Scents on soft plastics

[Mobasser]

In all my years bass fishing I've tried a few of the scent products on the market, on soft plastics and jigs. I still don't believe they have made a difference in size or numbers of bass caught. I still think that the presentation is the key to getting bit. I'm not fully convinced that they make bass hold on longer to give you that extra time to detect the strike and set the hook. Bass, especially larger fish, can strike soft plastics and expel them, in the blink of an eye. I'm not saying they don't work, because I've known guys who swear by them. If I don't have a scent spray with me, I still feel I can catch bass by finding the right presentation for that day. Do you use them on all plastics? Are they a " must have" item for you? If I found one that I knew was helping, I would use it, but havnt found one yet. What are others opinions on scent sprays or gels?

[A-Jay]

Yes I use scent.

Yes I believe it contributes to improve my catches.

I use this, on just about Everything.

A-Jay

[Sam]

Mo, in my humble opinion, it boils down to confidence.

 

If you have confidence in using scent then use it. If not, then don't.

 

Personally, I use MegaStrike and JJ's Magic. No idea if the bass take the bait better with either but I have strong confidence that if a bass is around the area it will smell and then taste the plastic and hold onto it a little longer.

Now, to get into the debate if scent is a waste of money by using Dr. Keith Jones' research outlined in his book, Knowing Bass, we could be here all day with our input, pro and con.

 

Dr. Jones writes that the majority of scent molecules are too large to pass through the bass' nostrils and do nothing to entice the bass via scent or taste. But I don't want to get into that fight. If you are interested, get the book.

 

Confidence. It all boils down to confidence.

[PersicoTrotaVA]

After I went deer hunting for the first time, I found out that my smartest weapon in my arsenal wasn't my gun or my ammo...it was no scent.  When you are 3 feet away from a deer, looking through because it can't smell you, it's an eye opener. 

 

With that said, I never used to use scents for bass fishing, never, ever, never ever.  I got heavy into buying tackle a couple of years ago(I found this site, TW, etc) and bought all the JJs magic colors, Gulp Spray, etc, the whole kit and caboodle.  I hardly ever used them, except for the Gulp spray and I am almost out of Clear JJs.  I have used the red and the chartreuse but not as much as I "should". 

 

The Gulp Spray is my smartest weapon in my tackle box.  I spray my hands with it to cover up any humanize scents on my hands(bug spray, smoke, just stank hands).  To me this is by far the best use for it.           

[SWVABass]

The only scent I have used is jjs magic. It has helped on multiple occasions. I’ll use it on grubs, tubes and senkos. Going to try procure out next.

[Way north bass guy]

Like Sam said, it’s abkut having confidence in it. I’ve been a huge fan of all things Berkley power bait for years, pretty much all the plastics I have are some sort of Berkley product ( and I have a few tubs worth ?). Obviously the unscented baits work as well, but if the scent even helps catch one more fish every trip, that’s all the confidence I need.  

[Log Catcher]

I used some scents years ago that came in a spray can. I won't mention the name. I couldn't tell it did anything to help me. I haven't used any since. As far as what A-Jay uses I had never seen or heard of it until recently on this site. But I have seen a lot of things on here I had never heard of.

[jbmaine]

I'm a believer in the coffee scent on Strike King baits.

[thinkingredneck]

I think scents mask human odor.  I think they probably give the angler a second or two more to set the hook.  Kind of like aftershave helps you not to be disgusting, but it won't really grab anyone for you.

[burrows]

I feel more confident using scented baits and also feel the fish definitely hold on to the bait longer. Caffeine strike kings, power bait plastics or any type of off the shelf spike it type scents are good. 

[r83srock]

It’s a confidence thing for me too. Also if I soak the plastic it seems to soften the bait, giving it more action. It also allows baits to slide through cover easier. I don’t think attractants can ever hurt. 

[roadwarrior]

MegaStrike

 

[RichF]

I bought a tube of megastrike a year and a half ago. I used it at last yrs bfl on the potomac.  I caught a ton, outfished my boater who wasnt using it, and placed 3rd.  I thought it was the real deal until i got too lazy to keep re-applying to new baits and continued to catch them really good.  Do i think it makes a difference? Eh.  I can make another cast in the time it takes to slather it on a bait.  That usually equates to more bites.  I dont think it hurts anything though.

[Bobby Uhrig]

What I told anglers for years stimulate the fish chemically. Then through gustatory and you have half of the equation solved. The most important thing is ,BASS TOURNAMENTS ARE WON BY OUNCES. If you miss that one fish by it expelling or spitting out the bait before you you set the hook ,then if second place is good for you ,then it's all good.  Who took second place in the last 5 classics  ,I don't remember either 

[OCdockskipper]

3 hours ago, Bobby Uhrig said:

...  Who took second place in the last 5 classics  ,I don't remember either 

Without Googling it, my guesses are:

2018 - Brent Ehrler

2017 - Steve Kennedy

2016 - Jason Christie

2015 - Bobby Lane

2014 - Edwin Evers

 

I use Fish Sticks, both the Shad & Crawdad.  I am in the camp that I believe it helps, I can't prove it does and I know that it doesn't hurt.

 

However, I can tell you that when I was in their boats, neither Ish Monroe, Dennis Tietje, Alton Jones, David Fritts nor Gerald Swindle used any scent at any part of the day.  None of them caught anything over 3 lbs either, but maybe I was just bad luck... ?

[blckshirt98]

On 7/7/2018 at 5:25 AM, PersicoTrotaVA said:

The Gulp Spray is my smartest weapon in my tackle box.  I spray my hands with it

omg

[BobP]

I like Kick’n Bass fish oil based liquid scent.  In addition to any advantage it may impart to the bait’s smell (some, I hope) it lubricates the plastic so that it doesn’t get torn up by the fish after they hit it.  And yes, I believe it works as an attractant to some extent.  Aren’t we are all willing to go to ridiculous lengths to get little green fish to bite anyway?  So why not, just on the possibility that it might give you an edge, however small or large, in the quest?

[ww2farmer]

I use three brands of soft plastics. Strike King, Berkley (Havoc .Powerbait, and Gulp), and Yum. The coffee scented SK, and Powerbait or Gulp Berkley stuff I add no additional scent, any non-scented plastics, like Havoc and Yum stuff get megastrike.

[burrows]

10 hours ago, OCdockskipper said:

Without Googling it, my guesses are:

2018 - Brent Ehrler

2017 - Steve Kennedy

2016 - Jason Christie

2015 - Bobby Lane

2014 - Edwin Evers

 

I was gonna say that but I didn’t want to come to off like a smart ass ?

Second place in the classic is a great place to be! Even though they say nobody remembers second place i know I remember.

[Troy85]

I have canned scents in my boat, I don't use them as often as I maybe should.  Its not that I don't think they work, I just don't think about using them.  I'm in the club of, I don't know if they actively help, but I don't really think they can hurt.

[fishwizzard]

I use Mega Strike on jigs and pourous plastics.  I don't find that it clings to most normal plastics well enough to be worth it.  I also use it as swimbait-lube.