Harold H

It's certainly an interesting topic. The guy that invented Gulp! also said that gasoline did not affect fish. I've also seen where people get one drop on their fingers and dont get a bite after. As far as the water solible vs oil based, shad are an oily fish. Skipjack, which big blue cat chasers prefer, are oily. Lots of saltwater fish like menhaden are oily. Does that make them more appetizing to predator fish, I dont know, but they like them. But I'll say I caught my pb lm in January from the bank on a rapala shad rap with no scent added, it was around 8 lbs if i had to guess. But without a doubt a fish can inhale and spit a lure in the blink of an eye, so if it gives me an extra split second for a good strike I think it's worth it

https://www.pro-cure.com/products/pure-anise-oil Says it is. What brand do you recommend??

People that know, know. Others just haven't figured it out yet. But with so many "attractants/coverscents," which one's actually work. One I really like is Pro Cure super gels. I learned about Pro Cure from an angler on Fishbrain called Slinglines that would always be posting pics of big 5 and 6 lb smallmouth. He said he was using Pro Cure, I think it was Crawfish gel. I have the shad gel, garlic plus gel, and Trophy bass gel. I also have the inshore salt water for surf fishing. They make pretty much any scent you can think of except insect. They're made from real bait then amino acids are added. I have oily skin and human skin oils are repulsive to fish, so I like a cover scent. I know these scents don't hurt so I use them Pro Cure makes Pharmaceutical grade anise oil

Bill Dance recommends bending jig hooks up to where when you close your hand with the jig in it you can feel the hook point

Frog hooks are really strong, bending them a little won't cause them to straighten. Seth Feider does it, he probably knows what he's talking about.

Trimming the skirt helps with short strikes and makes the frog look more natural.

I bent the hooks up and out on two of my Booyah poppin pad crasher's, accidentally damaged 3 out of 4 barbs so be careful. You have to use some force but don't break the hook, just bend up enough to where when you run your finger over the back of the frog you feel the hook point. I'm getting the frog trailer hooks to go on mine and increase hookup %