Now I know why our OAF micro fishers are so possessed with catching their tiny quarry.

[fishinwrench]

14 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I always rub a streamer in the mouths of the fish I catch.  Laugh if you want but I think it picks up some smell or pheromones the trout like.  

It surely can't hurt anything. 👍 

I like the slime off the flanks though. 😊

[fishinwrench]

1 minute ago, Al Agnew said:

Can't be any worse than sardines. 

Or crawdads. 

[FishnDave]

10"-11" Chubs...some big ol' boys!  They live in the same water and eat the same foods trout do.  Or Smallies.  I've never notices them being slimy or stinky.

Gizzard shad, on the other hand, are slimy and stinky.  Great bait and cut bait, though.  And their oily meat makes for some really healthy bass and crappies and white bass & hybrid striped bass and catfish!

Northern Pike are also slimy and stinky...."snot rockets".

I wonder if rubbing your lure or fly on a fish works more because it helps get rid of the human scent, or if its really the fish scent they like?  I don't usually intentionally rub the fly on a fish, because some fish when caught release pheromones that make other fish swim away.

[nomolites]

2 minutes ago, FishnDave said:

Northern Pike are also slimy and stinky....

Truer word were never spoken; I won’t even handle them - you can’t simply rinse that funk out.  I carry extra long nose pliers and normally remove the hook w/o taking them out of the water.

Mike

[FishnDave]

 Right?  Look at that slime just dripping off!]

[Seth]

I mean, I'm pretty sure you could deep fry a dog turd rolled in Andy's and it'd be edible so creek chubs should be minor. 😁

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, FishnDave said:

I don't usually intentionally rub the fly on a fish, because some fish when caught release pheromones that make other fish swim away.

Whoops 😬,  back up there a bit.  I know where that "theory" came from, because I've heard & read it too.    But this is where you can get all sideways in your understanding of fish behavior.   

That little tidbit is a perfect example of Fisheries Biologist bullschit.   There is no foundation for that assumption whatsoever.   

Fish notice excitement in other fish via their nervous or spastic actions, and that's a fact.    A fish just tossed back into the water acts crazed, but a fish gently eased back into the water and released gently will casually swim back into a school of other fish.....and none of the other fish notices anything, and that again is another fact.    Before the release....feel free to flick him in the eye, call him a MF and a CS and a Sonuvabitch, and show him a video of another fish being brutally assaulted, and whatever other evil treatment you can think of.....but release him SLOWLY & GENTLY and he will casually swim back to the other fish without ANY horrible tales to convey.     

There are no "pheromone transmissions" going on.  

[FishnDave]

oops

[FishnDave]

1 hour ago, fishinwrench said:

There are no "pheromone transmissions" going on.  

My bad.  You are correct.  It may not be a pheromone... but some other chemical.

"Schreckstoff, German for “scary stuff,” is a chemical compound, glycosaminoglycan chondroitin, that some fish species release when they are injured.  This “take-one -for-the-team” signal lets their conspecifics know that there is danger in the area.  But more than just an alarm signal, Schreckstoff also serves as an immune response for the injured individual, warding off parasites and pathogens such as molds, trematodes, and solar radiation.  Schreckstoff is utilized by fish superorder, Ostariophysi, such as minnows, catfishes, and characiformes (including piranha and tetras), and has also been documented in other species, such as salmonids."

 

Here's more info if anyone is interested:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schreckstoff

 

[fishinwrench]

15 minutes ago, FishnDave said:

lets their conspecifics know

Conspecifics???? 

Woah!   Now there's a 6 dollar word for ya.  😅