Whenever I catch a fish, I try to avoid touching it and getting the slime all over me. I hate when my hands are all gross. Some people don't even rinse their hands off after handling a fish. I usually wash my hands in the water and use a towel to dry them.Anybody else feel this way?

It's not that I find it gross, it's just that it's harder to tie lures on, make casts, and do retrieves when your hands are slimy. So ya, I rinse/dry my hands off if I have to handle a fish...just because.

I get some cheap hand towels, put a brass grommet on it, and hang it from my belt while fishing. I might dunk part of it in the lake to keep it damp. Towels keep me from wiping my hands on my pants and keep the handles on my rods clean too. I keep it attached to me so I always know where it is without having to look for it. Leaving it on the deck means it will blow out of the boat when I forget to secure it before taking off.

^^^Yup; I keep a towel on the deck all the time. I don't mind the slime on me but prefer not to get it all over my rods, handles etc... I like to take care of my equipment and keep it clean.

Try not to touch the fishes body any more than possible. The slime layer is their protection. But it happens.

I  take a microfiber  towel  . I just wipe my hands off . I'm not washing my hands up to  100 times in a day .

I’m with the op on clean hands. By the look of some of the cork on other people’s rods I bet they were blown away with the cdc recommend hand washing advice. 

As @scaleface already said, microfiber towels work really well. You can get a 10 pack for 5 dollars at Walmart. I think TW also carries their own “fishing towels” but they’re pricy. I like using them when I’m fishing for catfish and sturgeon since my hands get all nasty when I’m rigging live bait on the hook.  

You're complaining about fishy hands?  Come on, man!

Depends on the fish; carp and slimy catfish I would agree are smelly.

Years ago I kept a bar of soap wrapped in a rag to wash my hands when needed. About 30 years ago I discovered Colgate white tooth paste in a good cleaner and biodegradable. Wash your hands and wipe off with a hand towel as needed.

Tom

PS, stop picking your nose and it doesn't smell as bad

just watched a video where Seth Feider caught a bass then immediately touched his face afterwords, thats what made me realize this.

Yes it can get in the way of fishing I as well dont like it, it makes my hands all itchy but you washing your hands in the water and drying them in a rag is great its just part of fishing.

Pants! Wearable towel wherever you go

I only get to fish from the bank so that's what grass is for?

 

In all seriousness, if you have fish smell on your hands after a trip or after cleaning fish, (a) good for you, you didn't get skunked, and (b) ketchup takes the smell off--slather ketchup on your hands and scrub it around, rinse it off, then scrub with soap and water, and rinse it. Same logic as taking a bath in tomato juice if you get sprayed by a skunk.

Only 2 fish that I slip on a kitchen Rubber Maid glove.  Channel Cats & a ell.  I use a net big enough & LONG forceps on everything but pike & Musky. Had 6 of 9 big hooks buried in my palm. I now have NO BARBS on any lures.

 

I am learning at 83.

Doesn't bother me in the least to be honest...I'm not gonna eat ribs and lick sauce off my hands while fishing..but no I don't bring a towel but will wash my hands in the lake and wipe them on my jeans if need be..fishy hands are better than hands that smell perfect because you got skunked

I wear a mask and surgical gloves. Come on man!

i thought everyone carried a fish rag. i have several and those things can get rank in a hurry. mine are usually a mixture of chartreuse garlic spike-it, megastrike and fish. after a couple weeks they need to be swapped out with clean ones. but to be honest, it never really bothered me all that much to get fish on my hands. now megastrike, you gotta wipe off your fingers really good or it will get all over your rod or the reel handles.

2 hours ago, cyclops2 said:

Channel Cats & a ell.

Channel cats are not that bad but eels , those things are slimy.  I'll never try to grab another one .

 

 I fish a small rocky creek off of the Delaware River in Pa N J border.  Ell nursery. Cloudy day . Ells can attack a small lure.  I do not kill them. They serve a purpose in the stream ?  

Getting all that fishy smell and slime is all part of the fun ? but all seriousness  aside I rinse my hands off in the water and dry them off with an old rag I have on the boat The. Take a shower when I get home  

I save all old T-shirts to become hand towels For fishing. I hate slime on the rod grip. I reuse fish slime shirts by leaving them outside in the sun between outings.
 

But if there is any helpful advice I can give about fishing it’s this: if you must wipe your hands on your pants, wipe them on the front of your pants, so you don’t transfer the fish slime to the seats in the car. Or, on the front of your shirt (if you don’t mind ruining it). There is nothing worse than permafish smell in the car.

My fishing partner's jacket works great and I don't have to worry about washing it. His wife thinks that he catches fish. It's a Win - Win.

I don’t think it’s gross I’ll wipe my hands on my pants and eat a sandwich right afterwords.

My girlfriend packs me hand sanitizer (as if I'm actually going to use it).  Naw, man!  Fish slime is meant to be embraced!