WD40 on leeches???

[tjwierz2]

Have any of you EVER heard of using WD-40 on leeches? I was on Millelacs last weekend and the people I was fishing with put WD-40 on the leeches before throwing them in the water. It appears it livens them up and then they wont ball up on the hook or tangle up in your line. It was amazing.

I wondered if the walleyes would spit them out for what the deal was. But we hammered the walleyes and they said that at certain times people using the wd40 would catch fish when people not using it wouldnt get bites at all. I dont know if it is a good attractant or just livens the action that much more that they cant resist.

It was interesting to say the least, but it worked like a charm. Anyone else hear of doing this?

[fiskyknut]

Yes people have done this for years. Bad idea....Please don't pollute our watersheds.

[Ice Hole]

No offense...but turning your motor over will put more $hit into the water than a few squirts of WD-40 on a leech. OR do you use electric only... Did you know most and almost all fish scents and sprays are oil based?

[fiskyknut]

Well go ahead and do as you wish, you may not want a warden or sherriff to see you, I hope they see you though. No I don't fish alot of electric only lakes, and I know stuff goes into the water with thru hub or thru hull exhaust systems on marine engines. Running an engine is legal, not so sure about the WD-40 trick. I have never found a need for scents, are they based with petroleum based oils like WD-40??

[tjwierz2]

You may have a point.. I cant imagine a few hundred gallons of WD in a lake would help the fishery if it was common practice. I have never used scents before, why start now.

[Guest]

Bug spray, sunscreen, oils from chips, snacks, etc., 2 cycle oil, and gasoline on your fingers all keep the fish away.

Never have I used WD-40, but I have heard the same, that it works good. Although I heard it works good for removing foreign oils, scents etc. from your hands.

PCG

[wastewaterguru]

WD-40? What the **** is everyone thinking.

Anybody that intentionally sprays WD-40 into the water needs to rethink "Why" they are a fisherman in the first place. Yes, WD-40 is toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms and is a known cancer causing agent to humans.

The store bought attractants are NOT petroleum based oils but are nonetheless still pollutants. If you have to use attractants these are by FAR better for the lakes than WD-40.

Yeah...I know you're outboard spits 2 cycle oil all over the lake so why can't you spray toxic oil on your bait as well???

Good train of thought Icehole......it's that kind of justification process that has led to all the pollution problems in the world today.

Why don't you guys do something to subtract from your contribution to pollution instead of adding to it........

Buy a four stroke.

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BASS SEASON IS UPON US.
Here Piggy, Piggy, Piggy.
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[This message has been edited by wastewaterguru (edited 06-04-2002).]

[shadrapla]

i read newspaper somewhere and i think it is illeagal to use wd-40 on bait they pass rule 3 or 4 year ago so you better look up law book

[shadrapla]

i read newspaper somewhere and i think it is illeagal to use wd-40 on bait they pass rule 3 or 4 year ago so you better look up rule book

[Capt'nJosh]

While it is true that you end up with contaminants in the lakes from using a gas powered motor why in the world would you want to pollute the lake more by spraying oil in on purpose? If you are that hard up for a fish that you think polluting the lake will help maybe you need to take up a new hobby.

Capt'nJosh

[cdnfisherman]

Sorry but I think you guys are wacked!

A quick spray of WD-40 on a leech will have about as much impact on the lake/environment as the smoke from your kids burnt marshmallow over the camp fire.

I don't wanna start a big argument....just my opinion!
JC

[Guest]

I heard that WD 40 is primarily made from sardine oil and that is why it works as an attractant.I even have a can that lists it on the can.It was oringinaly produced by NASA to lubricate and prevent moisture from coming in contact with parts on rockets.
I however cannot say that it does not contail any petroleum distilites or other harmfull chemicals.

[Ice Hole]

Bang-O and about 30 other "spray scents" are almost the equivelent of WD-40. Yes petrolium based. Spray it on some water and find out for yourself (see the pretty shinny moving rainbow colors?)

[wastewaterguru]

60-70% Aliphatic Petroleum Distillates. Yes it used to contain sardine oil but not any more.

Everyone just keep on trying to justify your pollution........your arguments don't cut the mustard.

It is polluting.

Bang-O does not contain petroleum distillates. It is an animal or vegetable oil which is much more biodegradable than the hydrocarbons in WD-40. All hydrocarbon-based liquids not soluble in water leave a "sheen" whether it's animal fat or crude oil. These substances are NOT the same thing.

The argument about the quantity not having an effect on the environment is ridiculous. Lets show some efforts toward preserving the sport we all love. If one or two people spray the stuff on a bait...no big deal. But from what I understand of the statements above someone is trying to tell me that if all the anglers on a heavily fished body of water start doing this it still won't be a problem....

Bull....pucky

Let's set an example here of the responsible preservationist-minded thing to do. Don't feed me this stuff about "it'll have less effect than the smoke from a burnt marshamallow". Sounds like the same statements people used to make about.......

Freon..
Mercury..
DDT..
PCB's..
Lead..
Carbon Monoxide..

etc.,etc.

Let's do the right thing and quit using it BEFORE it becomes a problem.

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BASS SEASON IS UPON US.
Here Piggy, Piggy, Piggy.
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[Guest]

cdn,

This is the same mentality that a lot of people had in the 50's, 60's, and 70's about CFCs. CFCs were manily used in aeresol cans. A little spray here and there never hurt anything. It wasn't until our ozone layer started to disappear that we realized there was a problem.

The same was said about mercury. It is just trace amounts, nothing major. Well, mercury doesn't break down in the environment, it adds up. It builds up in a fish until it is eaten - either by another fish, or a human. Then it starts building up in the meat eater. Ever wonder why the DNR does so much work in mercury levels of fish and safe consuption rates?

One more example is lead sinkers. Lead does not break down in the environment very well. Even though sinkers are slowly added to a lake a few at a time, the same effect happens as with mercury. Small fish eat the sinkers, bigger fish eat them, and then birds eat them. At some point the amount of sinkers in their belly kills them (because they do not pass them through) or they get lead poisoning. Too many people say that "Hey, my 3 or 4 sinkers won't amount to anything," but the additive effect of 3 sinkers per fisherman times X fisherman times X years. . .it adds up.

You can say that 'my little squirt on a leach doesn't hurt anything' but when everybody starts doing it and there is an oil slick on the lake, maybe there is a problem. 1 tablespoon of oil on a calm body of water can create an oil slick of up to 2500 sqft. WD-40 was made specically for Water Displacement - making it very insoluable in water, meaning when it comes off of your leach or lure it will not disolve into the water (and then breakdown) it will seperate and go to the surface. Most other oils, including motor oil will disolve into water over time and break down. The fact that WD-40 displaces water scares me as to what it's effects will be.

Like others have pointed out - if you need to use WD-40 to catch fish, you really need to think of why you are fishing to begin with. If you fall back on 'others are doing it' and 'my little bit won't hurt anything' that you are very simple minded and should not even be on our precious lakes, much less taking fish from them.

Kevin

[Jim W]

Good discussion! However, the comments have begun there movement towards personal attacks! Don't go there!

Back to preserving and fishing!

Jim W

[wastewaterguru]

Yep......my bad Jim.

It is a good topic though.

I must be in the dark...I had no idea people were using such things for catching fish. I found articles on the web about vaseline, wd-40, KY-jelly, etc. all being used as fish attractants.

I'm just afraid to find out what things are being used that I still don't know about. I think we should all just think about the example we are setting for other anglers and our children by purposely spraying a known toxin into our waters.

Let's hope that everyone doesn't read this post like I did and say "cool,Ididn't think of that.....I'll try it".

And suddenly we are all to blame for a potentially serious problem. Let's keep our illegal fishing secrets to ourselves next time.

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BASS SEASON IS UPON US.
Here Piggy, Piggy, Piggy.
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[Dave]

The guy who started this thread asked a simple question and sounded like he wasn't aware that this practice may be a problem.

Jim, good point about the slamming.

[Ice Hole]

Guys, just to clear things up...I never use WD-40 or any scents for that matter. I still don't think we are focusing our "concern" in the right areas tho. Just my opinion...but older motors and personal water craft are much more to blame for our problems or potential problems. I will dig up some #'s later I used to look at those alot, but forgot most of the statistics.

[wastewaterguru]

Dave, you're right and I didn't mean to blame the guy that posted it. I hope that the information and conversation presented here can help convince those using it to stop. I am not the law and if someone in my boat was using it, I wouldn't tie the anchor rope to them or anything.

My personal choice would be to use something to catch fish that I would be willing to eat myself......because I like eating fish and if I get one that tastes like WD-40, I think I'd be a little erked.

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BASS SEASON IS UPON US.
Here Piggy, Piggy, Piggy.
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[fishinphyl]

I had an old guy tell me if you want to catch fish always spit on your bait. I have never tried it because I always forget about it until the bait is in the water and not working. But this should be safe for the enviorment - of course one never knows what you guys have been chewing or drinking - that could be scary spit - might pollute the whole lake!

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Phyl

[tjwierz2]

Well, I am the guy that posted this... I never thought this topic would create such a fireball...but its probably good that it did. Im a big conservationist and it never really dawned on me that using this stuff on bait would be a big deal. But the more I though about it...the more I am opposed to using the stuff. My guess is that old motors etc are worse. My guess is also that people with well groomed fertilized yards down to the lakeshore are worse. But I can see where you guys think this stuff shouldnt be going into the waters as well.

My main goal wasnt to try to endorse the stuff...this is the first time Ive ever heard of doing it. Anyway, good fishing...

[Guest]

I have never tried the stuff on bait before and don't think I ever would.I had heard about this practice quite a few years ago(mid 80s) and was curious as to why a guy would put a chemical in the water like that.Iwas told it was mostly sardine oil.As we all now know the formula has changed so I would not even think about using it now.
Just for a heads up some magazine articles suggest using WD40 on monofilament line to help with casting.This will add even more chemicals to the water.If you see someone using WD40 politely let them know how you feel about it and what they may be doing to our environment.

Wastwater,
"My personal choice would be to use something to catch fish that I would be willing to eat myself...."

John,I can picture you with a shiner sandwich with a side of leeches Or a stinkbait and jelly sanwich!

[Capt'nJosh]

This whole debate reminds me of an incident that I had with my Grampa about 20 years ago... We were out on Lake Traverse ice fishing and it was fridged!! It must have been around zero degrees with a 25 mph wind. I was in charge of checking the tip-ups in this cold weather and was getting sick of breaking ice to see if there was a fish on the end of the line. I told Grampa that I wanted to go home because it wasn't any fun out there. The next time we needed to check the outside lines he did it. Then when I went out next the holes were not frozen shut. When I asked him what he did he said, "I'll tell you a little secret I've learned over the years... a splash of windshield washer fluid in the top of the hole will keep it from freezing shut." Well at the time I thought it was a great idea. ***Then I grew up.*** I realized that he had been polluting the area lakes for about 45 years. (Well maybe not that long, I'm not sure when they came up with windshield washer fluid, but he turns 80 in a week...) Anyway, it is just not a good idea to be adding additional pollutants into our lakes. Sometimes we don't realize it until years later and then it could be too late. So while I agree that there are worse things that we could be dumping into the lakes and other pollutants that we need to work on reducing, does it really make sense to add to the problem? I realize that this topic has caused quite the heated debate, and rightfully so. If we want to enjoy the ‘natural’ resources that we have in the future, we need to look out for them today!

Capt’nJosh

[Guest]

Tell me that there are no oils in fish scents and also try to tell me I was born yesterday.

And I am sure someone will tell me all about the difference in oils and their effect on the enviroment...Well, save your breath, and let me tell you that oil and water DON'T MIX.

I have seen the pretty rainbows it makes on the surface when you spray that dump on your bait.

I don't use scents..I don't use WD-40...If you do, that's fine by me.

Rain contains acid, runoff contains organics and fertalizer, animals produce waste. yep....

How many gallons of water are in an average Mn lake??? And then take a .2 oz. squirt of WD-40...and give me a PPM (parts per million) and tell me the concentraiton level...

And because someone will say...yeah thats fine but multliply it by 20,000 people doing the same thing...Well, then go ahead and spread it over 5,000 lakes and come back with a volume of total water and a concentration level over the entire area again.....

When it all boils down to the bottom of the barrel think about this. When you spray WD-40 on whatever you have, and it rains, that washes down the drain and it all goes to the same place in the end...So think about that.

Here I am again...and my opinion doesn't really matter...

Good fishing everyone. Good day!

PCG

[This message has been edited by Pro Crappie Guide (edited 06-04-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Pro Crappie Guide (edited 06-05-2002).]