Review: De-Fishing Soap

I’ve done a lot of fishing in my time. Some days are good and some are bad. Now a days I use barbless hooks for one reason only: I don’t like getting fish smell on me. I find that I can usually unhook the fish and get it off without transferring the almost permanent smell onto my hands. It works until it swallows the hook or until I catch something that I want to eat. After that it’s all hands on and I suffer with the consequences of trout stink that no amount of washing gets off. Or at least didn’t. 

Enter De-fishing soap. I saw it on Jason Klass’ blog and had to give it a try. Michelle Innis was kind enough to send me some samples, which packed in for my backpacking trips this summer. So, what’s my take?

Overall I was very impressed, and while not perfect (but honestly what would be apart from a scent free fish?), De-fishing soap will be a companion on all backpacking trips for a few reasons: 

1. It’s the best soap I’ve found yet that removes fish smell. I’ve tried many a different soap and in the end the trout smell is still there strong. All the ones I’ve tried don’t seem to cut through whatever causes that smell and I’ve gone to bed camping many a times with my hands well away from my nose. After two careful washings the smell is almost completely gone. With the combined star anis scent you’re left with a pleasant smell that isn’t overpowering.

I won’t lie, it isn’t perfect. I did for a short time after have a faint fish smell that would probably have completely disappeared with a third or more thorough second washing, but nowhere near as bad as with other soaps. They recommend using a scrubber and warm water (which I didn’t follow either time).

2. It is biodegradable. The low impact of the soap makes it a lot more appealing to environmentally conscious hikers/fisherman. It’s also made in the USA which means the impact is even less!

3. It’s a fish attractant in itself… Huh? I should have read their website before going fishing. As said previously it uses star anis which in itself is a fish attractant. In addition to masking human scent it actually could attract fish to your hook simply because of the odor it leaves on your hands! On their website they suggest using it before fishing just to help us poor, unsuccessful anglers!

These are just a few of the reasons to use De-fishing soap. It really does get rid of fish smells from your hands and does it much more easily in my experience than other soaps. Take a look at their website to see more benefits and where you can get a hold of this neat little product.

Have you used it before? What are your thoughts?

P.S. I have not received nor do receive any money from this review. If you want to try it for yourself, Look at their website for distributors near you.