Can pike smell danger — does handling scent on bait matter?

Pike have functional smell but nothing like the paranoid chemistry lab of a carp or salmon; there is no good evidence that sunscreen or gasoline traces on a fast-moving spoon cost you fish. On dead baits soaking for minutes to hours the calculus shifts: the fish approaches slowly, and strong foreign chemicals sitting in the scent plume can plausibly shorten the inspection. Rinsing hands after fuel and keeping baits clean is cheap insurance for dead-bait fishing — and a waste of worry for casting hardware.

Browse every question