Many anglers don’t know how to keep fishing hooks from rusting and this leads to tackle boxes full of rusted hooks in them. This causes a lot of issues on your fishing trips. The main problem is the successful hooking of the fish. But, another one that is often overseen is fish’s ability to smell rusty hooks. Yes, fish can smell them, and once they do, the probability of them going for your lure significantly drops. Let’s dive deeper into this topic and we’ll find out how sophisticated fish’s sense of smell is.
Why Do Fish Have a Sense of Smell?
Fish can sense different smells because it is crucial for their survival and success in finding food in muddy waters. Freshwater species have a keen sense of smell that allows them to detect different scents in the water from a significant distance. These fish have nostrils with an organ called an olfactory rosette, which is responsible for detecting odors in the water. The size of the olfactory rosette determines the sensitivity of the fish to various scents.
Additionally, freshwater fish have taste buds in their mouths, on their tongues, and in some cases outside their mouths in the form of barbells. This combination of smell and taste organs enables them to not only locate food but also avoid potential dangers in their environment.
Some freshwater species, like catfish, can detect scents such as those of grapes or stink baits used by anglers, from a distance as they drift along the bottom of the river. These fish can follow the trail of odor emitted by the bait and locate the source of the scent to consume it. That is why anglers often use dead fish or chicken liver as catfish bait. The dead fish scent is something catfish can hardly resist taking as bait.
Overall, the ability of freshwater species to detect different smells from a distance is crucial for their survival and plays a significant role in their foraging behavior.
How Does Rust Affect the Smell of Hooks?
Understanding the Rusting Process
The rusting process on fishing hooks occurs when the iron components in the hooks are exposed to moisture and oxygen. The iron particles react to form hydrous iron oxide, also known as rust. This process is accelerated when the hooks are in storage, as any moisture left on the equipment can lead to rust and corrosion. In salt water, the rusting process happens even more quickly due to the corrosive nature of salt.
To prevent hook rust, it is important to keep hooks dry and store them in the proper environment. Using stainless steel hooks or hooks made from other corrosion-resistant materials can also help in prevention.
Additionally, tackle box rust prevention with a vapor corrosion inhibiting solution can make a HUGE difference. Zerust has plenty of such products so go ahead and check them out. You can also get more information on what VCI solutions are and how they work.
The Effects of Rust on Hook Efficiency
Of course, first and the biggest effect rust has on hooks is their effectiveness. Even a small bit of rust can cause your once sharp hooks to become dull and inefficient. Furthermore, hook rust can cause severe damage to the hook if it’s not prevented. Once corrosion takes its toll on the hook, it will break easily. This means that casting fishing lures with such hooks is pointless.
The second effect is the one that brought you to this article. The smell rusty hooks have in fresh water. It’s pretty similar to the smell that comes from your old pipes once rust forms in them or when the iron in your plumbing doesn’t get flushed properly. Anyone who ever experienced this knows how heavy and metallic this smell is.
Now imagine how fish can smell rusty hooks. To them, it’s the repulsive smell that deters them from striking artificial bait or taking live bait. If heavy rust is in question, then on top of the smell, hook rust will also leave rust stains in the water. So not that you won’t catch anything, but you’ll also be polluting.
Do Fish Associate Smell of Rusty Hooks With Danger?
There is no scientific proof about this, but from experience, I would say they do. Fish are smart enough to recognize anything that is out of the ordinary in bodies of water where they live.
In other words, if fish ate a live bait a hundred times without a weird smell, it’s logical that the first time it smells it, it will trigger suspicion. If clean water is in question, this suspicion will be even bigger since there are no other objects that would produce rust odor.
It’s quite simple actually. Would you try to eat something that you ate a bunch of times, but this time it smells differently? I think not. Fish are the same, they are clever, suspicious, and cautious. That is why over the years we developed different ways to trick them. Camo hooks, 3D lures, and all kinds of artificial baits are just a couple of examples.
Yes, Fish Can Smell Rusty Hooks
To conclude, yes, fish can smell rust on any metal component, including hooks. This means that you should avoid casting such hooks at all costs. Don’t store wet lures in plastic boxes even if your hooks have a protective coating. If you do so every single time, you are risking rust, and hook failure in the long run.
Try to always keep your bait boxes and hook boxes dry so your fish hooks don’t get damaged by corrosion. That way you can be sure they are in optimal shape and you won’t have to run around hardware stores looking for various rust cleaning substances or prepare citric acid spray (warm water and lemon juice).
Hook rust can be a real problem so do everything you can to prevent it. You’ll catch more fish and you won’t pollute clean waters.