I read somewhere that out of all of our senses, it’s the sense of smell that conjures up the most memories.

And phew! Did I ever get a scent-laden blast from the past recently.

It was something I hadn’t smelled for years and years: fish food. This floating chow was from the Pumping Station Dam near Brandonville — a place the locals in Schuylkill County call “The Pumpy.”

We’d visit there often as kids. While many were there to cast their lines into the dam or enjoy a picnic lunch, we couldn’t wait to feed the trout in the hatchery. Our parents would pony up some change and we’d immediately blow it on brown paper bags filled with fish food.

They’d be fastened with tape or a staple, and when you would open them — there was this smell. It was a good but bad scent, kind of strong, kind of greasy, kind of, umm, mysterious.

Whatever it was, it sure lingered on the hands. Definitely unforgettable.

But at some point, The Pumpy wasn’t being maintained, and its hatchery closed.

I didn’t think about the place for some time. But when I recently learned that volunteers were restoring it and had reopened its hatchery, it was time to visit.

And wouldn’t you know it? They were selling brown bags full of fish food!

I grabbed one, and dipped my hand inside. It was the exact same stuff I remembered from way back!

Due to its pungency, there’s no way you can’t smell it. It was like each whiff would bring back a new memory of The Pumpy: Being there with my cousins. Traveling in my dad’s silver Oldsmobile. Stopping at a mountain spring along the way to fill cups with cool water. Walking on a trail thick with rhododendron. And, of course, dropping handfuls of food to hungry trout.

It’s amazing how sniffing that fish food allowed me to bring back so many memories.

I thought of some other scents, like how suntan lotion makes me think about the beach at Tuscarora State Park. The smoky smell of a charcoal grill reminds me of that place as well.

Peaches take me to summertime, while lilac reminds me of spring. I’ve never been a fan of pumpkin spice, but smelling it reminds me of fall — especially walking on crunchy leaves. The odor of the green hull on a black walnut transports me to cool weather camping trips when we’d gather the nuts by the bagful.

Coffee equals morning — or even that fancy coffee joint at the mall — and salty air takes me to vacations at “The Shore.”

Laundry that’s been “aired on the line” doesn’t remind me of anything, but I believe it’s one of the best, freshest smells out there. Other scents — good and bad — that make my mind drift include liver, pipe smoke, gasoline, bacon, cinnamon, campfires, soil and ferns.

Maybe you, too, have scents that take you back to certain places or times.