Question on bad scents

[Koke-n-a-smile]

Hi all, I know about all of the great products that are on the market for adding scents to your tackle. I personally use them part of the time. My question though is about bad scents that may get on the tackle. My two cycle motor has a tendency to leak oil out of the oil bladder while I am towing the boat to the lake. This makes a slight mess of things which I wipe up with rags. However, I have noticed that about the time I started having trouble catching fish, there has been a slight oil sheen on the water behind my boat.
I am wondering, do you think the fish are repelled by the scent of the oil that may attach to lure while we are letting it out prior to attaching it to the downrigger?
I have washed the entire back end down with some lemon joy as recommended by a friend, and plan on washing my tackle. I haven't been back out yet to test this theory. Do you think I should change the line on my pole too,? Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[SuperD]

Unless that oil is getting on your lure, it wouldn't make any difference at all. I know a couple of fishermen that are possesed by things like this and keep a bucket of soapy water onboard to wash the lure everytime they can. (Just in case things we think that don't matter really do).

 

[Petty4life]

i use these wipes to clean my lures http://www.gooddayfishing.com/products/catalog/3

 

[Koke-n-a-smile]

Yeah, I think the lures might be getting in the oil sheen when we are letting them out. I have noticed on a couple of the lures a slight oil smell. I am trying to trouble shoot why we don't catch as many fish as other people. I have been out with some friends, and they get their limit, and we will only get a few fish. I am running at the same depth, around the same speed, and using the same lures, same setback from the down rigger ball. If I fish on their boat with my tackle, I catch fish. I am down to two things, the possibility of two cycle oil getting on the lures, or the whole debate about negative ions on the down rigger line. The thing is, earlier in the year using the same setups we were catching fish. Thanks for listening to the ramblings, and any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

 

[Bduck]

Other than lemon joy, I've been finding that simple green cuts thru the grease and oily substances. My boat hull was a mess and it cleaned very nice. I'll use it around my engine and the oil comes off. Thats using it full concentrate. Lighter cleaning can be diluted in a spray bottle. thumbsup

 

[SuperD]

Roger,
Simple Green is great but it also eats the wax finish off your boat. Be sure to hit the gel coat wit some wax after you use the simple green on your hull.

 

[Bduck]

After a build up of wax coats, its starts yellowing. It leaves a dingy dirty color on the white. All though waxes look good after going on, they need to be stripped. Yep, simple green does a good job. But it doesn't have to stay on very long. So far I haven't seen where it hurts the hull or finish. How much waxing does a boat actually get in a season? Mine gets one at the beginning by hand application and after that a car wash detergent that has the wax in it. Now its back to oil film that gets all over everything. This is the luxury of having a 2stroke, especially the older types where the smoke & oil film is quite noticeable. All that can be done is clean it after use. Koke-n-a-smile can you wrap the bladder some how to keep the oil film contained so it doesn't get all over everything?

 

[Koke-n-a-smile]

Koke-n-a-smile can you wrap the bladder some how to keep the oil film contained so it doesn't get all over everything?

The problem only happens while trailering. I am going to look into getting a new o-ring for the cap, and or see about what else I can do. I am also thinking about some kind of tray that can sit below the motor while I drive that can catch any oil and keep it off of the boat. Like I said, I hope that this is my problem, and I can catch more fish. I have some simple green, I am going to give that a try too. Oh, my boat is aluminum, so I am not too worried about the gel coat.101ok101

Thanks for that link Petty, I have some hand soap called fisherman's friend or something, that has anise it, I thought I might give that a try too.

 

[SuperD]

Have you tested your riggers to see if you are running a hot boat?

 

[Koke-n-a-smile]

Sort of, I used my cheapo multi-meter and did get a reading, but I didn't write it down. Next time out I will take a closer look. I have read that if you are running a long way from the ball, it shouldn't matter. I have been running from 30 to 100 feet behind the boat. I have two rods on one downrigger, and when I am putting my rod out, it is mostly out of the side of the boat while I let line out. When I reel fish in they come right up the back, that is when I think I get some oil on them. The other rod goes out the back when we let line out, and this rod hasn't been catching as many fish as mine, so that is what makes me think of the oil. I don't know. If you think that the negative ions are more likely the culprit, can I just switch to a braided line to get to a more neutral situation? I don't really have the extra cash to spring for a black box or an electric downrigger. Thanks for the advice!101notworthy2101

 

[SuperD]

While there may be some truth to the premise that long set backs help mitigate a hot wire, consider that the wire passes and repells fish directly under the boat long before your lure gets there. Be sure to test next time out and see what you get for a reading. You are in the process of elimination stage so always good to be able to check something off the list.

 

[Rafting4fun]

Koke-n-a-smile, does your friends boat also have a 2/stroke on it? It's hard not to put a sheen in the water with a 2/stroke (exhaust in the water).. hence the banning of 2/strokes on many lakes. I think certain blends of oil produce a greater sheen and do build up a sludge that leaks into the water from a couple of different places. I realize your problem may be from your oil reservoir which may in fact be remedied with an o-ring. But in less you are running a perfect mix your going to have a small amount of sheen in the water. Some species like the oil sheen as I have dipped my lures into bilge water many times to attract fish... (not sure it works on Kokanee). I would be interested in knowing if your friends are running a two stroke, and secondly, the success rates of people who are running 4strokes over 2/strokes. I recently bought some 2cycle mix from a small store (never again unless I'm forced into it) and noticed right away I was throwing more of a sheen on the water. So in my opinion , brands do make a considerable difference. I would prefer a 4/stroke for a lot of reasons but just wondering about your friends equip.. John

 

[Koke-n-a-smile]

John, thanks for the interest. My friend has a two stroke main motor, but his kicker is a 4 stroke. I would like the 4 stroke myself, and if I ever get another boat, it will have 4 strokes on it. I know what you mean about some fish liking oil, I read that one guy was having great luck with used motor oil as an attractant. Kokanee seem to be pretty finicky, so who knows. I appreciate any help or ideas.

 

[Rafting4fun]

Yes, for crappie and bass I used to dip my jig into the bilge with oil in it.. actually I still do.
I run an older Merc cruiser. I took the oil res out and just mix my own. Its an 87 and I did not want to blow the motor. I had a buddy lose his motor over an oil injector that mixed the wrong ratio. Not that it ever would have happened but I got a few audible alerts related to that.
I caught 20 the last time out on Anderson Sunday but I have to wonder too if the sheen makes a difference. Good Luck, and I will be watching your post for some insight.... peace, John

 

[Rafting4fun]

John, thanks for the interest. My friend has a two stroke main motor, but his kicker is a 4 stroke. I would like the 4 stroke myself, and if I ever get another boat, it will have 4 strokes on it. I know what you mean about some fish liking oil, I read that one guy was having great luck with used motor oil as an attractant. Kokanee seem to be pretty finicky, so who knows. I appreciate any help or ideas.

Well, I tried it out to see what the diff might be. I recently fished Anderson Ranch and limited (25) in about 4hrs. If I could have slowed my friggin boat down I could have done better....
After I caught a few, I purposely allowed my sling-blade and bait to drift through the sheen I cannot seem to avoid. I run a rich mixture due to trolling with a 45hp 2/stroke Merc. In fact, I load it up intentionally to run a little slower (green peeps , no daggers)...It did not seem to matter at all... I had several doubles and no worries. ... While not being to scientific, I must admit though, while the sheen did not pose a prob.. it definitely mattered what scent I had on my shoepeg!!!! The only thing I did not do was dip my hoochie directly into the bilge water... I will try that next.... John

101idea101

 

[Koke-n-a-smile]

Hey thanks for the report! I have been on one vacation, and getting ready to go on a final camping trip for the kids before school starts, so I haven't had a chance to get my boat back out to check on how things are going. If the oil isn't a problem, then maybe it is a "hot" boat with the down rigger, I will definitely take the multi meter to get some kind of reading. I might get a chance next week while the kids are in school. I think the weekends will start to be devoted to some fall run chinooktongue2 I will post with some findings soon.

 

[Koke-n-a-smile]

Well, made my last trip of the year. I tried to check the voltage with my multi meter, but it is just a cheapo and can't read down that low. (it is analog, so all I could tell is that there was some voltage, around 1 volt or so) Anyway, with the boat all washed up, and all of my tackle washed with the lemon joy, we were able to get our limits. So, maybe the scent trail my boat was leaving was the problem. I am trying to decide if I want to go ahead and get a braided line, or even get a black box from Cabelas this winter. Decisions decisions! Thanks for the input, it really helped trouble shoot what was going on.

 

[Pogue]

We used to carry a can of WD-40 with us while trout fishing on Lake Washington. Before our lures went down, they would get a squirt of it - out fished the exact set-up without "scent".