Will this freak fish, turn them off - some outboard oil on trolling skirts.

[mada]

I have some older trolling lures, mostly heavy skirted synthetics and plastics. There is a bit of outboard oil on them. Are they useless due to the oil, or will a good bath remove the scent? Besides dish soap, any other recomendations?

Thanks

[savage]

Putting them thru the dishwasher might shape them up.
I don't believe that the oil will spoil them, in fact I recall that years ago I got a hot tip to spray skirts with WD-40. I wouldn't do that these days from an environmental standpoint. Plastic comes from hydrocarbons and TCW3 isn't particularly harsh. They should survive.

[Grady Driver]

That's a tough one - I'd be inclined to just replace them. Try Dawn or other grease fighting soaps, but be careful about using anything too strong that may leave a residue in the plastic. Even things like sunscreen and bug spray, if on your hands when you handle tackle, spook fish, so soap residue probably would too.

After you get them clean, soak them in fresh water for a while and spray some fish oil on them. Then give them a try, but if you get the big Skunk, 86 'em!!

Good luck!

GD

[auguste]

Fresh water fisherman on the Great Lakes and many guides in the north spray WD 40 on their lures to improve their catch . . . one summer my neighbour ran four downriggers one side getting WD 40 and the other side not getting WD 40 . . . he kept the lures in separate boxes . . . each time he went out he switched the side he used the WD 40 . . . he kept a written record of every fish caught . . .

He wrote an atricle for a Quebec hunting and fishing magazine stating he caught about 21 or 22% more fish with WD 40 than without

#1 . . . all his lures were metal and plastic without skirts

#2 . . . he only fished salt water

I fished with him four or five times that summer and he really seemed to catch more with WD 40 on those days we fished together

[auguste]

Why don't you mark and drag a few with the oil and a few without the oil . . . let us know what your experience is . . . maybe spilling the oil will give you a new secret edge

[Fubar512]

I actually tried to post a response earlier, but got it got fubar’ed by a server error.

Buck Perry, who some credit as being the first sports writer to point out how game fish relate to structure and cover (in his book “Spoonplugging”), once told how he once dipped his trolling lures in gasoline to make a point. He felt that his quarry (largemouth bass) was much more interested in the placement of his lures, and their speed & action, then in how they smelled. Supposedly, the gasoline soaked lures worked just as well as those that were not similarly baptized!

In my experience, certain species (namely tuna & marlin) do take the time to examine a trolled offering, even one that’s traveling at 10+ knots. The only time that I’ve seen them hit them with total disregard, is when there was competitive pressure from their school-mates or other predators.

Mada, if you’re really worried, just soak the lures in something that will neutralize the offending odor, instead of simply replacing or covering it up with one of its own. White vinegar comes to mind….

[auguste]

Fubar512 has a good idea

Wonder if you soaked them in chum if that would help ? ? ?

just wondering out loud

[Fubar512]

Well, Auguste....they do sell "Bunker" (Menhaden) oil. I've seen it in spray bottles, gallon jugs, and 5 gallon containers. I've used it spice up a slick now and again....

[chep]

The reason some fishermen spray WD-40 on their lure or bait is because MENHADEN OIL is one of the main ingred. of WD-40. Thats also why its ok to lube your reels with it. If it soaks into your braided line it won't scare fish.

[Fubar512]

Well, I have access to the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) on WD40, and it states that the product contains:

50% Stoddard solvent (mineral spirits) [8052-41-3]
25% Liquified petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant) [68476-85-7]
15+% Mineral Oil (light lubricating oil) [64742-65-0]
10-% Inert ingredients

So you're implying that the 10% that's listed as "inert" ingrediants is actually menhaden oil?