Spend enough time on the water in the South, and you’ll learn one hard truth in a hurry—sometimes the fish aren’t the only things biting.
Mosquitoes, gnats, and every winged nuisance in the county seem to show up right when the fishing gets good. And if you’ve spent any time in a tackle shop from south Texas to the Louisiana marsh, you’ve probably seen a familiar bottle sitting right there beside the soft plastics and hooks.
It’s not labeled as bug spray.
But just about every fisherman knows what it’s for.
A Tackle Box Staple
For years, a bottle of Avon Skin-So-Soft has been a quiet companion in tackle boxes across the Gulf Coast. It’s as common as a spool of line or a bag of worms, and that clean, unmistakable scent has drifted across more bays and backwaters than anyone could count.
I first ran across it down in Louisiana about ten years ago. Somebody handed me a bottle, told me to try it, and I’ll admit—I was skeptical.
Didn’t take long to change my mind.
It worked. Plain and simple.
When Marketing Meets the Mosquito Hatch
Recently, though, that little bottle found itself in the middle of something bigger than a summer hatch.
Avon Products filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, claiming that S. C. Johnson & Son had crossed the line with its advertising campaign promoting OFF! insect repellent.
According to the suit, Johnson’s ads suggested that its product was more effective than Skin-So-Soft—implying a comparison that Avon says shouldn’t exist in the first place. After all, Skin-So-Soft wasn’t designed or marketed as an insect repellent.
The lawsuit also points to a television commercial claiming that four out of five users preferred the Johnson product. Avon counters that the fine print tells a different story—that the preference was based on skin feel, not effectiveness against insects.
In other words, a comparison that may not be apples to apples… or even bait to bait.
A New Player in the Game
Not content to sit quietly on the sidelines, Avon announced plans to launch a new product: Skin-So-Soft Insect Repellent Lotion.
This new formula is designed to do what anglers have been using the original bath oil for all along—repel mosquitoes, fleas, and even deer ticks—while adding waterproof sun protection and skin conditioning to the mix.
Avon has described Johnson’s advertising as an attempt to confuse consumers and damage its reputation, and the company is seeking to halt the ads, require corrective messaging, and recover damages.
Johnson, for its part, denies the allegations and maintains that the claims are without merit.
Out on the Water
Now, all of that may matter in a courtroom somewhere up in Manhattan.
But out on the water, where the air hums at sunrise and the bugs rise with it, things tend to get a little simpler.
Fishermen don’t argue cases—they rely on what works.
And for a whole lot of years, that little bottle of Skin-So-Soft has earned its place right alongside the tackle. Not because of advertising, and not because of lawsuits, but because enough folks tried it… and kept reaching for it again.
Final Cast
Call it a bath oil. Call it a repellent. Call it whatever you like.
All I know is this—when the mosquitoes start circling and the bite is just getting good, I’m not leaving the dock without it.
Because sometimes, the best tools in your tackle box aren’t the ones with hooks.
They’re the ones that let you stay out there long enough to use them.
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