Opening Cast – Sept 2024

The Opening Cast

by Richard Simms

Fishermen stink!

Nothing personal, but we do. Whether we’ve showered or not, we stink and fish know it.

Here are some facts (according to my college Ichthyology textbook) – plug the noses of some sharks or catfish and they’ll starve to death. Some fish can detect one molecule of a foreign substance diluted into 100,000,000,000,000 other molecules. And after roaming around fresh and saltwater for several years and thousands of miles, salmon can find their way back to the place they were hatched, most likely through their sense of smell. Yes, fish have powerful olfactory organs.

I learned this firsthand in 1982. I was videotaping a TV program on bluegill fishing. It was going something like this: bait hook with cricket, cast cricket, close bail, reel in fish. Bait hook with cricket, cast cricket, close bail, reel in fish, over and over. It was non-stop action, literally.

That is, until the young lady in the boat paused to apply sunscreen. Her partner continued the non-stop, cast & catch scenario. But after applying her sunscreen, the young lady didn’t catch a single fish for 30 minutes. We finally convinced her to thoroughly wash her hands before touching any more crickets. Almost instantly she began to catch fish again. Since that day I have refused to touch sunscreen while I am fishing. If my clients use it (I’m also a guide), I make them wash their hands before they touch my fishing rods again.

John Prochnow, renowned chemist, inventor and lure designer with Berkley helped create Powerbait and Gulp! He has studied the science of fish behavior for decades. Prochnow says the results about scents clearly indicate another thing fish don’t like is insect repellant, especially those containing the chemical DEET. Prochnow says it is the kiss of death for an angler who allows such repellants to get on their fishing lures.

“After that, the scents that repel fish the most gets somewhat jumbled,” he said. “Sunscreen is definitely way up there, but other things such as cosmetics, nicotine and even preservatives in fast foods will repel fish.”

The moral of the story is, controlling your scent isn’t only for deer hunters. Besides considering scents that attract fish – such as Eye Hole Jigs and Slab Bites from Crappie Magnet – fishermen need to actively avoid scents that repel fish. It only makes sense.

Richard Simms, Editor

“The outdoors is not a place, it’s a state of mind.”

Capt. Richard Simms is the Editor of CrappieNOW magazine as well as owner of Scenic City Fishing Charters. Formerly he was a game warden for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency before becoming a photographer and PR guy for TWRA. That lead to a 30-year career as a broadcast journalist and freelance outdoor writer. Follow Capt. Simms other writings on his “Richard’s Ramblings” Facebook page.