What do you use to clean hands for fishing?

yarndog · 12-22-2002, 09:45 PM

I hear there is a soap for anglers. what do you use to get the human smell off your hands?

HOGGEMIN · 12-22-2002, 09:59 PM

Smelly Jelly makes a human sent remover, there are hunting soaps that mask human oder. A lot of people use lemon fresh Joy.

Catch 22 · 12-22-2002, 10:00 PM

Ab-scent

fishingfirst · 12-22-2002, 10:03 PM

Try bananas :grin:

Scott

Timber · 12-23-2002, 04:43 AM

Catch 22 said it.

Chilly one · 12-23-2002, 05:16 AM

Smelly Jelly Co. makes "smell repell

". Or just use plain anise oil from Pro Cure , Smelly Jelly, Mikes etc. to mask your scent. Main thing is try and eliminate foul smelling items from your hands and gear, and making sure who ever handles YOUR gear does'nt have offensive matter on their hands as well. It makes a difference. Good habit to get into. Good Luck, Happy Hollydays!

steelheadslayer · 12-23-2002, 07:18 AM

I mainly use Lemon Joy if I'm in the boat and Mikes hand cleaner if I'm wading. It's smaller and fits in the vest real well. :smile:

Steelheadgreen · 12-23-2002, 07:19 AM

A buddy of mine Yellow Norh River swears by Lemon Joy dish soap. And he difitely puts alot of fish in the boat.

steelheadgreen out......

HOGTIDE · 12-23-2002, 08:04 AM

I guess I don't 'clean' my hands for fishing. But, I do try to get them well covered with bait scent when I am fishing. Using herring, I not only put it on the hook, but I also use sacrificial bait to mash a bit, and slide up and down the leader, lead line, spreader and whatever else is down toward the bitin' end of the line. Same thing with eggs or even WD-40 when fishin' plugs.

Sometimes I trully wonder how big a detourant hand scent plays; as my wife and daughters are rather successful, their hands constantly smell like 3 different kinds of lotions and perfumes :whazzup:

Pilar · 12-23-2002, 08:44 AM

Dr. Bronners peppermint oil soap ... Aka ... The hippie soap. Biodegradable and smells like mint. Removes anything from your hands except cured fiberglass or epoxy.

Works on Gasoline, engine grease and fish guts.

You can get it at Fred Meyers in sizes up to a gallon. The little bottles are pretty spendy.

Silver Hilton · 12-23-2002, 08:52 AM

Any dish detergent will remove the amino acids and skin oil from your hands. The fancy no-scent soap is no different.

I always wash my hands before I handle baits. I had it convincingly demonstrated to me that I smell bad to fish, years ago when fishing for walleye. I was showing a guy how to do it, and we took his boat. I kept detergent in mine, he didn't have any. We trolled for a few hours, he caught three, I didn't get a bite. We went in to the dock to hit the store, I washed my hands in the john, and we were neck and neck after that.

Of course, some would assert that I simply smell bad, and that I should bathe the rest of myself as well, but I think that smacks of rabid extremism.

Sagebrush Fisherman · 12-23-2002, 09:06 AM

I use Fast Orange to wash my hands, but keep a box of latex gloves in the boat and wear them when handling baits and lures. The gloves also keep your hands smelling civilized when cut plugging herring for Springers or Bouy 10 fishing.

CATCH AND EAT · 12-23-2002, 09:07 AM

Lemon Joy or Fishermans Anise hand soap. A guide friend of mine made a believer out of me. :smile:

Bobby Ray · 12-23-2002, 09:12 AM

Lemon Joy Huh!

I need to try it.

I've always rubbed any sents that I have with me and that usually does a good job masking my sent, but my favorite is special mix smelly jelly.

BnB

DriftR · 12-23-2002, 03:54 PM

For the guy who posted using WD-40. That was a way of scenting baits but no longer. It is a petroleum based product and may result in a large fine if your checked. The fine is not worth it.
I use a lemon bar soap that I bought from Cabela's years ago. Bought a case of the stuff and it works great. Keep it in the driftboat and sled.

12-23-2002, 04:00 PM

Human female scent from their hands (oil from our skin) is 10 times less potent than males, thus a contributing factor to a female fisherman's success.

Some poo poo the entire scent thing, I cover mine and use various kinds, which seem to work. One of my best friend uses nothing and catches lots of fish. Go figure.

Dishsoap or WD-40 on the hands seems to work fine before you touch anything, as Hogtide said.

I think the guestimate is that Salmonoids can smell 1 in 1 million parts of something, which is probably how they find their home rivers, so apparently it's probably important. It's also one of the "strike" factors in fish.

Anxiously awaiting Wiz's or UG's "IFISH How To" book on the subject. :tongue: :tongue:

:grin:

[ 12-23-2002, 05:24 PM: Message edited by: ****** ]

CAGEY · 12-23-2002, 04:24 PM

Colgate tooth paste. Gets rid of the smell of onions, garlic, herring, smelt, blood, beer, old socks, etc. All kidding aside it does a fantastic job. Put it on right out of the tube, work into skin and rinse. I have used it for years. It does not seem to bother the fish.

Bounty Hunter · 12-23-2002, 04:25 PM

I do well on Chinook and Silvers using mint toothpaste (Crest or Pepsident) to wash my hands. I don't know if it matters, but I know they don't mind it. Not so sure what's best on Steelies though.

novice · 12-23-2002, 04:27 PM

Sister in law just sent me some anise bar soap for fisherman(homemade). It will be interesting to see how it works. Sure smells up the room.
novice

Bounty Hunter · 12-23-2002, 04:27 PM

Hey Cagey. I guess great minds think alike!

CAGEY · 12-23-2002, 05:01 PM

Bounty Hunter...... Well you might be right about that. Although no one has ever accused me of being overly bright. ha ha ha. :grin:

montster303 · 12-23-2002, 05:21 PM

Novice-

How will you know if it works or not? Don't you have to have something to compare it to??? [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img] But then, it you catch one, I guess that would mean it works!! :grin: :grin:

PS....is my avatar still giving you nightmares???

[ 12-23-2002, 06:23 PM: Message edited by: montster303 ]

Mad Mikey · 12-23-2002, 05:32 PM

Why would you want to remove it??? Take it with you to work the next day, share it with your friends!!!

"Hey guys!!!, sniff this!!!"

"Wow! that must have been a beaut, 10lb hen right???"

SNIFF

"Hmmmm, that has to be a Wilson fish"

Share it with your sweetie!!!

"Honest honey, I wasn't at Starz. I even brought home dinner!!!"

SNIFF

"I'm sorry sweetums, I should have trusted you!"

Take it to your kids show n' tell!!!

"OK class, one neat line around the nice fisherman, only one sniff, we haven't got all day."

SNIFFFfffffffffffff

"MY DADDY CAUGHT ONE BIGGER DAN' DAT'!!!"

And so on, the possibilties are endless......

[ 12-23-2002, 06:35 PM: Message edited by: Mad Mikey ]

Gun Rod Bow · 12-23-2002, 05:35 PM

Cagey,

Lemon Joy for me and many I know. I always wondered how a lot of old fisherman with constantly "nicotine stained fingers" caught lots of fish, even on eggs, but they did.

I believe in highly competitive fishing (which most is now) all of the little things matter.

I fished with Bob Toman a few years ago. He stores his plugs with no hooks on them. Takes them out of the box, dips in liquid tooth paste, rinses, puts on brand new hooks and scent of the day.

When done removes the hooks and discards them, cleans plug in liquid tooth paste, rinse, wipe, back in box. He told me he fished a guy who smoked a nasty cigar one day, that guy got skunked while others caught fish. That rod had no strikes the following day. That night he re-spooled the reel and that rod went back to catching fish. I know Toman is fanatic about human smells on his gear. His record speaks for itself.

GRB

spinnermaker · 12-24-2002, 08:40 AM

Lemon joy & tooth paste I have even used mud and sand on the river bank. Any thing to get the smell off.

Tillamook Slugger · 12-24-2002, 10:09 AM

I've been fishing 35 years successfully without worrying about hand washing. This past fall, after a productive couple hours of pulling cut-plugs out of Ilwaco, I baited up with my hands intentionally coated with sunscreen, a definite NO-NO... Hooked a 25# chinook immediately. A month later in the ocean out of T-Bay I pinched a chew of tobacco and baited up, making sure I got my hands all over that bait. BAM, fish-on. My opinion is washing your hands is unnecessary, I sure wouldn't spend a lot of money on fancy products. However, the HAT you wear just may make or break your day...

CAGEY · 12-24-2002, 01:15 PM

Well as usual there are a lot of different idea's about what is good and what is not. Personal preference is the way to go. If it works for you then use it. To be honest i only use the toothpaste at the end of the day or sometimes during the day while fishing. Hands get to stinking so bad i cant eat my donuts. It really doe's not seem to bother the fish as i have hooked fall runs, and springers with the tootpaste smell on my hands so i guess the fish dont care. Wife is a lot happier though. ha ha I try to have a small tube in the box. I use Maries Shrimp Scent more than anything when fishing. Its good stuff but but can get to stinking just as bad as herring or smelt. Egg smell does't bother me. :grin:

Alligator · 12-24-2002, 01:40 PM

I use lemon Joy in my boat and I buy lemon joy for my wife to use washing dishes, the smell reminds me that I should be fishing. :grin:

Wood N' Fish · 12-24-2002, 03:09 PM

I use a mixture of Safeguard Soap, and sardine flavored Smelly Jelly . Note of caution though-----thoroughly rinse from hands before eating lunch.

nerta · 12-24-2002, 03:24 PM

Since I'm in such a great mood with the holidays n' all I'll give up my secret. Dip your hands in what ever water your fish'n wipe them off on your Wranglers and cast. Doesn't work every time but seems to keep the freezer full. Happy Holidays! :grin: :grin:

HeavyMetal BankFisherman · 12-24-2002, 03:42 PM

I myself grab a good handfull of bank gunk or gravel, depends where you are. Rub this in your hands for a little while then rinse in the river. Hand warmers are advised in the winter. Thats all I ever do. Get the scent of the river on your hands.

[ 12-24-2002, 04:43 PM: Message edited by: HeavyMetal BankFisherman ]

boater · 12-24-2002, 03:49 PM

i agree with Tillamook Slugger, other than gas and oil i dont worry about it

Joe · 12-24-2002, 09:04 PM

I have to agree with Tillamook Slugger and Nerta!

I got some of that anise fishermans soap for Christmas and I'm thinkin I will keep that for when I go out.

yarndog · 12-24-2002, 09:25 PM

Well I work construction and I do get gas and oil on my hands.
When I am out of work for like a week or two I always catch more fish. I was out of work for two months this summer and I caught more fish then I ever had. Every time I go fishing in a boat I have my friend bait me up. True story. Every time I bait up I get nothing. Once I get some one to bait up for me I catch fish.... [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]

[ 12-24-2002, 10:27 PM: Message edited by: yarndog ]

Fishplay · 12-25-2002, 12:27 AM

Regular Flavor Crest. Stay away from the tarter control and other new options.