sunscreen and fishing effects

just wanted to get everyone’s thoughts on sunscreen and it’s effect on fishing. i know many are superstitious that applying sunscreen will affect fishing success if you are always touching baits/jigs after applying sunscreen. i usually use the spray stuff and never put it anywhere near my fingers. anybody experiment rubbing it in your hands and having it reduce bites?

No. They love it

I put it all over myself and on my bait like sauerkraut on a brat. I guess it could depend on the brand and if it is scented.

This months in-fisherman had an article about how the people at powerbait have tested all kinds of things to see how fish react to them.
Sunscreen was one of the things they wouldn’t touch if the smell was on the bait.
However, lures dipped in gas and oil didn’t stop the fish from gobbling the bait right up.

Ever heard of old-timers saying WD-40 works as fish attractent? Maybe it works as sunscreen too…

Get two birds stoned at once! lol

Jake Thelen wrote:

This months in-fisherman had an article about how the people at powerbait have tested all kinds of things to see how fish react to them.
Sunscreen was one of the things they wouldn’t touch if the smell was on the bait.
However, lures dipped in gas and oil didn’t stop the fish from gobbling the bait right up.

Ever heard of old-timers saying WD-40 works as fish attractent? Maybe it works as sunscreen too…

Get two birds stoned at once! lol

Now that is the kind of info, i was hoping to get! my buddy always made sure i would not touch his bait/lures if i used sunscreen. he always made sure that i filled the gas in the auger and truck when out ice fishing too so he didn’t have gas on his hands.

Bearcat89 wrote:

No. They love it

will SPF30 be ok?
have you had luck with coconut scented?

Rodwork wrote:

I put it all over myself and on my bait like sauerkraut on a brat. I guess it could depend on the brand and if it is scented.

WHOA

I may just be superstitious but I always try to apply sunscreen prior to leaving home to go fishing. I then wash my hands. If I have to apply it while in the boat I rinse my hands as best as possible and Rub my hands on the side of the boat. In the area with the most scum build up. I then rub my hands on the carpet. usually in a place that has the most fish slime. There was once a ugly slim spot in the carpet from were a BIG catfish landed on the carpet. That slime spot was there all summer. Worked well to cover up any sun screen left on hands. Need to get another slime spot on the carpet in my buddies new boat. Pike and Bass slime just doesn’t work as well.

I use the spray on sunscreen. No mess and still effective at blocking UV rays.

Being a fair-skinned red head I’ve been slathering on sunscreen all my life, both while fishing and not, and I don’t think I’ve noticed any correlation. I don’t use the spray on sunscreen too often, so I’m moslty using regular sunscreen. I thoroughly apply sunscreen to my hands too, as they are well exposed when fishing.
Sun-X brand is my favorite and it doesn’t have a strong scent.

Funny this thread should come up this week.
Each of the cabins at the resort we stay at have a sign posted in them labeling the various sunscreens that stain pillow cases, sheets, and blankets rendering them useless and we are requested to shower before using the bedding.
And I wont say anymore than that about stains…..

eyeguy507 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
No. They love it

will SPF30 be ok?
have you had luck with coconut scented?

I use regular ass banana boat or something in a orange bottle. Apply it to my self 2 kids and or couple women at a time, I wipe my hands off on my pants after. I don’t have super messy hands a play with baits but I’ve seen no difference

Don’t use the “spray on” sun screen in the boat, it will pit up depth finder screens. Will look like water spots BUT it will not come off.

I put on sunscreen once and then dipped my hand in the minnow bucket to grab some bait. next toime I had to rebait all the minnows were bellym up. so I have not used sunscreen since.

I read an article on scent a long time ago. They concluded that any scent on a lure was better than no scent at all. The conclusion was nothing in nature worth eating has no scent. Yes even dipping it in gas caught more fish,and WD40 does work it cost me a $5 bet.

I just wear clothes when fishing.

Count me in the camp that thinks sunscreen is a great deterrent to fishing success… To wit:

•I hardly ever use sunscreen anymore. I wear all the sun protective clothing because I’ve always disliked slopping the goop all over my body – greasy, stinky stuff.

•I use Powerbait and now Maxscent a lot. Not only sunscreen but other human scents, oils, etc. can affect fishing success. I really think the stuff they put on their plastics does mask it to some degree.

Simple solution. Put some soap in your boat and wash your hands after applying…

you’re wecome

Mostly oil for this guy, let the dad bod shine in glory.

Not as worried about sunscreen as bug repellent, especially with cats.

I do make it a point to wash my hands well after applying to me or kiddos tho.

FryDog62 wrote:

I hardly ever use sunscreen anymore. I wear all the sun protective clothing because I’ve always disliked slopping the goop all over my body – greasy, stinky stuff.

X2

Terry Heese wrote:

Don’t use the “spray on” sun screen in the boat, it will pit up depth finder screens. Will look like water spots BUT it will not come off.

Another valid point! I always spray it on away from my graphs making sure i check wind direction.

“Don’t use the “spray on” sun screen in the boat, it will pit up depth finder screens. Will look like water spots BUT it will not come off.”

I had this once (my dad squirted sunscreen and didn’t have it aimed right and it absolutely coated my brand new Humminbird unit) It would not come off. Solution:

Dilute white vinegar and water 50-50 in a bowl. Cut a piece of paper towel to exact size of GPS screen. Soak paper towel in vinegar/water solution and then place carefully on the screen. Let it sit there for several hours/overnight. Remove and usually that’s all it takes, wipe clean. If not, repeat. My screen so bad that H’bird said to replace the unit, but this worked perfectly.

I got some sunscreen this year that comes in a deodorant style applicator. Easy to put on and keeps hands clean and no spray to worry about getting on locators and boat interior.

Water clarity may have a different affect.

Our vacation lake in Ely is so stained that your lure can’t be seen much more than a foot down. We quickly found sunscreen stopped everything from biting & we all were covered in it. Back to the cabin for showers & I even re-spooled the reels. Back on the water & started hammering the eyes & crappies again.

Stanley wrote:

I got some sunscreen this year that comes in a deodorant style applicator. Easy to put on and keeps hands clean and no spray to worry about getting on locators and boat interior.

+1 on this

I by no means wear as much sunblock as I should, but my wife got some of this style and it’s great for not feeling slimy or getting it everywhere. We’ve banned anything “spray on” in the fishing boat and tritoon. It goes everywhere and is hard on upholstery, screens, and other passengers when someone just whips out a can and starts spraying

I put the sunscreen on at home. If I waited until I was at the water I’d already be sweating. On another note, I haven’t ever noticed bug spray having a negative effect while crappie, bass and pike fishing and all I use is plastic and artificials. Can’t say for walleyes because I don’t fish them much. Hand sanitizer cancelled my fishing one morning during the big covid rush right after I used it to clean some blood off my mitts. Then I put a fresh plastic on. We were putting the smack down on the fish but after cleaning up with sanitizer and handling the plastics I drew a blank while my friend kept catching not ten feet away. I walked down the shore and scrubbed my hands with river water and sand, then put yet another fresh plastic on and I was back in business on the first cast. Has to have been the alcohol in the sanitizer or the scenting that it used.

If I use it in the boat I will take a minnow or a leech and smash it in my hands and “wash” em with minnow guts. Then rinse in the lake. Not sure if it actually helps but makes me feel like I did something.