...that snakes have an acute sense of smell. It's possible that a scent that they found alluring when you were cleaning the fish, may smell more like some of their common natural prey (than like fish). Surely humans perceive odors differently than some other animals.
Having stated that, I have used fish to get finicky feeding neonate corns to eat for many years. Not only small feeder fish, but cut strips of fish. I've seen baby corns that turned down all the popular prey choices, gobble up pinks that were dipped in the juices in a freshly-opened can of tuna or fish-flavored canned cat food. I do not proclaim that fish are a substitute for rodents, nor do I suggest you make them part of your corn's diet. Whole prey foods (bones, muscle, fur, viscera) are essential for the health and welfare of your corns.
Hence, I'm not surprised you got the attention of your snakes with the fish smell. If your corns are not neonates, I feel certain they would gladly have accepted any fish pieces you would have offered them that day. Older corns will usually eat anything within the realm of animals ordinarily consumed by snake species. In this case, I refer to their cousins, the gaters and water snakes.
South Mountain Reptiles
