Fish attracting scents?

[splashhopper]

I am thinking of adding an attractant to my lures and jigs for the late fall bass fishing and for the trout season which is almost upon us.

 

I am looking for your experience with these and how you use them.

 

Thanks again.

 

Splashhopper

Edited October 1, 2009 by splashhopper

[kickingfrog]

I don't know if they attract fish or not but I do feel they help mask my sent on lures. I'm more apt to use them on jigs and less on "reaction" baits. Definitely on lures through the ice though.

[Radnine]

I have a bottle of "Smelly Jelly" that I got a while ago but seldom use. It ends up making everything but the inside of a fish's mouth, stink.

Charlie Wray is always touting their virtues. And while I love Charlie, I am way too much of a cynic to think that it is anything but sponsor stroking.

I would love to find out that they did work though if only so I won't feel quite so daft for buying one.

Jim

[Guest skeeter99]

I am thinking of adding an attractant to my lures and jigs for the late fall bass fishing and for the trout season which is almost upon us.

 

I am looking for your experience with these and how you use them.

 

Thanks again.

 

Splashhopper

 

 

they really only are effective when the fish are lothargic water 50 degres or less above 50 no real advantage

 

my smallie fishing up north in november scent put on lure every 15 casts or so will out fish even the salted and scented tubes hands down

 

for tubes stuff a cotton ball in the tube soaked in scent lasts longer, or even a gaviscon/alka seltzer tablet broke in half stuffed up there also, bubbles are good for dead sticking smallies in cold water in 30 plus feet of water

 

get a old windex bottle (dollar store spray bottle)and buy enough scent to fill up or enough that you think you will need and spray when need the windex bottle makes life soooooooo easy!!! especially in cold days when your hands are falling off

[OhioFisherman]

Mostly a bass fisherman, mixed results and no real way for me to prove otherwise. When in doubt I used a can of garlic scented pam cooking spray, didn`t seem to hurt.

[fishinguypat]

the colder the ater the slower the scent dispurses

[Greencoachdog]

Like Kickingfrog said, not sure if they mask or attract... but I have great results with them! I use the Fish Formula Crawfish and Shad scent on the dressed treble of the Roostertails I throw, and garlic scented Spike-it lure dye on my Sabiki rigs.

 

I may just be a confidence booster, but I always seem to catch more fish when I use it, than when I don't!

[MCTFisher9120]

Oil based sents are off the lure much quicker than the more water based scents. IMO tube jigs are the only way to go for a oil based scent as you can put the scent onto the jig head prior to putting it within the tube...stays locked up inside for a bit longer.

 

Would like to try that Mega Strike stuff but the kind that is in stick bottle...it's like butter kind of and it's rubbed onto the bait...not sprayed.

[GBW]

I use the YUM spray and find that I do catch more fish when using it. I tested the theory fishing with my brother in-law, we both used the same bait and fished it the same way and I used the spray. I got 3x more fish then he did. Do is work, to me yes. Does it mask my sent on the biat, for sure as it stinks. does it attract, not to sure but I know if works for me...

[Dara]

I was out fishing a few times lately and outfished the other guys in the boat 4 to 1. Nobody was using scent.

 

I believe they work for the manufacturers bottom line.

 

Looking at Canadian Tire and BPS and such, all the racks of scented baits...if they worked like they say they do, there would be no fish left.

[Fish4Eyes]

if they worked like they say they do, there would be no fish left.

 

Amen.

[JohnF]

FWIW we were chucking plastics into a local pond back in the early summer and getting nothing for our efforts. Finally Rob started dabbing some anis flavoured greasy stuff that I got at BPS on his grubs. He nailed a rock bass on the next cast. Then he had a fairly steady string of hits from then on with the stuff. It made enuf of an impression on me that I've been using the garlic spray since then. I'm not sure my recent results prove it's value though. Perhaps I should just go with the cheap greasy noname stuff and leave the expensive spray at home.

 

JF

[frozen-fire]

IMO, after using gulp products with the juices...i've caught more fish. so i agree that scents/attractants do work.

[MJL]

I’ve played around with tons of difference scents for my steelhead fishing (Perhaps this stems from my carp fishing background). I remember trying out scents made by Dr. Juice, Yum, Kickin’ trout, Berkley, Mike’s gel scent, cod liver oil and even some homemade ones where I put some frozen herring, cocktail shrimp and a can of tuna into a blender and pureed it into a mush and soaked my lures in it. In my experience they do work to some degree. I remember smearing some Dr. Juice stuff onto my Kwikfish and watching salmon in the rivers nose up to it and even mouth it a couple times which they hadn’t done for hours prior to adding scent. 2 guys I used to fish steelhead with had jobs that involved chemicals. One was a verminator who sprayed for roaches and the other pumped gas part time. They never used to catch a lot – I was thinking the chemicals got onto their baits. A few sprays with the Yum garlic scent and they were immediately into action. Ironically for my own carp fishing, I haven’t found adding flavours (like strawberry, vanilla, pineapple) to my bait to be all that advantageous.

[hotrod]

Finally Rob started dabbing some anis flavoured greasy stuff

 

 

I hope you meant anise.........and you don't really know what greasy anis tastes like.......

[canadadude]

I have a bottle of "Smelly Jelly" that I got a while ago but seldom use. It ends up making everything but the inside of a fish's mouth, stink.

Charlie Wray is always touting their virtues. And while I love Charlie, I am way too much of a cynic to think that it is anything but sponsor stroking.

I would love to find out that they did work though if only so I won't feel quite so daft for buying one.

Jim

I fill my tubes up with the mustad pheramone Charlie's crap and it works when the Bass are biting short, I buy the tube stuff like toothpaste and squirt it in the tube, it lasts along time and it dosn't hurt the bite.

[JohnF]

I hope you meant anise.........and you don't really know what greasy anis tastes like.......

 

Yuk! Perhaps I do mean anise. I thought I'd seen it spelled the first way though somewhere. Just to be safe I'll add the e from now on.

 

JF

[Dutchy]

My guess is likely the scents make the fish more "aware" of the bait, but whether it makes them bite more I am unsure. I have been messing about with Berkeley scent and I would say my results are inconclusive

[fishindude]

Edited October 1, 2009 by fishindude

[splashhopper]

My guess is likely the scents make the fish more "aware" of the bait, but whether it makes them bite more I am unsure. I have been messing about with Berkeley scent and I would say my results are inconclusive

 

 

that sounds very scientific to me.... we are talking about fishing in an uncontrolled situation.... not in a fish tank

[Terry]

I believe the slower the presentation

the more sent will work

if fish are striking fast and your baits are buzzing along sent does little

but if you are still fishing and the fish has lots of time to look at and smell it

it can make the difference .....

but like many I think it does get rid of bad odors

[JohnF]

.....

but like many I think it does get rid of bad odors

 

Jeez. Don't tell my wife that.

 

JF

[jediangler]

I used to put Realcraw scent on jigs for bass. Can't find it anymore, they must have gone under. Now I just use scent impregnated baits, they are cleaner and easier to transport.

[Dabluz]

I have also tried different scents on my offerings...vanilla extract, mint extract, the first stuff that Berkley had for sale a long time ago, greasy lipstick style sticks, anis (that's french for anise), Dr Juice "walleye", etc etc. After 30 years....I'm still experimenting and I still don't know if any of that stuff does make a difference.

 

I know for one thing that when fishing with nightcrawlers, changing the bait after 30 minutes does help and the same goes for frozen smelt. Cut bait must be changed much more frequently.

 

I know that some companies do experiments (in an aquarium) with different scents....usually for bass and they do say that the scents work. But, can I trust their findings? They sure have a way with twisting the wording on some of their products so that they look better than they actually are. Descriptions for their fishing lines are very deceiving.

[Greencoachdog]

Oil based sents are off the lure much quicker than the more water based scents. IMO tube jigs are the only way to go for a oil based scent as you can put the scent onto the jig head prior to putting it within the tube...stays locked up inside for a bit longer.

 

Would like to try that Mega Strike stuff but the kind that is in stick bottle...it's like butter kind of and it's rubbed onto the bait...not sprayed.

 

 

You have that bassakwards son!... try washing motor oil or even cooking oil off your hands with just water. ... then try it with a water based paint.

 

 

Haven't you ever heard that oil and water don't mix???... one of the oldest sayings in the world!!!