To coffee or not to coffee

[jbmaine]

Let me start out by saying I love to drink coffee, every day, all the time. My wife on the other hand can't stand it. So when Strike King came out with coffee tubes I bought a pack, mostly to bug her. 

 A few weeks later we were out on the lake going thru an area we called the " bowl", an area around 25 ft. deep, flat and smooth, no rises, humps, anything of note. The fish finder started picking up fish, just off the bottom. I have no idea why they were there, but they were. I dropped the anchor and as it was a really windy day we both cast off the stern using, I really don't remember. No joy after 20 minutes. For something to do I tried a coffee tube. Caught a fish, then another. told my wife to try a coffee tube. Said " it must be the coffee!, I got a dirty look, but she dug thru the tackle bag and found non coffee tubes, same size shape and color., and tried them. After I had caught 7 fish to her zip she finally broke down and tied on a coffee tube, and started catching fish. 

 I'm not saying coffee flavor works all the time, or for everyone, but that day we had the same line, hooks, technique ( letting the tube rest on the bottom slowing twitching it in) and were fishing within feet of each other, and the fish ignored the non coffee tube but devoured the coffee flavored one. We ended up with 18 fish from that one spot, LM, SM, and Pickerel.

 From that day on I have used coffee, caffeine, flavored soft plastic with great successes. The latest being the swim'n caffeine shad. This is the only bait I keep tied on full time. I caught my first fish on it this spring, my last one on it this fall, and many in between.

  As I said it might not work for everyone, or all the time, but for me at least 90% of the time coffee, caffeine , flavored baits are my go to, get er done, high confidence baits to use.

                 Note: in the interest of full discloser I have never caught a bass holding a cup of coffee in it's fin, but you never know.

                                                                         Jim 

[IndianaFinesse]

Saying they like the smell of coffee is like saying they like the smell of roses IMO.  At best it helps cover up "bad" scents, but how much that matters is highly questionable.  Subtle differences in technique would more likely be the cause.

[jbmaine]

1 hour ago, IndianaFinesse said:

Saying they like the smell of coffee is like saying they like the smell of roses IMO.  At best it helps cover up "bad" scents, but how much that matters is highly questionable.  Subtle differences in technique would more likely be the cause.

 You could be right, but I know my wife's technique didn't change that day, only the bait she was using. All I know for sure is wasn't catching anything until she switched to a coffee tube then she was pulling them in every 5 minutes. Since then I've caught a stupid amount of fish on coffee scented baits. Would I have caught the same amount on non coffee scented baits ? I don't know but last year I fished nothing but swim'n caffeine shads ( that is all I used ). I kept waiting for it to stop producing but it never did. From April thru October I never got skunked. 

[WRB]

Back in the late 60's we feed coffee grounds to Canandian nightcrawlers thinking it helped scent the worms. The idea of laying soft plastic worms on wet coffee grounds to help strike ratios was tried and determined to be of no help. What worked to increase strike and hook up ratio's was pure anise oil mixed with glycerin.

We also soaked mono line in coffee to dye it light brown....

Today I just drink coffee made from fresh ground beans every morning.

I can't remember the number of times a specific bag of soft plastics and scent out fished everything else. 

Tom

 

[Catt]

In my tiny mind anise, garlic, coffee, & Gulp scents work!

 

Had to proven to me too many times & have proven to others too many times.

 

We can try to explain it away or accept it does at times work!

[papajoe222]

If it works, I don't ask why. Life's too complicated as it is. Why add more to it questioning whether the scent made a difference?  FYI, I rarely throw a soft plastic without some kind of scent on it, but that's me.

[scaleface]

It wouldnt surprise me if coffee helps . I think Berkely Power Bait and Real Craw both worked .

[Deleted account]

10 hours ago, Catt said:

In my tiny mind anise, garlic, coffee, & Gulp scents work!

 

Had to proven to me too many times & have proven to others too many times.

 

We can try to explain it away or accept it does at times work!

I don't know what is in Gulp® juice, but I'm pretty sure it's fish crack, no respecting fluke (flounder) tournament angler fishes without it. I rub some Smelly Jelly® on soft plastics when bass are spitting it out quickly, and that usually seals the deal. Bacon grease, garlic infused olive oil work well. Fish slime in a pinch...

[NYWayfarer]

I love the strike king coffee scented baits. The thing I love is the smell, it covers up just about anything.  

 

I don't notice any difference in the numbers I catch when using it.

[Ratherbfishing]

Just like color, scent doesn't matter-UNTIL it does.  Then it matters a lot.  I can't say how often that is.  Each situation is different.  My experience with scent has been, I think, less about ATTRACTING the fish as it is about getting them to hang on long enough to sense the strike and get a good hook set.  (Most of my experience has been with Berkley Gulp and powerbait).

 

Glad to hear you found a solution.  Don't you love it when a plan comes together?!

 

[J Francho]

I could care less about built in scent, unless it's Gulp!.  Most baits get smeared up with Megastrike anyway.

[fishwizzard]

I believe that the Gulp juice does attract fish and make them more likely to bite.  I also believe that it might be the worst thing I have ever had in my mouth and no amount of increased catching will make it worth the risk of having that happen again. 

 

If you want to live dangerously, stretch the salt out of some Z-man Zlinkers/TRDs, toss them in a plastic baggy full of Gulp juice mixed with Megastrike.  Give them some gentle squeezes and let them sit overnight.  They suck the stuff up and it really seems to turn the bite on.  Just be careful and keep your mouth shut when affixing the plastic to the jighead. 

[Gundog]

I can't use any bait that has a garlic scent. It makes me too hungry. I forget about fishing and head straight to Olive Garden. 

[Catt]

13 minutes ago, Gundog said:

I can't use any bait that has a garlic scent. It makes me too hungry. I forget about fishing and head straight to Olive Garden. 

 

I'm the same way with anise oil!

 

Absolutely love the smell...hate licorice...love the smell 

[DINK WHISPERER]

53 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I could care less about built in scent, unless it's Gulp!.  Most baits get smeared up with Megastrike anyway.

This^^^

[Sam]

JB, let me try to remember the story of how coffee became an attractant to bass. Guys, please forgive me if I am a little off but I believe this is what I was told a few yeas ago.

 

I believe it was Berkley that sent a research team out into the wild to do some research on their new products.  During the trip, the guys brewed coffee and then threw the grounds overboard.

 

They noticed that minnows were attracted to the coffee grounds.

 

So being research people, they threw coffee grounds into the water a second time and guess what? It attracted the minnows.

 

With this knowledge, the guys went back to their lab and produced the first coffee smelling baits and had DVD hawk them when they were released into the marketplace.

 

Why coffee?  No idea. But they do work. Not all the time, but they do produce strikes.

 

Maybe someone out there has more details about coffee scented plastics. If so, please correct my story. Thanks.

 

 

[Toad Master]

I had the use or not use of scent explained to me this way may years ago. It's like throwing a slice of bread in front of a dog, he may or may not eat it. But put gravy on the same slice and watch how fast he eats it. So in my mind if the fish is hungry he will eat, if he is not and only looks at your bait or hits and spits it out,  scent could close the deal. I have no evidence that using scents hurts. But being practical I am sure that in some cases it does. imo

[Columbia Craw]

I put a tea spoon of crawfish Smelly Jelly on my oatmeal every morning, that way when I want to sent a lure I just spit on it. It also keeps me regular.

[Team9nine]

...And to think, these poor bass have been living and evolving for hundreds of thousands of years, and only now, thanks to Strike King, do they realize they like coffee aroma, and what they've been missing all this time.

[burrows]

They need it to get rid of head aches. Apparently bass get migraines.

[Mr. Aquarium]

i love the strike king coffee baits! the coffee tube is deadly on smallies! 

[Steveo-1969]

On 11/28/2017 at 1:08 PM, Columbia Craw said:

I put a tea spoon of crawfish Smelly Jelly on my oatmeal every morning, that way when I want to sent a lure I just spit on it. It also keeps me regular.

I mix crawfish Smelly Jelly into my coffee every morning instead of creamer. Then when I want to scent a lure I just pee on it.  I get coffee AND crawfish smell on it at the same time. I say GENIUS!!!!!

[Columbia Craw]

5 minutes ago, Steveo-1969 said:

I mix crawfish Smelly Jelly into my coffee every morning instead of creamer. Then when I want to scent a lure I just pee on it.  I get coffee AND crawfish smell on it at the same time. I say GENIUS!!!!!

 

Great minds think alike. I would try that but I don't want to have a kidney stone with pincers.

[A-Jay]

9 minutes ago, Steveo-1969 said:

I mix crawfish Smelly Jelly into my coffee every morning instead of creamer. Then when I want to scent a lure I just pee on it.  I get coffee AND crawfish smell on it at the same time. I say GENIUS!!!!!

Interesting concept Steve ~ 

Be interested to find out what any of your co-anglers might think about the sudden & most unexpected appearance of your 'applicator'  . . . 

A-Jay

[Steveo-1969]

6 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Interesting concept Steve ~ 

Be interested to find out what any of your co-anglers might think about the sudden & most unexpected appearance of your 'applicator'  . . . 

A-Jay

Co-anglers have found it to be no 'big' deal...