Waterproofing flies

[shoebop 0]

I carry and use a small can of WD 40. One application and its good for a hundred casts or half a day. Don't leave home without it in my vest. Trout seem to like it, too.

 

Bill

Not a good idea! Urban legend alert! Do a Google search on this.

[Goldenflies 0]

@KentuckyTroutBum, I am not sure how you do things up your way, but down here in Virginia (where I currently live) and in NM an CA (where I used to live and fish) and in TN, WV, and NC, where I also fish, WD 40 is terrible for the water system!! It displaces oxygen from the water by covering the surface in a fine film (sometimes seen as an "oil slick") causing the water and oxygen to no longer be able to bond.I might also add that it is usually illegal to spray your "bait" with anything hazardous.

 

PLEASE, for the sake of our rivers and watersheds, STOP SPRAYING WD-40 ON YOUR LURES!!

[Phish 0]

Lol! Wd40 is actually fish oil!! Do your research before going on a rant.

[switch10 0]

Lol! Wd40 is actually fish oil!! Do your research before going on a rant.

 

Um, what? WD-40 is most definitely not fish oil. Looks like you could benefit from a little research yourself!

 

Taken straight from the official WD40 website:

 

What a Fish story!

 

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 withWD-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-40can be used to help protect fishing equipment from rust and corrosion, WD-40 Company does not recommend using WD-40 to attract fish.

[Stippled Popper 0]

http://www.wd40company.com/files/pdf/msds-wd494716385.pdf

 

WD40 Material Data Sheet

 

Aliphatic Hydrocarbon: 45-50%

Petroleum Base Oil: <25%

LVP Aliphatic Hydrocarbon: 12-18%

Carbon Dioxide: 2-3%

Non Hazardous Ingredients: < 10%

 

http://wd40.com/about-us/myths-legends-fun-facts/

 

What a Fish story!

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.

[switch10 0]

Isn't the internet great?

[Goldenflies 0]

Like I stated above. It is a pollutant. Nothing more. Sure, you may catch that extra fish, but your "great idea" is killing more than just a few fish. That entire micro eco system that the WD40 is introduced to is now in jeopardy of being killed off. So, please, do some research (thank you switch10 and Stippled Popper) before you go basing your information on local folk lore.

[JSzymczyk 0]

I have heard the WD-40 "attractant" story many times, but do not and have not ever used it.

 

If you drive 5 miles to your fishing spot, you have introduced more hydrocarbons, CO2, and other pollutants into the environment than what is in one or two drops of WD-40.

 

All the Cool Kids and Jocks who just love to drop their fly reels into the water to take fish pics? How 'bout the oil slick that comes from the lubricants on/in their reels?

 

In the last 10 years, volcanic eruptions have released more CO2 and other "greenhouse" gasses into the atmosphere than humans have in all of humankind's time on our planet.

 

I would wager that the amount of pollution caused by Fly Fishermen using WD-40 on their flies amounts to about a fart in a cat-5 hurricane.

 

Do everything you can to prevent pollution, but be real about it. Please show some evidence that Fly Fishermen's use of WD-40 as a floatant or attractant is jeopardizing an "entire micro ecosystem" and "killing more than a few fish"...

[Phish 0]

Maybe but take a good look at all the oil on the roads and parking lpt and when it rains. Umm no comparison to using a small amount of wd40 . I dont use it.

[Goldenflies 0]

Sure, roads, cars and rods all have a certain inevitable amount of petroleum compounds, but when you are at a mountain stream, following a dirt road to your favorite location, I highly doubt that there has been too many chemicals introduced to that stream (depending on prevailing winds that may or may not be picking up chemicals from cities hundreds of miles away and what side of a mountain range you are on)

 

You do not throw paper on the ground in the forest just because it started as a tree, do you? I didn't think so. So, just because there are a couple "biodegradable" chemicals in WD40, does that mean that it's a good practice to spray it on everything that you that you fish with?

 

Look, I have a fair amount of experience with pollution in the wild. I can sit here all day and type all sorts of proof or statements or ideas or what ever you want but in the end, it is not a good idea to put more undo strain on an environment than is necessary. I think we can all agree on that.

 

Oh, and please, do not get me started on the amounts of influence people have on an otherwise pristine world. That should be another post entirely.

[switch10 0]

I have heard the WD-40 "attractant" story many times, but do not and have not ever used it.

 

If you drive 5 miles to your fishing spot, you have introduced more hydrocarbons, CO2, and other pollutants into the environment than what is in one or two drops of WD-40.

 

All the Cool Kids and Jocks who just love to drop their fly reels into the water to take fish pics? How 'bout the oil slick that comes from the lubricants on/in their reels?

 

In the last 10 years, volcanic eruptions have released more CO2 and other "greenhouse" gasses into the atmosphere than humans have in all of humankind's time on our planet.

 

I would wager that the amount of pollution caused by Fly Fishermen using WD-40 on their flies amounts to about a fart in a cat-5 hurricane.

 

Do everything you can to prevent pollution, but be real about it. Please show some evidence that Fly Fishermen's use of WD-40 as a floatant or attractant is jeopardizing an "entire micro ecosystem" and "killing more than a few fish"...

 

Wow, I completely disagree.

 

That's like throwing trash out of your window because in the end it equates to a "fart in a cat-5 hurricane". Why wouldn't you do everything you can to help keep the environment clean?

 

Why would you defend something that hurts the environment, especially when there are better products to use to help keep your flies floating?

[switch10 0]

Maybe but take a good look at all the oil on the roads and parking lpt and when it rains. Umm no comparison to using a small amount of wd40 . I dont use it.

 

What about fisheries that are miles from the nearest road or parking lot?

 

It's not a good idea to use wd-40 no matter the situation.

 

Go buy some floatant.

[nick2011 0]

I think the point to this whole wd40 argument was that there are enough pollutants entering our waterways that we should not want to knowingly add more just to catch a fish, however every man made fly or lure we toss may have some sort of leeching effect into the water, think of the lead people use to weight lines and lures..its everywhere!! I work in the water field and also understand how fragile some micro organism can be.

[mikechell 0]

Foam-body poppers ... NO flotant needed.

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

don't start about the lead now I can't use lead shot to duck hunt a marshland but the winter comes freezes over the marshland and every rabbit hunter and quail hunter has lead shot loaded in their 12 gauge shooting 3 times the amount of shells I use in a day scattering lead over the entire area