Several years ago we were heading offshore to one of my super-special, super secret grouper loaded hole. Conditions couldn’t have been better. The moon was in its second quarter, air temperature; a balmy 76 degrees, seawater; 74 degrees. To cap it all off I had two of my favorite (and late) fishing cronies aboard -- Peterson and the outrageous Billy Ray Conner, both outstanding grouper diggers and fun guys with whom to spend the day. 

As we navigated past the park at the mouth of the Anclote River, I turned on my depth recorder. Attempting to change the range, I could not turn the knob. It had absolutely corroded into place.

Billy Ray, being helpful as always, rummaged through his oversized tackle box and came up with a can of his favorite corrosion busting spray. Then Billy Ray liberally showered the offending knob with that smelly, oily stuff.

"Boy that sure stinks," observed Pete. "Yeah, but try turning that knob now" said Billy Ray proudly as he gave us a demonstration of the ease with which it now can be turned. Then, carefully wiping all the excess lubricant off the recorder, he sat down for our trip to my recently discovered honey hole.

Running the last loran microseconds down to zero, the recorder started marking a load of heavy grouper on the bottom. We couldn’t get set up quickly enough. "Boy, there’s some fish in that hole," Pete observed.

After dropping our marker jug and anchoring up over the fish laden rock pile, all aboard eagerly grabbed a frozen sardine and eased it down to the gags below.

Pete and I received immediate strikes, reeling in instant 15-pound keepers -- none for Billy Ray. Again, lowering our baited hooks to the bottom, it was still the "Pete and Mel Show," with Billy Ray chalking up a big goose egg.

This sequence was repeated several times until a completely exasperated Billy Ray, normally an awesome grouper digger, decided to try and figure out why the fish were shunning his bait offerings.

Then the imaginary light bulb lit up inside Billy Ray’s brain. "That darn corrosion spray," he yelled. "The fish can’t stand that smell."

Reaching into his tacklebox, Billy Ray got out some hand cleaner, thoroughly washing and rinsing his inadvertently scented paws several times. Then Pete reached into his box and gave Billy Ray another bottle of fisherman’s scent remover to rub into his hands..

That two-pronged remedy did the trick. On the very next drop, Billy Ray pulled up the biggest fish of the day.

About 9 years ago, I went snooking with my late pal Merrill ‘Canoeman’ Chandler and then 620-WDAE Program Director Brad James. The night before, I had an annoying stiffness in my back -- so I hauled out the muscle cream, and started liberally rubbing that smelly gunk all over my back. I thought I had washed my hands sufficiently after the rubdown but, as later experiences revealed, I didn’t really get the odor completely off my hands.

Setting up at our first spot, Brad nailed an almost keeper snook on a Love Lures Floatin Jig. Then, moments later, Merrill snagged a hawg right by the mangroves, using a small shad tail jig. Unfortunately, the big fish cut him off in the bushes and it was gone.

Meanwhile, I tried switching to what Brad and then Merrill were using. I couldn’t even get a tap. I was left with a feeling of frustration and totally inadequate to the fishy task at hand. Where most of the time I can hold my own with these guys, this day I couldn’t catch a cold!

Then I asked Merrill for one of those identical jigs from his supply and to tie one onto my leader. Now since I personally never touched the lure, it didn't become contaminated with the obviously obnoxious odor imbedded in my hands That did it, and it wasn’t long before I caught my first snook of the day. Later, using Merrill as my lure tier, I was able to keep right up with my fishing partners, hooking several really nice big fish of many species.

Of course, the reverse is true. There are many scents available that actually draw fish to your bait. Recently, I have been doing very well with the new product, UltraScent. It's a small pill-like tablet with a hole in the middle through which you put your leader, just above the bait or lure. There, UltraScent emits a continuous scent in one of four different natural flavors -- shrimp, crab, menhaden and their "Original."

The point I’m trying to make is that you should be always aware of all fishing conditions – even the odors on your hands and baits. Smells – wanted or unwanted – can really have a great effect on your fishing success.