Can fish Smell?

[BanffOrBust]

On another post about Whitefish I gave advise to put a maggot on a brown fly or other lures for that species and you'll catch fish because they can smell the maggot.

But!!!

I'm not so sure if fish can smell.

Is it possible that fish can't smell, but rather the "juices" of whatever live bait (maggot) are streaming out from the hook and they can see the stream of live bait juices?

Wondering about your thoughts on this. How can you smell in water? Not happening. Has to be a wounded fish/maggot stream in the water.

??

[bucksman]

Fish can smell

[DiabeticKripple]

Yes they smell.

[BanffOrBust]

Originally Posted by bucksman

Fish can smell

How do you know?
Who says?

I think my thought about a gut stream of juices might better explain it. (But I'm biased to my own conclusions).

[bucksman]

Who says? Scientists, they have an olfactory system just like the rest of the world just doesn't work the same, obviously because they do not breathe out of water, I beleive a shark can smell blood a quarter of a mile away

[BanffOrBust]

Originally Posted by bucksman

Who says? Scientists, they have an olfactory system just like the rest of the world just doesn't work the same, obviously because they do not breathe out of water, I beleive a shark can smell blood a quarter of a mile away

I concede on this point. Fish can smell.

Here is a good link I found on the subject.

http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/fisheries/senses

[Redfrog]

After three days, fish and trolls smell.

[Fishslayer99]

100% true fish can smell. They can smell very well, catfish for example are nearly blind and spend a lot of time in very stained water yet they can pick out the smallest pieces of food.
I have a catfish in my aquarium and if I put a small piece of shrimp on the other side of the tank without him seeing, it takes him not even 5 seconds to zone in right to it.

[Mackinaw]

Originally Posted by Fishslayer99

100% true fish can smell. They can smell very well, catfish for example are nearly blind and spend a lot of time in very stained water yet they can pick out the smallest pieces of food.
I have a catfish in my aquarium and if I put a small piece of shrimp on the other side of the tank without him seeing, it takes him not even 5 seconds to zone in right to it.

Catfish can actually see quite well even though their eyes are small and beady eyesight is still their primary sense to find and attack prey especially in clear water. Catfish like other fish use sent to detect prey in stained water

Mack

[huntsfurfish]

Fish smell pretty bad if you leave them in the sun on shore.

[WayneChristie]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

Fish smell pretty bad if you leave them in the sun on shore.

thats nothing, leave a couple smelts on the floor of the truck for a couple weeks until they get nice and ripe, then you can smell them for miles! not that Id know

[huntsfurfish]

lol

[Fishslayer99]

Originally Posted by Mackinaw

Catfish can actually see quite well even though their eyes are small and beady eyesight is still their primary sense to find and attack prey especially in clear water. Catfish like other fish use sent to detect prey in stained water

Mack

Mack,

Thanks I should have elaborated, catfish can see very well in low light conditions, there eyes are very sensitive to light so if it is not dark or nearly dark they are virtually blind, therefore they use there barbells and are one of the best equipped fish in the world when it comes to smell.

[J D]

For trolling I don't find scent that important

[MoFugger21]

This thread smells fishy

[Dak1138]

Any fish should be able to smell this post a mile away.

[58thecat]

I can smell sardines so they can surely smell my farts!