes]

Depending on the person and the fish species, scent can make a huge difference. My only question is why would your girl friend have mosquito repellent on her hands at this time of year?.  I haven't seen one yet.

I don't put lacquer on the heads of my flies for the very reason that it smells. If I can smell it then I'm sure the fish can as well. I put a masking scent on flies that have to have lacquer in the tying process. On tiny flies it doesn't seem to matter so much. I fish for species in Asia that are VERY scent conscious. They won't touch something that doesn't have the right scent.

As others have already mentioned, the spot where you are standing can make a big difference in where your lure swings. Just moving 5 feet in one direction or another can make a big difference to the presentation... and getting the lure to where the fish are holding. The Lure retrieve can also make a big difference.

Take some time away from your own fishing and closely watch what your girl friend is doing. It might give you some clue why her success ration is not good.

[zabber]

In a book about fly fishing Interior lakes for rainbows I read that fish are repulsed by the scent of mosquito repellant and sunscreen.

Tight lines.