scent

[Sam]

8 hours ago, A-Jay said:

 

There are quite a difference of opinions regarding scent use.

I choose to use @Bobby Uhrig's product.

This stuff has been as important an addition to my bass fishing as Braided line.

I slather this stuff on just about everything I cast.  

A-Jay

 

X2

[ww2farmer]

If I am not using a Powerbait infused Berkley soft plastic, it get's megastrike rubbed on it.........period.

 

I don't know if it helps get more bites, but it don't hurt, and a $7 tube lasts forever. What it does help, is fish will hold on to a bait longer, giving me more time to detect the bite and set the hook if I am asleep at the wheel for second.........I am 100% convinced of that. I also think it helps on pressured and negative mood fish. If it turns a couple of lookers into biters on a tough day it's worth it. If they are jumping in the boat, you could probably have the bait dipped in diesel fuel and it wouldn't matter.

 

IMHO JJ's is too dang messy, and it's special handling requirements make it hassle...........I don't need to keep a climate controlled lock box on the boat with two keys that need to be turned at the same time, with authorization from the FBI and CIA to open and a haz-mat team on stand by to add scent and color to a plastic worm. If I need a little splash of color added to a bait, the Spike it markers get the call for me, and have never exploded, leaked, or turned the floor of my boat green.

["hamma"]

  I dont fish a lure without some kind of scent on it. Whatever I am emulating, the corresponding scent is applied. For jig and pigs and craw imitaions? real craw.  For most other lures? usually smelly jelly liquids.

  Anyone that has ever fished with me knows I take my fishing seriously, very seriously. Back 25 years ago or so, many studies were being done on scents, and many anglers were skeptical on their results. I had the priviledge one day to be waiting in the Rochester NY airport for a flight home, and who comes over to a table next to mine but Al Linder, Dr Juice, and my hero at the time Doug Hannon,,...  Dr. Juice's hat was evidently him, Al I couldn't mistake, and Doug? I coulda kneed down and bowed like a faithful islander on Gilligans Island, bowing to king Bali Bali!. "Bali, Bali, Bali!",...lol.  So,..after a few nervous minutes, I had to speak up that I fish bass, and knew who they were.

 Anyways, they were to go fishing some of Dr.Juice's "new" species specific scents, and I had questions of course. But what struck me the most was the mutual agreement, that studies done did actually prove that human skin oils, are very offensive to a fish's olfactory glands.   Hence the Dr's "new scents",.. Of course when the Dr's scents hit the shelves I bought some. And they worked great for me, but I havent seen any in a while so I just get what I can to cover the broad range of opportunities. The fact of whatever I touch, "can" actually offend a fishes sense smell?

 I always use some form of scents on whatever I fish, after that meeting? wouldnt you?

 

[RichF]

I really shouldn't knock it until I try it...but I just can't get into the whole scent thing.  I have no problems catching fish without extra scents so why spend the extra money.  I also take a bit of a different approach to fishing though.  I think bass will only bite because they are actively feeding or something makes them react instinctively.  I'm not going to sit and soak a scent loaded bait for 10 mins in hopes it will turn an inactive fish active.  I'll just move on and find the active ones.  I get the idea that the fish might hold onto the bait a little longer if it's highly scented but more often then not, the bass will hang onto my jigs plenty long enough for me to feel and set.  If it hits and spits or pecks, 9 times out of 10 it's not a bass.   

 

But seeing how mental the sport is, whatever can boost your confidence on the water is what really matters.  I certainly see how scents can do that for an angler.  Maybe I'll experiment with them someday.

[scaleface]

20 minutes ago, "hamma" said:

  real craw.  

Heres a story using Real Craw . It may have turned out  the same if I wasnt using it , you  never know . I was fishing a point about 15 to 20 foot deep using some sort of soft plastic with real Craw applied . I felt a tic on the line and instead of setting the hook , I  slowly reeled a three lb bass to the surface . It didnt let go .

["hamma"]

No doubt,...That stuff is like gold to me

[je1946]

I use JJs.  As others have mentioned it dyes EVERYTHING.  That being said, I usually do my dying at home before I leave, placing them in a plastic bag.  If I do take it with me I put it in the cooler in a plastic bag, and use a Q-tip to do my application.  I have had success with it as a scent and a dye.

[fishwizzard]

I use megastrike on porous soft plastics (zlinkers and the like) and on anything with a skirt.  I don't feel like it sticks well enough, in the summer at least, to anything else to be worth the bother.   I do very much believe that it helps to give me a second or so more time to make a hookset when fishing a texposed ned rig.

 

I do wish that they would offer it with a flip top lid, like a tube of toothpaste.  When wading it is a pain to deal with my rod, the scent tube, the tube's cap, and my lure, all with wet hands. 

[Jaderose]

Another Megastike user.  Does it attract?  Not that I can see.  It does give me longer to get a hookset.  Good enough for me!

[SFL BassHunter]

I used KVD FishSticks for over a year. I really like them because they are not messy. It is like applying lip balm on the bait. I've used Shad and Craw. Both seem to work just fine.

 

Most baits these days come with some sort of scent. Some don't though. If a bait comes with scent I usually won't apply any. If a bait doesn't then I may apply some FishSticks on it. Generally I will only put some on the front of the bait up to the end of the hook and then some on the hook. I started doing this one day when I was getting a ton of short strikes. It seemed to work for me. Not sure if it was a confidence thing, mental, or if the fish actually decided to start eating the entire worm.

 

[NYWayfarer]

I have a can of that Strike King Coffee Scent Attractant laying around. I only use it on soft plastics that have no salt or scent already infused.

 

Since I rarely finesse fish with baits that don't have salt or scent infused it has been unused.

[Cgolf]

1 hour ago, RichF said:

I really shouldn't knock it until I try it...but I just can't get into the whole scent thing.  I have no problems catching fish without extra scents so why spend the extra money.  I also take a bit of a different approach to fishing though.  I think bass will only bite because they are actively feeding or something makes them react instinctively.  I'm not going to sit and soak a scent loaded bait for 10 mins in hopes it will turn an inactive fish active.  I'll just move on and find the active ones.  I get the idea that the fish might hold onto the bait a little longer if it's highly scented but more often then not, the bass will hang onto my jigs plenty long enough for me to feel and set.  If it hits and spits or pecks, 9 times out of 10 it's not a bass.   

 

But seeing how mental the sport is, whatever can boost your confidence on the water is what really matters.  I certainly see how scents can do that for an angler.  Maybe I'll experiment with them someday.

 

What you should do sometime is either bring along a user of scents or grab a tube and have one person use it and one not during a tough bite in an area you know holds fish. When my father in law went fish less and hit less for that hour, I think he was a skeptic when a gave him the scent, but he started catching fish at a similar rate I was. I couldn't get him to use my scent anymore, but he is going to get some this spring before the season starts. 

[Oklahoma Mike]

I have never used any kind of fish attractant because I've always assumed it was hokey and never wanted to bother with the mess. But this thread has convinced me to give it a try, so I just ordered a tube of Megastrike. I'll use it this year and see if I think it makes any difference.

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, RichF said:

I really shouldn't knock it until I try it...but I just can't get into the whole scent thing.  I have no problems catching fish without extra scents so why spend the extra money.  I also take a bit of a different approach to fishing though.  I think bass will only bite because they are actively feeding or something makes them react instinctively.  I'm not going to sit and soak a scent loaded bait for 10 mins in hopes it will turn an inactive fish active.  I'll just move on and find the active ones.  I get the idea that the fish might hold onto the bait a little longer if it's highly scented but more often then not, the bass will hang onto my jigs plenty long enough for me to feel and set.  If it hits and spits or pecks, 9 times out of 10 it's not a bass.   

 

But seeing how mental the sport is, whatever can boost your confidence on the water is what really matters.  I certainly see how scents can do that for an angler.  Maybe I'll experiment with them someday.

 

Although your "approach" of "think bass will only bite because they are actively feeding or something makes them react instinctively" may be different from anglers you've fished with, it's something most all of the best sticks I know are quite familiar with.  And while agree that "soaking" a bait waiting for a bite is not a super popular presentation, (insert dead sticking a Senko) that might not be where the use of an effective bait scent is most beneficial. 

 Clearly, until bass start to talk to us, we'll never really know how or even if the use of scent makes any difference at all.  Being very satisfied with your own fish catches without one is what leads me to believe that you're a perfect candidate to actually use one. 

You see @RichF, you're already getting your baits in front of many great fish and catching plenty too.  But what you & I don't know is just how many true GIANTS, are turning their collective Huge noses up are our Jigs  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..

Having been using Megastrike for a while now I know that many bass eat baits that have it liberally applied.

  I'll never know about the ones that don't.  But considering the piles & piles of $$$ I'm already spending to catch those green & brown fish, another 8 bucks doesn't even register.

PM me your address, I'll send you a tube.

A-Jay

 

[RichF]

14 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

 

Although your "approach" of "think bass will only bite because they are actively feeding or something makes them react instinctively" may be different from anglers you've fished with, it's something most all of the best sticks I know are quite familiar with.  And while agree that "soaking" a bait waiting for a bite is not a super popular presentation, (insert dead sticking a Senko) that might not be where the use of an effective bait scent is most beneficial. 

 Clearly, until bass start to talk to us, we'll never really know how or even if the use of scent makes any difference at all.  Being very satisfied with your own fish catches without one is what leads me to believe that you're a perfect candidate to actually use one. 

You see @RichF, you're already getting your baits in front of many great fish and catching plenty too.  But what you & I don't know is just how many true GIANTS, are turning their collective Huge noses up are our Jigs  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..

Having been using Megastrike for a while now I know that many bass eat baits that have it liberally applied.

  I'll never know about the ones that don't.  But considering the piles & piles of $$$ I'm already spending to catch those green & brown fish, another 8 bucks doesn't even register.

PM me your address, I'll send you a tube.

A-Jay

 

 

You make a very valid point!  And yeah, you're definitely right...I just dropped over $100 last night on jigs...what's another $8 bucks.  Super nice gesture A-Jay! I appreciate that.  

1 hour ago, cgolf said:

 

What you should do sometime is either bring along a user of scents or grab a tube and have one person use it and one not during a tough bite in an area you know holds fish. When my father in law went fish less and hit less for that hour, I think he was a skeptic when a gave him the scent, but he started catching fish at a similar rate I was. I couldn't get him to use my scent anymore, but he is going to get some this spring before the season starts. 

 

Probably not a bad idea.  I could test it out when I fish with my father this year.  We fish very similar styles and our catch rates are almost always pretty close.  

[TheRodFather]

I tried JJs early in the spring and I can't say with any confidence that it got me any more bites.  Now, the caveat here is that there are only a very limited number of places I can fish for largemouth, by limited, I mean 2, and these are a heavily pressured farm pond and a small creek in a park, so getting a bite at these places is tough on a good day.  I think my best day at the farm pond was 4 fish, and one was a crappie, on live bait.

 

As the season wore on, I started fishing more for smallmouth and in mid summer I tried Smelly Jelly in crawfish anise on my ned rigs/tubes, and Smelly Jelly baitfish scent on paddle tail swimbaits.  I do believe that they helped me catch more fish, not only that they held on longer, but that it also worked as an attractant.  Now is that because it attracted the fish or deterred my scent, well I guess that's neither here nor there since more fish is more fish and clearly the scent is the variable.  

 

The scents seems to work the best when casting up stream and hopping/dragging a tube or ned rig downstream, or swimming the paddle tails downstream, as if the current was bringing the scent downstream and alerting the fish that something was on the way.

 

I tested this nearly every day I fished because I would start out fishing without scent, and after an hour or so would apply the scent and was getting more consistent action with the scent.  This was over several months, many different times of the day, etc, etc.  The smelly jelly is easy to apply and if you get the right system down, can be applied without touching the stuff, although I do rub a bit on my fingers in case I might be putting scent on the bait.

 

Also, I was killing the smallies this summer and early fall with Berkely gulp hellgrammites, but couldn't find more of them locally and wanted to try some other soft plastic hellgrammites so I ordered some Case plastics hellgrammites, which look amazing by the way, very lifelike.  But didn't have near the success with the case, as the Berkely gulp baits.  Maybe I'll mix the case plastics with the smelly jelly, as I had moved away from hellgrammites and on to ned rigs before trying the smelly jelly.

 

So, I'm a believer.

 

TRF

 

 

[SFL BassHunter]

All I know is, when I smell some good food I start to feel hungry. I think we all experience this.  put something delicious next to us that smells great and soon our appetite will kick in.

 

Anyone have pets? Start making dinner and notice your pets go nuts. Sometimes my dog has food in her plate, she hasn't eaten. I start to cook, she comes over starts sniffing the air and moments later goes over to her food and starts to chow down.

 

If bass can smell, and I think they can, then perhaps a smelly shad, or craw could activate their hunger. Again I don't know, just using logic. I have no science to back it up. It can also depend on what you use. For example the spray scents might hit the water and disperse. That smell then goes up and down the water column and spreads activating some of the fish that might have ignored the bait before.

[ww2farmer]

24 minutes ago, SFL BassHunter said:

All I know is, when I smell some good food I start to feel hungry. I think we all experience this.  put something delicious next to us that smells great and soon our appetite will kick in.

 

Anyone have pets? Start making dinner and notice your pets go nuts. Sometimes my dog has food in her plate, she hasn't eaten. I start to cook, she comes over starts sniffing the air and moments later goes over to her food and starts to chow down.

 

If bass can smell, and I think they can, then perhaps a smelly shad, or craw could activate their hunger. Again I don't know, just using logic. I have no science to back it up. It can also depend on what you use. For example the spray scents might hit the water and disperse. That smell then goes up and down the water column and spreads activating some of the fish that might have ignored the bait before.

I never thought of this angle............but your right were all animals in some basic form. My cat will wake up from coma and appear out of thin air if he smells (or perhaps hears) an open can of tuna or something like that. Maybe bass are the same way..........they certainly have been accused being curios creatures like cats.

[Catt]

I use Fish Formula II or Baitmate (clear) with a ½ oz of 100% pure anise oil added; this is to mast any odor my plastic may have pick up & it helps my plastic baits slide through grass easier.

 

Started using Mega Strike last year

[WRB]

I would argue that Berkley set the bar regarding fishing scent with Power Bait / Power worms. 

My choice of scent is 100% anise oil mixed with fresh garlic for pork rind trailers dating back into the 60's, proof is in the bass I have caught.

Soft plastics Edge Hot Sauce or MegaStrike both work and don't see any difference. Swimbaits Pro Cure gel in trout is my go to scent. I don't use scent on hard lures.

I avoid using strong scents like Smelly Jelly.

Tom

[Cgolf]

51 minutes ago, SFL BassHunter said:

All I know is, when I smell some good food I start to feel hungry. I think we all experience this.  put something delicious next to us that smells great and soon our appetite will kick in.

 

Anyone have pets? Start making dinner and notice your pets go nuts. Sometimes my dog has food in her plate, she hasn't eaten. I start to cook, she comes over starts sniffing the air and moments later goes over to her food and starts to chow down.

 

If bass can smell, and I think they can, then perhaps a smelly shad, or craw could activate their hunger. Again I don't know, just using logic. I have no science to back it up. It can also depend on what you use. For example the spray scents might hit the water and disperse. That smell then goes up and down the water column and spreads activating some of the fish that might have ignored the bait before.

 

I can back you up on this one, I was messing around one day and dead sticked a crappie slider over the side and watched the gills come over and inspect the bait one or two may have bumped it closed mouthed, but none hit it. Pulled the bait out and put a dab of the liquid mayhem, panfish scent ironically, on and put the bait back in the water and dead sticked it again. The difference was night and day, the fish started to attack the bait open mouthed and I hooked up quite easily. Even as a scent user for years this surprised me. I didn't realize how much of an attractant it can be, I had just thought it gave us more time to set the hook. Wish I had this on video, maybe this summer. 

[Team9nine]

So 45 replies with positive testimonials for 25 different brands and/or scent variations. Sounds like either they all work, or we have an interesting case study in human Psychology going on. I may just have to test this out this year to figure out which ?

 

-T9

[WRB]

Would anyone use a negative scent that repelled bass? Simple answer is no!

If you believe the Berkley's Keith Jones gels are too thick for bass detect with their olfactory glands then the majority users of scent in this thread who use MegaStrike are wastingvtimecand money. Edge Hot Sauce and Pro Cure gel falls into the too thick to detect category, so why use it? Simple answer it works to improve strike to hook up ratio because it helps to slide through cover and bass teeth. Why not use Vaseline? Answer it doesn't smell like a fish scent!

Confidence is based on success, if you are not confident the lure stays in the box instead in the water.

Tom

 

 

[Turkey sandwich]

I started using Megastrike crawfish scent last year and never really made a control to compare results with.  I can totally understand the reasons why it would be effective, but I can't say that I nicked any huge difference between tubes fished without it and tubes basically filled with the stuff.  That being said, it wasn't expensive and I didn't notice any real negative effects, so I'll likely continue using it.  

 

That said... any help on removing Megastrike or Dip'n'Dye stains would be greatly appreciated. 

[Catt]

Bobby Uhrig has all the scientific data plus years of observational data on MegaStrike.

 

In my personal experience it's like color: sometimes it matters, sometimes it doesn't but it mattered often enough I use it.