Article on Bass Repellents

[Gangly]

An In-Fisherman Article recently published regarding bass repellents testing done by Pure Fishing had some pretty interesting information in it. It described what things can be identified as bass repellents and some of them that I thought would be considered repellents werent, while other that i thought wouldnt be repellents, were.

The most repulsive repellents were anything that contained deet (Bug Spray like OFF, Cutter, etc). It seemed to "repel about anything that swims, crawls, flies, or runs". "Touching a lure after applying DEET renders it repulsive for well over an hour".

"Detergents and soaps also are offensive to fish".

"The active ingredient in many sunscreens --PABA;p amino benzoiic acid-- also repels bass"

"On the other hand, some substances widely considered repulsive to fish are not. The amino acid L-serine, found in human skin, spooks salmon, but has no effect on bass. We've also offered bass food dipped in motor oil and gasoline, and watched them gobble it up."

After reading it, it sounds like the best thing to do is wash your hands in the waters that you are fishing prior top handling any lures that you might be using, that way you can ensure that you are not getting any unwanted scents on your lures. I just thought it was an interesting read and wanted to share it.

[jrbsr]

Thank You for the information.
I have noticed, that I catch more fish, if I have cleaned myself with some of the scentaway products, for deer hunting.

[Wildbill51]

Probably not a great idea to use DEET in any case. Anything that can eat a hole through a nylon rain jacket should not be used on your skin, or even come in contact indirectly with your skin.

Thanks for the info, I will be a lot more careful about what I have on my hands when touching anything that will even come close to bass (or other fish for that matter)!

Wildbill51
www.wildramblings.com

[kevin1]

I already know the most effective bass repellent known to man, I just go bass fishing and every bass within fifty miles disappears...

[Chuck7]

I use to make my own garlic oil...it did seem to work..However; I beleive most bass are caught on reaction rather than hunger..They are the butt kickers of the lake..

[Gangly]

I tend to agree Chuck. If a bass is hungry, it wont generally wait too long before satisfying his hunger. And on days where you catch 10 within 30 minutes, I find it hard to believe that they are all hungry at the same time . I think most of them are reaction strikes as well, its just getting them to hold on long enough after the strike that's the problem

I have also noticed, that when I am really hot on them, a lot of the hooksets are in the lips or close to the front of the mouth. However, when it is a day that I catch them few and far between, the hooks are generally really deep in their mouths. I think this could be a result of what we are talking about. Basically, when i catch them few and far between, its the hungry ones that I am catching, and they are ahnialating the lure. But when I am catching them like crazy, the bass are generally short striking the lure and its rarely a deep hookset, which I think might be a result of them just reacting instead of being hungry and swallowing it deep. Who knows, I could be WAY off on that, just a guess.

[productsmarine]

This could be wrong but i think this idea really work in such condition

[Wildbill51]

I learned about the DEET repellant idea a couple of years ago and from my experience it is without a doubt accurate. Thanks for the great tips!