My dad and i went up to strawberry yesterday after and started fishing off the shore… About ten minutes in i had my first fish then another, and then another. My poor old man was just sitting there watching. He had the exact same setup, same bait, same everything and he couldn’t catch a damn fish! I don’t get it. This happens quite often and I’m getting to the point of feeling guilty fishing with my dad, which is not a good thing! Has anyone had or seen this problem? What could he be doing different or wrong?
I had a friend move up here for a lil bit to help me with my storage auction busness who only fished a couple times in his life and doesnt really know anything about it. The first time I took him fishing is when I caught the biggest fish I ever caught. I Had some mexicans fishing near us net it in for me because I didnt bring mine because I never caught a big fish before. They also wieghed it and it was a 16lb black channel cat. After that every time we went fishing I ended up catching a big fish and he would get skunked. We went fishing about 16 times together and he has about 2 lil bullheads to show for it. I even rigged up his pole the same as mine and we used the same bait usually fishing the same spot. Here is a pic with him and his very first fish.
He’s not holding his mouth right.[;)]
Sometimes it’s the little things. Does he handle a lot of gasoline? A lot of old timers will let a kid handle the tiller and motor to avoid having gas and oil on their own hands.
Are you absolutely sure he’s rigged the same? Knots? Length of leader? Strength and color of leader? Size and type of hook? Does he cast farther than you?
I used to go fishing with a friend all the time that had the same luck. He would use the same bait and set up as I would and couldn’t catch a cold. One day it dawned on me that everytime we got out of the truck to fish he would bathe himself in the most foul smelling sunscreen. I suggested that I tie on and bait his hook. It was amazing the number of fish he caught that trip. Now he uses gloves to paint on the sunscreen. Me, I just go to the burnatologist every 6 months.
Did he have a different color of line then you because sometimes when my dad had a clear color and i had a green color line it made a huge difference. Plus if your using jigs or lures to catch them it could of been how you retrieve the bait in a certain pattern.
He’s not holding his mouth right.[;)]
Bananas.
Sure he’s not doing it on purpose to make YOU feel better?
I bet it’s the sunscreen! He all but jumps in a pool of the stuff before we go! Im going to try that and see if it works… Thanks!
And my dad is not the type to not catch fish just to make me feel better… If he had the chance to outfish me he would take it!
it is surprising how true that is. Old Coot doesn’t let you put it on in the boat. either before with a sever washing of the hands or your fried. haha
Try rubber gloves or a little Anise extract on his hands. Smells like licorice. And the question of is he casting farther, is his sitting lower or higher in the water…in other words, are you in the same water zone. I found even a few inches off will effect catch, specially lower as fish look up.
Dido on the sunscreen. The same goes for citrus. If you peel an orange and handle your bait or lures with your orange peel smelling fingers, you might notice a drop in action. I agree with everything else that’s been said as well. Line color, leader length, to much bait, not enough bait, retrieval speed and depth, etc. All these subtle little differences can make a HUGE difference in action.
to get rid of stink off your hands, take unscented floride toothpaste with you. do what you have to do, then rub the toothpaste all over your hands, rinse in lake water.
I carry baking soda on my boat to easily and quickly clean any odors from my hands.
It’s the sunscreen! I agree with that.
That crap ruins more fishing than anything else I’ve witnessed (aside from a bad attitude).
My wife wears it a lot or smears it all over the kids and they won’t get a bite.
My buddy Holdsworth used to wear it and he’d always have a rough day when he did, despite my prodding.
Wear long sleeves and jeans when you’re fishing and you won’t have to worry about smelling like a lifeguard.
…Or a really big obnoxious hat![sly]
Sunscreen…ditto.
Also- and some people here will disagree with me here, but I believe it is true- smoking.
I knew an old man that smoked, and he would rub his hands with grasses and various plants found around the waters to run the funk off. I don’t know if it really worked for him.
I agree with the sunscreen having a negative odor, but instead of going without it, use something to get the odor off your hands.
Don’t lose chunks of your body to melanoma for a fish or two. I like my ears and nose left whole!
I had never thought about the smell from stuff messing with fish… I am to Impatient to sit there and lather up with sunscreen so I just typically wear a long sleeve shirt and a big ugly hat… Thanks for all the tips guys! Now I just have to wait a whole week to go try out the new plan… Damn.
This is all pretty funny to wake up to on my first day off in two months. Has anyone ever personally asked a fish which scents they like and/or dislike? This inquiring mind would love to know.
I slather the sunscreen on my face and hands every morning, with the palms of my hands and fingers, and cover the back of my hands as well. Then, I handle my jigs with those same greasy hands while re-tying the knots each morning from the day before.
Same goes for my flies when I’m fly fishing. I also put silicone on my flies to make them float, with hands covered in sunscreen.
I also smoked a pack-a-day for over 20 years before quitting a few years ago. This, all while handling bait, lures, and flies as a professional guide, and blowing Marlboro all over them.
Finally, my “secret scent” for my plastic lures is Super Glue!! Seriously. Ask ANYONE who has ever mack fished with me.
Man, if I fished with clean hands and washed them off all the time, I might just fish-out all the places I go!
Smells on your hands really do effect the fishing. I use a small travel tube of regular crest to wash my hands with when I’m on the water. It cuts the slime, the smells, and is more bio-friendly to the water than a lot of soaps.
Here is a post about how fish smell, and there are links to some articles if you are interested.
http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=614081
Sunscreen or long sleeves, a buff, and a hat go a long way to prevent you from becoming a regular donator to your local dermatologist’s housing fund.
Has anyone ever personally asked a fish which scents they like and/or dislike? This inquiring mind would love to know.
This reminded me of a conversation I once had with my dad.
“Dad, do you knock out the fish before you gut them, you know, so they don’t suffer?”
“No son, it doesn’t hurt them, I know, because they don’t scream.”
Ok, back to the debate over sunscreen. 