Bugs

[ChasingBass]

I was out bass fishin in my kayak last night at around 7 o'clock when the bugs started to come out. They were swarming my face and it got really annoying. I heard bug spray isn't good to use when you fish because the scent repels the fish. Are there any other techniques that can keep the gnats, flys, and mosquittos away, but not the fish?

[Darren.]

Personally, I haven't found the claim that bugspray repels bass to be true.

 

I use it when I need it. If you have one of those stainless bars of "soap" you can wash your hands off... or if you use spray, you shouldn't need to wash.

 

You could buy a bug hat, too....

[bassin is addicting]

for gnats and biting flies.....Buggins spray is the ticket!  it is all natural...no DEET....it is not for misquitos.  OFF or REPEL or anything like that designed for misquitos DOES NOT work for gnats.

i fish alot on a local river and we get back in "the slew" and the gnats are so bad it is amazing.... they get in your eyes,ears, mouth...shorts...etc.

Buggins spray is the only thing that has worked that is available to be purchased...... 

before i found that spray....i would put together a mixture of pure vanilla and rubbing alcohol and it worked pretty good too. 

i think i mixed 2 parts alcohol to one part vanilla.  they key is to mix it with alcohol and NOT water.  the water dilutes it...the alcohol evaporates and leaves the vanilla...

it smells pretty good too...lol.....

[Hyrule Bass]

deep woods off has always worked for me. ive never seen it affect a bite either. first thing, im not spraying it on my hands to begin with. second, im not spraying it on my lures either lol.

[cajunpapi]

Skin so soft by Avon works, also dryer sheets.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Don't usually have a problem with mosquitoes or flying bugs, but it seems that ticks and spiders are attracted to me for some reason. Because of that I only use the 100% (actually 98% if I remember correctly) deet spray. I've never noticed a difference in my fishing because of it. I have noticed that the sun feels hotter and I get dehydrated/fatigued faster after using the spray. 

[TNBassin']

I've heard that bug spray eats fishing line. Has anyone found this to be true??

[Pleiades]

X2 Dryer Sheets for gnats. Put one under your hat. I've also found that they will gang up on whoever is wearing dark clothing.

[B@ssCrzy]

I have heard vanilla is the ticket for knats just like "bassin is addicting" stated.

[SirSnookalot]

I have tried everything mentioned plus many more, even insect shield treated clothing.  Nothing has worked on me for gnats or no-seeums.  I get attacked often times when no else does, it's my sweet blood they're after.

[RAMBLER]

I've heard that bug spray eats fishing line. Has anyone found this to be true??

Yes.  I used to fish at night, in Michigan.  My fihsing partner and I found our mono to be falling apart.  It was good line the day before.  The only thing that we knew that affected the line was the deet we sprayed on oursleves.  Some had to get on our hands because we used a lot of it.  When we touched the line on our reels it was just like the line had rotted.  We washed our hands verywell and stripped bad line off of our reels until we couldn't pull it apart with our hands and was very careful how we used the spray the rest of the night. 

I did that one other time and then remembered not to do it.  Sometimes it takes me a while to learn.

[green]

Thermacell works wonders when im hunting so id assume it would work fishing.

[Crestliner2008]

For mosquitoes, I use Ben's 100% DEET lotion, which I apply to exposed skin areas BEFORE to going fishing. After applying I wash my hands and apply a small drop to the top of each hand and rub the tops to distribute a light film there. This way my palms & fingers are not coated with the lotion and any perceived fish repellancy is diminished.

 

Now I also treat all my fishing jeans, shirts and hats with Permetrin spray. This insecticide works wonders on ticks. And one treatment last for 4 machine washings. I also have 3 pairs of socks treated with this, as well as my shoes; this, combined with the DEET, makes shore fishing so much more bug free.

[Mike L]

When I went Pike and Walleye fishing in Canada a few years back the owner of the lodge we stayed at told us to pick up a hat with a net because thats the only thing that would keep the black flies from making us crazy.

We brought 3 different kinds of repelent thinking we had it covered...We were wrong, he was right.

 

Sometimes you just gotta cover up.

 

 

Mike

[Fireguyfrank58]

Here in TN the lack of a cold winter has the Mosquito population at a high right now.  As soon as I step out of my truck I am bombarded with 15-20 little scoundrels.  I have bee using Deep woods OFF on every piece of exposed skin and even on my shirts and jeans. They have even been biting through my hair!

[powerduster]

I use bugspray and don't know if it affects my fishing, but I do catch fish sometimes. Honestly I don't really get much great days of fishing anyways to worry about it. At least the bugspray will keep me fishing longer.