Over the years a lot of things have gotten dumped on lures to get fish to bite, but one of the ones that keeps coming up is WD-40. I have never used WD-40 for fishing as an attractant on my lures, but I keep hearing it come up again and again for use as an attractant for all kinds of fishing.
Does WD-40 really work as a fish attractant?
Talking with a guy at the fishing shop the other day, the subject came up again. His thought was that the reason the myth started out is because the old formula for WD-40 contained whale oil. The exact formula is a secret, but and I am betting if there was ever whale oil in the formula, they are never going to disclose that.
But WD-40 as a fish attractant? What does the stuff do? Well, for one it repels water. That is what it is designed to do. The reality is that it is a poor lubricant and was never designed as such. If it has any ‘fish attracting’ properties it could be theorized that it is because it keeps the water off your lure and keeps it from picking up the stink that is already there.
Many fish follow lures for some time before biting them, and having them smell like your hands, lunch and sunscreen is a big deterrent for them to lunch down on your lures. Perhaps the secret to WD-40′s power as a fish attractant is that it just masks all the bad smells.
WD-40 for Fishing? I don’t think so!
Why not try it out? Well for one all the evidence is anecdotal. Plus, I am pretty sure that fish do not love the scent of petroleum distillates, which is what WD-40 is these days. This of course is another issue with using it, and that is that you are dumping oil into the water every time you spray it on your lures and throw them overboard. Technically you are polluting the water if you use WD-40 on your lures.
Personally I am going to stick with the regular fish attractants and leave the WD-40 at home for loosening things up and keeping bike chains from rusting.
Photo Credit: FHKE