06-27-2020, 07:14 PM
Thought this might be a topic worth some consideration.
Not to rain on anyone's parade, but using WD40 as a fish attractant is maybe not the best idea. It is a petroleum distillate and could be considered introducing a pollutant in to the water. Technically illegal. For years it has been rumored to have "fish oil" in it, It does not. Many people use it for fishing and it does work. You hear of its use in both fresh and salt water. There are other safer biodegradable/natural oils fish attractants that also work. Maybe better to use those. ( Ask Tube Dude he is master of fishtactular potions and concoctions to appease and entice the olfactory senses of fishy critters) People may say its only just a little squirt here and there. Years ago I was fishing out at bird island on a calm day and there was a boat about a hundred yards away using WD40, we could hear them asking for the can. Every time they cast a bait out a huge circle oil slick would appear. They were catching fish, but not any more than we were, and we were not using it. After an hour or so their was an oil slick covering a few hundred yards. Not sure that is a good thing for the lake.
Years ago a Dr. did some studies on scents for fishing, a conclusion he came to was that fish like things that smell and oils trailing off in many cases it helps. Another thing he concluded was often. it was not the particular smell that worked but just the fact that it smelled. He would clean and "sterilize" a lure, then add something to some and then use the other "clean". In almost all cases the Clean ones underproduced the ones that had 'anything" added to them. Just my two cents worth, but maybe WD40 is not a good idea to put into our waters. Experiment with other safer scents and see what happens. Tons of fish are caught by folks that have never used it. One other note: Berkley is of the leaders in scent research in regards to angling. I was fortunate to tour their test tanks and facility many years ago. In talking to one of the researchers he told me some interesting things. Two widely used scents/additives that anglers use and many seem to think work were Garlic and Salt. In their research they showed they were very ineffective and were not very attractive to fish. He also said the main reason salt got its place in plastic lures was that it was cheaper than the plastisol used to make the baits so they could make more lures with the same amount of plastic and it was cheaper so they made more money. In some cases it could make the bait softer for better action or feel. A good angling buddy always used banana smelly jelly for all fish. I always used shad. crayfish. anchovy. sardine etc. He always caught just as many fish as I did and when I asked him why banana he said my hands and gear smell better and the fish seem to like it to.
Food for thought and just my 2 cents worth ! Would be interested in other thoughts and or opinions.
Not to rain on anyone's parade, but using WD40 as a fish attractant is maybe not the best idea. It is a petroleum distillate and could be considered introducing a pollutant in to the water. Technically illegal. For years it has been rumored to have "fish oil" in it, It does not. Many people use it for fishing and it does work. You hear of its use in both fresh and salt water. There are other safer biodegradable/natural oils fish attractants that also work. Maybe better to use those. ( Ask Tube Dude he is master of fishtactular potions and concoctions to appease and entice the olfactory senses of fishy critters) People may say its only just a little squirt here and there. Years ago I was fishing out at bird island on a calm day and there was a boat about a hundred yards away using WD40, we could hear them asking for the can. Every time they cast a bait out a huge circle oil slick would appear. They were catching fish, but not any more than we were, and we were not using it. After an hour or so their was an oil slick covering a few hundred yards. Not sure that is a good thing for the lake.
Years ago a Dr. did some studies on scents for fishing, a conclusion he came to was that fish like things that smell and oils trailing off in many cases it helps. Another thing he concluded was often. it was not the particular smell that worked but just the fact that it smelled. He would clean and "sterilize" a lure, then add something to some and then use the other "clean". In almost all cases the Clean ones underproduced the ones that had 'anything" added to them. Just my two cents worth, but maybe WD40 is not a good idea to put into our waters. Experiment with other safer scents and see what happens. Tons of fish are caught by folks that have never used it. One other note: Berkley is of the leaders in scent research in regards to angling. I was fortunate to tour their test tanks and facility many years ago. In talking to one of the researchers he told me some interesting things. Two widely used scents/additives that anglers use and many seem to think work were Garlic and Salt. In their research they showed they were very ineffective and were not very attractive to fish. He also said the main reason salt got its place in plastic lures was that it was cheaper than the plastisol used to make the baits so they could make more lures with the same amount of plastic and it was cheaper so they made more money. In some cases it could make the bait softer for better action or feel. A good angling buddy always used banana smelly jelly for all fish. I always used shad. crayfish. anchovy. sardine etc. He always caught just as many fish as I did and when I asked him why banana he said my hands and gear smell better and the fish seem to like it to.
Food for thought and just my 2 cents worth ! Would be interested in other thoughts and or opinions.
time spent fishing isn't deducted from ones life