Does Mosquito Repellant Scare Bass?

[Maggiesmaster]

Small mosquitoes are pretty bad now, and I'm wondering what people think about leaving deet on your hands.....does the smell  scare bass?

[Bluebasser86]

DEET is one of very few chemicals that has been proven to repel bass. I only use it when they're really bad and then I use it mainly on the bad bite areas like my legs, feet, ankles, and neck. When at all possible I prefer to wear clothes that cover me up instead of using bug spray, it's not good for you anyways. 

[scaleface]

I use it , I dont like too , but sometimes it is necessary . I dont spray it on my palms .Faster moving lures dont concern me , soft plastics ,  one could always add some scent .

[slimshad]

It will discolor your boat interior pieces thats for sure....

[Preytorien]

Like Clayton said, it's been proven bass don't like it. 

 

I prefer long sleeve shirts, but when I can't stand it I like to spray it on, then wash my hands when I'm done, then maybe rub them in the dirt or something. 

 

Use Megastrike as hand lotion or something

[Wayne P.]

DEET is one of very few chemicals that has been proven to repel bass. I only use it when they're really bad and then I use it mainly on the bad bite areas like my legs, feet, ankles, and neck. When at all possible I prefer to wear clothes that cover me up instead of using bug spray, it's not good for you anyways. 

 

Yep, it has proven to repel bass at a laboratory at Berkley Fishing.

 

I have proven it to myself that it does not repel wild bass in their natural habitat.

 

I sprayed insect repellent with DEET on a Fluke and caught numerous bass until it was too torn up to use. Put on another Fluke sprayed that one and caught more.

Did the same test with sunscreen also and several other "bass repellents".

[scaleface]

Yep, it has proven to repel bass at a laboratory at Berkley Fishing.

 

I have proven it to myself that it does not repel wild bass in their natural habitat.

 

I sprayed insect repellent with DEET on a Fluke and caught numerous bass until it was too torn up to use. Put on another Fluke sprayed that one and caught more.

Did the same test with sunscreen also and several other "bass repellents".

Doug Hannon said he dipped worms in gasoline and still caught fish . But , even though fish are still caught ,  I " speculate " that  over the long run , less fish would be caught .

[Jaderose]

If I use it, I wear gloves

[desmobob]

Casual real-world tests seem to contradict the industry testing as far as what repels fish.  Salmon are reputed to have the most sensitive sense of smell/taste.  One time on an outing on Lake Ontario, my friend was trolling two identical spoons at identical depths.  He dipped one of the spoons into the nasty, oily, gassy bilge water of his boat and caught the next fish on that spoon.   Maybe trolling a lure washes it clean of any scents?

 

DEET, on the other hand, is a nasty chemical that will dissolve some plastics.  Whether it repels fish or not, I always go out of my way to make sure I've washed all traces of it off my hands before handling lures/baits (or any fishing gear, sunglasses, fly lines, etc.).

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[the reel ess]

Whatever I put on, be it bug spray or sunscreen, I always wash my hands afterward before fishing. But then I'm putting soap on my hands. I have heard not to reach into a minnow bucket or bait tank with chemicals on. Use the dip net.

[F14A-B]

Interesting question, I've never noticed it to be problematic in Bass fishing, as far as effecting bass strikes.. It can be hard on your rod & reel finish. The Mosquitos in Canada are attracted to any bug spray ( stuff is like crack to them, lol )

[DevinFishing29]

It hasn't effected me ever. Although I would just use long sleeves as long as it is not to warm out.

[bigbill]

My buddy wears one of those dryer fabric softener towels on the back of his hat.

[Catt]

Yep, it has proven to repel bass at a laboratory at Berkley Fishing.

I have proven it to myself that it does not repel wild bass in their natural habitat.

I sprayed insect repellent with DEET on a Fluke and caught numerous bass until it was too torn up to use. Put on another Fluke sprayed that one and caught more.

Did the same test with sunscreen also and several other "bass repellents".

I've the same thing with the same results which is why I do not place any stock in scientific research done in aquariums!

[MFBAB]

I'm curious, normally when I'm fishing a fluke, I look at it as a reaction bite.  In other words, I don't think line visibility or scent matters too much in that context. 

 

Has anyone performed a deet test on something like a plastic worm or Senko?  Deadstick style?

I think even Hannon's gas test was on a moving bait, like a swimming worm or Rapala maybe?  I can't recall exactly. 

 

I can say for sure, that I personally do much better on non-reaction (slow or non-moving) baits, with clean hands: no deet, sunscreen, no gas, especially no human scent to the extent that I can control it, I even wear rubber gloves sometimes when fishing slow baits and live bait...

I don't use scent (attractant) all of the time, but I do put it on if I feel like I should be catching fish on non-reaction baits and I'm not, or of they aren't holding the bait well, and sometimes it seems to help. 

 

I think, if you're going finesse, you're fishing for inactive fish and you need to go all in.  Don't give them a reason not to pick it up if you can help it.  

If you're power (reaction) fishing, and you have the conditions right for that(wind, low light, current, stained water, etc...), you can get away with a lot more and scent is useless. 

 

Having said all of that, I'm pretty sure WD40 is a known fish attractant too, so there's that

[WPCfishing]

I use repel.. I wash my hands thoroughly after spraying it. I can't stand the smell of it but, it works.

[Wayne P.]

My Fluke test was with a weightless Super Fluke with a 5/0 hook on an extended point.

 

I was not giving it any "action", just a slow fall on slack 20# test fluorocarbon line. I was in 13'-18' depths.

A Senko would be a reaction presentation in comparison.

 

I later did more tests with "fish attractants" along with so called detractants and nothing added. There was zero difference in my catch numbers and rate of catches.

Yep included WD-40 too and it is not fish oil--that is a myth.

 

I fish finesse presentions a majority of the time. Makes NO difference what is or isn't on the presentation.

Actually my sunscreen test was with a weedless wacky rigged finesse worm and another person was with me doing the same. I think we caught about 60 bass that day with Coppertone Sport sunscreen SPF 50 applied liberally.

 

My conclusion is if you want to have an excuse for not catching, insect repellent is just as good as any other you might want to use.

[Senko lover]

Doug Hannon said he dipped worms in gasoline and still caught fish . But , even though fish are still caught ,  I " speculate " that  over the long run , less fish would be caught .

 

Yeah, but I'll bet he used motor oil worms 

[bigbill]

My grandfather worked his 1/4 acre garden by hand in the evenings. He had a garlic necklace. That would attract bass? Lol but I do eat a lot of garlic.

When I was logging I washed my hands and arms with the two stroke mix that kept the tics and bugs away. Then I wiped some off that worked.

[MFBAB]

That's interesting Wayne, I have had vastly different experiences than yours. 

Maybe I actually smell bad to fish, not the other things, but all I can tell you is that my results improve if I take care to keep my hands clean. This is anytime I'm fishing slow stuff, even live bait if it's in still water.

 

No need for excuses, just clean hands   

[Bluebasser86]

That's interesting that you found it didn't have any effect. I've never heard of oil, gas, or sunblock repelling fish so I've never put any stock into those ones. Seems like fish in a test lab would be way less wary than a wild fish so I'd assume that wild bass would be even less likely to strike a bait with DEET on it. Either way, it's nasty stuff that isn't good for you so I avoid using it if at all possible. 

[soflabasser]

I clean my hands with water after using bug spray. Doesn't seem to affect my bass fishing one bit.

[bigbill]

I'd do the garlic. Save the juice from the jar of chopped garlic. I'm going to experiment with watering the natural garlic juice down to the point it keeps the bugs away.

Garlic is safer than chemicals.

[bassguytom]

I use a thermacell it works great. If I use sun screen I take a little dab of megastrike and rub my hands together. Seems to work for me. I stay away from deet as said before it will discolor parts of your boat.

[RAMBLER]

I had DEET on my hands and found out that it destroyed mono line.  A buddy and I, fishing evenings in the UP of Michigan, started having our line (mono) break seemingly for no reason at all.  Washed our hands and pulled a couple of layers of mono off the spools and had no more problems.