Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD
I will admit the first time I squirted a teaspoon or so of Fisherman Hand Scrub out of the handy squeeze bottle, I was less than impressed. I know what a liquid or gel type hand soap is supposed to look like. It should be clear, or perhaps tinted an electric blue or green; perhaps a creamy pearl color. This stuff looks like something that comes out the nether-end of a lake trout that has been feeding on gobies.
That was the end of my negative opinion. I had just finished cleaning enough Lake Superior lake trout planned to be the dinner entrée for an eight-man crew at Moss Island Lodge, Ontario. I don’t know what the lakers had been eating, but like all lake trout, these were slimy on the outside, slimy on the inside and fresh enough to still be pumping blood on the fish cleaning table – all of which coated my hands.
I sprayed off my hands while cleaning up the fish cleaning area, delivered the fish to the chef and grabbed the bottle of Fisherman’s Hand Scrub I’d brought along for the trip and had set by the kitchen sink. That’s when I found out the FHS comes out of the bottle as a gritty looking, light-brown goop.
I gave it the sniff test first, thinking perhaps it had spoiled on the long, hot drive to Canada. It actually smelled just fine with a firm hint of lemon. I continued and immediately noticed the gritty feel as I scrubbed my hand, reminiscent of the pumice infused hand cleaner I use after I’ve been working on greasy lower units or other machinery. The grit (actually, ground up walnut hulls) is more coarse than pumice and is just one of the natural ingredients blended into the recipe.
It’s not a high-suds producing product, but it quickly cleaned my hands and left them scent free immediately – and I gave them a second good “sniff-test” fifteen minutes or so later once the lemony smell subsided. My hand remained fish-smell-free. It passed my test.
A couple day’s later while I was packing for the trip home, I grabbed the bottle of FHS to take home with me. That evening, the camp-cook asked the group if anyone had seen the Fisherman’s Hand Scrub. We were having a fish boil that evening and the cook was prepping the fresh trout for its turn in the boiling caldron.
“You like this stuff, eh?” I said in my best Canadian accent as I dug the bottle out of my duffle.
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “I’ve been using it not only for fish, but it cleans off the onion, the bacon and all the other smells I get on my hands here in the kitchen.”
I left him the rest of the bottle instead of bringing it home with me. Once I was home I ordered another bottle, using my Amazon Prime account so I got free-shipping. I could have gotten it for the same price but with shipping costs at www.fishermanhandscrub.com. Check out the other Mackensie’s “made in America” products as well.
FISHING TOYS 