Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: Spawn Sack on December 14, 2013, 12:14:52 PM
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The other day I had a thought...instead of buying fish oil/gel in various scents, could I make my own? I did a little online searching and it seems it is very doable, but there are an overwhelming # of different ways. Some use hand cream, WD-40, and all sorts of interesting/odd ingredients, different types of oil, etc.
I'm wondering if anyone has a proven method or internet site/link they would mind sharing.
I bought some frozen squid the other day and plan to just cut off the tentacles and throw away the body. Then I thought...maybe I could puree the bodies, strain it through a cheesecloth or something, add it to some oil, and fish it! I'm just not sure if this would actually work, what type of oil I should add it to, if it would need to be kept in the fridge when not fishing, etc.
If it's going to be a big hassle/mess I think I'd rather just pay $5 for a bottle of Mike's oil ???
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By the time you get all the ingredients, it would cost you $50.00
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Haha yeah maybe :D In which case I'd rather not bother. I just thought...grind up some unused sqid or whatever, strain through cheesecloth, add to mineral oil or whatever oil, WA-LA!! Maybe even come up with my own secret killer oil recipe. Not giving up on this yet ;)
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How cheap can one get? lol
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You never know, you could come up with the magic potion. :o
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I thought That was roe?
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How cheap can one get? lol
Haha no doubt! ::) I know it's a bit lame, and I DO have many bottles of scent, mostly Mike's oil or gel, but I just thought...maybe I could make a better one? Prrrrrobably a stinky messy waste of time. But still going to look into this more before I abandon the idea :)
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Why not eat the squid mantles?
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Nothing wrong with trying to make your own scent. You may discover something better than what's on the market today. Never know if you don't try.
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Why not eat the squid mantles?
Haha I dunno, the same reason I don't eat fish heads ;) Never tried them, they could be good for all I know, they just kind of gross me out and I have no real interest in chowing down on one. I like battered and deep fried calamari, but only have it once in a blue moon in a restaurant. I'll admit it's a waste to toss the mantles which is why I was thinking of making them into oil or something.
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Nothing wrong with trying to make your own scent. You may discover something better than what's on the market today. Never know if you don't try.
Yeah man that's what I was thinking. Seems that "fresh is best" when it comes to all baits, so it's possible that a freshly made oil will outfish something massproduced with preservatives to extend shelf life, prevent seperation, etc. Maybe I'll toss my jock strap in the brine after a hard jiu jitsu class for a little extra "scent" lol! :o
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hm.. hand cream or wd 40 could actually be harmful. I'd think an olive oil would do just as good and is safe.
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Harmful in what way? I know WD-40 has fish oil as a main ingredient, and hand cream??? I don't want to excite the fish, just want to entice it to bite my hook ;) Haha no really, it's possible some chemical used in the manufacturing process is toxic, but in such a tiny amount in a fish oil recipe I imagine it's environmental impact would be negligable.
Anyway if I decide to make this oil I'm not using handcream, KY, preparation-H, Ny-quil, or anything else funky :o If I find a recipe that looks simple I'll give it a go. If it's going to get carried away and involve the buying of several new ingredients I can't be bothered and will just stick to buying oil in the bottle.
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Harmful in what way? I know WD-40 has fish oil as a main ingredient, and hand cream??? I don't want to excite the fish, just want to entice it to bite my hook ;) Haha no really, it's possible some chemical used in the manufacturing process is toxic, but in such a tiny amount in a fish oil recipe I imagine it's environmental impact would be negligable.
Anyway if I decide to make this oil I'm not using handcream, KY, preparation-H, Ny-quil, or anything else funky :o If I find a recipe that looks simple I'll give it a go. If it's going to get carried away and involve the buying of several new ingredients I can't be bothered and will just stick to buying oil in the bottle.
Better check on that again. I believe they stopped adding fish oil(anchovies) to it in the 90's
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Better check on that again. I believe they stopped adding fish oil(anchovies) to it in the 90's
Checked WD-40's website, according to them you are right. Not that I would have used it anyway, but some of the recipes I read online added it to the s**t mix.
From WD-40's site:
"Myth: WD-40 contains fish oil.
Fact:
Consumers have told us over the years that they have caught some of the biggest fish ever after protecting their fish hooks and lures with WD-40. We believe this legend came from folks assuming that the product must contain fish oil since it appears to attract fish. Sorry Charlie®, it just ain’t so.
WD-40 Company has taken steps to respect and conserve the environment, and encourages its users to do the same. While WD-40 can be used to help protect fishing equipment from rust and corrosion, WD-40 Company does not recommend using WD-40 to attract fish.
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If your that worried about it i guess you should all get rid of your outboards
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It'll be a consideration when / if I buy one :).
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It's always fun to try experiments. That is how we progress. It's not about trying to save money. It's about being creative and learning. It's like the guys who take up fly tying to save money. It's a fallacy. Most of us serious tiers have more money tied up in materials than we will ever tie enough flies with.
If you get serious with your fish scent mixtures you'll get a fish tank and stock it with trout to see how they react to the scent. I know that those brown fish pellets used in hatcheries are all about the scent. Fish of all description in all parts of the globe feed on them.
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Well said! I love tying flies and jigs but always tell guys who are looking to take it up to "save money" - don't even think about it! The materials are expensive and, as you said, you will soon have more money in materials than you will ever tie flies with. I always try to make reasonable substitutions when I learn a new pattern and I need to go out and pick up a few things, but even still those few things add up quick in price. Still absolutely no regrets I love it, you can make some way cooler patterns that you can buy in stores, and nothing beats catching a beauty fish on a fly you tied yourself, especially if you invented it yourself! :)
As for the fish oil, yeah I think I'll give it a go.Just going over the logistics, what I'm going to put it into, what I'm going to use to squeeze it out of when I'm fishing, etc.
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I was thinking of pick up some 'pure extract of anisi' from the baking section for a natural attaractor.
http://www.thefishingoddess.com/ blogs about using it for roe.
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What are your plans once you make it up? Freeze it?
I wouldn't think ground up squid would last very long in the fridge, maybe a week? It would get pretty rancid pretty quick.
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You could maybe dehydrate or "dry" the squid or whatever turn it into powder then mix might last longer
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I tried making my own bait for trout years back and had a lot os success
I got the idea from what is used in the UK for coarse fishing
i used flour, water, shredded cheese and garlic powder--rolled into small balls and dropped into hot water--- it work a treat
as for the oils just use cooking oil mixed with garlic, Anise, or Anchovy paste, you only need a few drops on your lure, wool, jig etc
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Ok this is the famous "Bilge Water" story as I recall hearing it (first hand) straight from the lips of the late Charlie White himself ...I heard it while attending one of his famous Salmon fishing seminars at the old Elks Hall in Kelowna.
He claimed that one day he found an old lure laying in bilge water on his boat, he wiped it off with a rag then fished it and to his surprise caught salmon with it, then over time and with repeated use he came to realize that this contaminated lure was actually out fishing all others in his arsenal . He decided to send the lure for chemical analysis and had them run tests to scientifically establish what the mysterious attractant might be that would repeatedly bring the fish in...
Short answer......The chemical they found on the lure in any significant amounts was Hydrocarbon which if I am correct is a major by product of petroleum or combusted petroleum ?
With this knowledge in hand Charlie began manufacturing his own "Bilge water" and indeed went on to sell buckets of the stuff in small black squirt bottles at his seminars.....I was to become hooked on it too as being thoroughly convinced I bought two bottles myself....Lol :)
I'm no Chemistry major but .....This may well be the source of the notion that WD works as I believe it too contains Hydrocarbons
Great Character........RIP Charlie.
PS.....On the subject of scent / attractents....... If my own 40 yr Fish keeping (Koi) observations are anything to go by, I can offer this thought....If you want to see a rolling, boiling, mass of Japanese Koi just introduce no more than two small drops of KRILL OIL into my ponds waterfall, then prepare for mayhem when it hits the main pond.... LOL
Fish do indeed respond to scent, and from what I've witnessed with my own fish, more than we might imagine.
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Interesting tips guys and thanks to all that responded :)
No time yet but when I do have time my plan is to do the following:
Add some mineral oil to the blender (will be using the Vitamix when the misses is NOT home lol!)
Add the stinky slimey squid bodies to the oil. Puree.
Add to crocpot and slow cook for a day or so. Really let the stink get into the oil!
Strain sludge through cheese cloth and repeat until satisfied with result. Funnel into empty bottle from Mike's fish oil. Put in fridge.
Wash blender well to remove all crime scene evidence ::)
I'll post a review of this after I've made it and fished with it.
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Looking forward to your report
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I have sprayed lures with wd40. Didn't seem to make a huge difference but who knows.
Why don't you take one of those mostly empty bottles, puree up some of your squid and add it to the bottle and see how that does? I know that doesn't keep you from having to buy it in the first place but if you improve the performance is it really a loss?