Do you think that fish are put off by any smell that may transmit onto your fly, or other tackle for that matter? Thinking mostly about tobacco, handwash, deodorant, etc? Do you think they are attracted by some smells? Pheromones are often talked about, but what affect, if any, do you think that has?

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Sam

possibly on stillwaters- but I'd put my neck out and say trout are more sight feeders anyway- and in flowing water I reckon they wont think twice unless its quite a pungent smell.

It might put fish off at the last minute possibly? If your catching plenty of wise ol' fish on your flies I don't think you have to be too worried

im sure they would have no problem smelling out a worm in fllodwater though just food for thought im not saying start using worms there.... no arguments please

That's an interesting one, let me elaborate ;
fish are very olfactory, salmon for example, return to the same spawning ground that they were born in by literally following the smell of that place! Back to your question depending on the fish i am quite sure that some fish are definitely attracted by smells (think of worms and dead fish in the case of ferrox ) but whether they are repulsed is much more complicated. by thinking about it from an evolutionary perspective what smell could be programed into a fish so that every time it smells them it spooks? Are common chemicals (deodorant, hand wash tobacco etc) in sufficient concentration on the hook to rapidly diffuse into the surrounding area and even if they reach the fish in a detectable quantity (once again variable on the type of fish) would they behave like the the chemicals that the fish is programed to fear? Im not really sure that anyone knows the answer so there is only one way to find out- try them , one at a time each over a period of weeks compare the bites and roughly you have an idea of what's going on in there! Maybe after try applying food smells to the hook or pheromones (sorry i know nothing bout them) and see what happens.
that should set you on the right track. if you do try it please tell me how it goes.
all the best
Ben

the manufacturers of power bait go to some lengths to get smell in so it must work the other way too,

aniseed oil was once used as an extra attractor, good one to try it out with.

Get yourself a bar of "Metal Soap". I use it if I accidentally get petrol on my hands before I tie on my flies.

OO

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Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate
YOU DONT NEED EYES TO SEE YOU NEED VISION

That's a really interesting question. What about fly tying materials stored with moth balls?
Aniseed is still used in feed for racing pigeons and also pheasant feed.

I really don't know how critical the "smell" thing is when it comes to putting the fish off. But..............I am paranoid about it and am real carefull with the fly repellant etc. So until it's proven different BN fishes with washed hands...............birdsnest

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Fear not if I steal from your side, as of yore, from paradise streams to fish Teifi once more.
BN based in Wolverhampton

This is a discussion I had e few years ago with Ian Heaps (world champion coarse angler).
He used the term 'fishy hands' and could recognise that you either had them or not and was NOT affected by smoking.
He certainly did have 'fishy hands'......on many occasions I saw him catch fish whilst plumbing the depth ....with a BARE hook

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Two things to have in life - A good bed and a good pair of boots -and if you aren't in one you should be in t'other

http://www.steelheader.net/ubbthread.../0/Board/UBB69

Thanks for the link but it will not let me access it. What am I doing wrong?