Using Scent?

[Sam]

9 hours ago, A-Jay said:

On that note ~

Slime up 1/2 a foam ear plug (new or used) with Megastrike and slide it in the end of the tube.

Slows the fall & holds the scent.

Very Tricky . . .

A-Jay

I tried a cotton ball soaked in scent but it came out of the tube.

 

The foam ear plug never crossed my mind.

 

Thanks for the tip.

[Otter17]

On 3/30/2020 at 9:30 PM, A-Jay said:

On that note ~

Slime up 1/2 a foam ear plug (new or used) with Megastrike and slide it in the end of the tube.

Slows the fall & holds the scent.

Very Tricky . . .

A-Jay

That was Awesome A-Jay! Thankyou very much for sharing that!

[JustJames]

I did some experiments with crappie, as we all know Crappie fishermen are crazy about scent more than other lol. 
My friend and I were using the same lure and depth, I used nibbles he didn’t but I told him to cast where most crappie concentrated. I fish on the outskirts. This spot is where a lot of bait fish and a feeding ground which crappie can scatter out.

The result he was outfish me 2:1 and he managed to catch 4 bass as well as the biggest crappie 15-16”. We both caught more than 30 crappie for sure. On the other hand he got a few light bite and missed hook while my bite is firm and obvious, bobbers went straight down or sideway, hardly missed bite or hookset.

[Eric Matechak]

scent hasn't made much of a difference for me with lures for active predators like walleye, pike, and bass. it does help a little for carp though

[dodgeguy]

Smelly Jelly in crawfish scent is the best.

[Teal]

Nope makes a mess.   Had an accident with JJs 6 years later I can still smell it when I open my.compartments

[RHuff]

I spray down my jigs/trailers with YUM crawfish scent. Some days it seems to make a big difference and some days it doesn't seem to matter. To me, it's worth the effort though. 

[roadwarrior]

On 3/24/2020 at 7:29 AM, A-Jay said:

I use Megastrike Original & Crayfish scent when target both brown & green bass.

I have a ton of confidence in both products.

They really work for me - 

I can not say if I would catch bass without it, 

because I slather it on everything . . . 

YMMV

 

A-Jay

 

Me, too!

[ATA]

I've seen the diffrence when I am using them, It is not what I believe or not, I am talking about personal experience, and best of them which always works for me is pro cure. give it a try and see it for yourself.  

[WRB]

According to Berkley's Dr Jones, who has had a lot of success with Berkley products, bass can't detect scent made with gels, he claims bass can detect orders from microscopic particles. 

Long before commercial bass "attractants" became available we used pure anise oil and juiced fresh garlic mixture for a very effective bass scent. 

Like everything in bass fishing confidence plays a big role in what we believe.

If nothing else scents mask our scent.

Tom

[Team9nine]

Scents - meh. Been 30 years since I've used them, and don't see that changing anytime soon. Give it a try if you think it will help. I put my confidence elsewhere.

 

 

[EzyEric]

The recent explosions in success on the pro circuits  with Berkley Powerbait Maxscent has me questioning effectiveness of scent once again.

[Chonch12]

On 3/24/2020 at 8:29 AM, A-Jay said:

I use Megastrike Original & Crayfish scent when target both brown & green bass.

I have a ton of confidence in both products.

They really work for me - 

I can not say if I would catch bass without it, 

because I slather it on everything . . . 

YMMV

 

A-Jay

Very Cool. I have used the markers here and there, they smell TERRIBLE! lol but that was mainly to add some chart to a soft plastic tail. I see this stuff comes in a tube? How do you apply it? Does it smell terrible like the "Spike it" Branded stuff?

 

I ask because I do everything to avoid getting that marker on myself or anything outside of the soft plastic due to the smell that is impossible to get off

[roadwarrior]

MegaStrike has the consistency of Vasoline and is VERY user friendly. No mess, stink or stain.

 

 

[Tatsu Dave]

I've tried megastrike and JJ's clear dippin oil as well as tuna fish oil that we used to use to attract smelt when I smelt fished commerically. For some reason the megastrike gel didn't seem to make much difference but the tuna oil and JJ's make's a real noticeable difference that seems to last longer (instead of 20-30 casts, several hours)

 

I believe you have to safeguard with JJ's because high temps and full sun can cause expansion and leaks, use a metal cap that will seal better and keep in protective plastic box out of direct sun. A cheap one tray tackle box with tray removed and a piece of florist foam cut too fit will keep bottles shaded and upright for dipping and will contain if you have a spill or leakage (never has happened for me using it 30 or more trips a year) for quite a few years. A spray bottle of anise or garlic oil lubes the plastics well and gives you slide when weeds are heavy in late season. Attractants and Oil.....Use it or don't, it will depend on your own personal experiences but I sure don't think it ever hurts.   Dave

[DaubsNU1]

Buddy of mine read an old-school fishing book back in the early 90's...author compared human, bird dog, and largemouth bass ability to smell...

 

For comparison:

• A human can detect a drop of vinegar in a two liter bottle of water
• A bird dog in a 50 gallon drum of water
• And a largemouth bass can detect a drop of vinegar in an Olympic sized swimming pool!

True? I dunno. Interesting bit of information...

 

I don't use attractants, but do keep bar of soap in the boat to wash off gas / oil when I'm messing with the Merc. 

[A-Jay]

49 minutes ago, Chonch12 said:

Very Cool. I have used the markers here and there, they smell TERRIBLE! lol but that was mainly to add some chart to a soft plastic tail. I see this stuff comes in a tube? How do you apply it? Does it smell terrible like the "Spike it" Branded stuff?

 

I ask because I do everything to avoid getting that marker on myself or anything outside of the soft plastic due to the smell that is impossible to get off

@roadwarrior - covered it well below.

While Megastrike has a very mild odor, it's not a horrid stank by any means - and certainly no worse than what we experience holding a bass.

Which you may see a few more of should you choose to use it. 

I apply it with my fingers on the non-reel handle hand, as it's a little 'slippery'. 

That's great for the bait but not so much for reel knobs.

I always have my fish reg handy for a quick & easy wipe off / clean up. 

A-Jay

21 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

MegaStrike has the consistency of Vasoline and is VERY user friendly. No mess, stink or stain.

 

 

 

[txchaser]

I use a lot of sunscreen and I'm a bit paranoid about getting it on the baits, so megastrike as at least a cover-up helps me feel better about it. I'll often just put it on my hands when I get in the boat. Helps the bait move through weeds a little I think, and it lights up under a blacklight, so I assume there's either a bunch of organics or some UV coating in there.

 

[ChrisD46]

Perhaps more of a confidence thing  -I use Megastrike on my Ned Rig baits and for soft plastics I spray the bag with a shot or two of BANG pray attractant Garlic scent .

[Junk Fisherman]

22 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

MegaStrike has the consistency of Vasoline and is VERY user friendly. No mess, stink or stain.

 

 

While it is neat, I got some on my carpet carpet twice this year.  Simply Green gets it out though.

 

Megastrike, Gulp, and KicknBass are what I use.  I always apply it to baits without any scent such as Zoom.  I like to put a squirt of KicknBass in a bag of baits the night before if I anticipate using them.  Megastrike always on jigs since it hangs on the skirt.  I spray Gulp on my hands or a drop of KicknBass at the start of the day.  Had several partners give me an odd look for doing this.    

[padon]

On ‎3‎/‎26‎/‎2020 at 4:48 PM, Bass_Fishing_Socal said:

I don’t believe 100% in scent catch more fish but I do believe in location. I don’t even use scent for most trip. With all that said for bass, I have Megastrike, Procure, JJ magic and 3 Spike-it Pens, For crappie I have 3 jars or nibbles, powerbait attractant and Slab sauce. What else I should buy?

yes this is something that some fisherman don't understand especially new fisherman. you can use the best scent in the world, put it on the best lure in the world and if your not fishing where the fish are your not going to get bit.you see the same problem with deer hunting. guy buys buck lure puts it out ( or worse yet put it on himself) and expects every deer for two miles to come running. when he doesn't kill anything the scent doesn't work.what he doesn't realize is he wasn't hunting where the deer travel. fish attractant to me is the same its an aid that may help you get a few more bites but you gotta master the other parts of the puzzle first.

[livemusic]

On 3/26/2020 at 9:49 PM, WIGuide said:

Personally I believe in scents. I know there are days it doesn't seem to matter in the least. You could rub you bait in everything that bass hate...gas, oil, sunscreen, whatever and they'll still knock the crap out of it regardless. Lets face it though, there are WAAAY more days that are the exact opposite. Not only do I fish for the enjoyment of it, but I guide and fish tournaments and in those situations, something that could get even one more bite on a bad day is worth the investment. I always have a few bottles of Kick'n Bass in my boat and I use it on all baits. As long as you let it dry for a minute or two on a hard bait it'll stay on there and it's strong stuff.

Here's a few instances I've seen first hand that have confirmed my beliefs. First on happened during a tournament. Fishing had been tough going into the two day event, but I had figured out a little bit of a pattern that had been working with smaller boot tails. I had all mine doused in scent and although it was a grind, I managed to slowly put together a limit and cull a few times. I had been telling the non-boater I drew that day what I was doing and he was throwing the exact same size and color bait, yet was still struggling to catch fish. I even went as far as letting him use the exact weighted hook I was just in case that had something to do with it and still no result. A little later on I told him to try some of the scent on his bait and coincidence or not, within a few minutes he had caught a keeper. He had a few minute dry spell and decided to put more on his bait...within another minute or two he had another one. Unfortunately he ran out of time before filling his limit, but would he have caught the fish he did without the scent?

 

The second example comes from having fish in a tank as a kid. They were't bass, but were bullheads which I know rely more on their sense of smell, but I still feel it applies. Anyway, I had these fish in a small aquarium and I had a small panfish grub that I had put on a hook and cut the barb off and bent the hook down just to hold the bait on. If you put the bait in the tank without scent, they would immediately come up and hit the bait and after a short length of time would spit it right back out. You could repeat the same process multiple times with the exact same result, but after the 3rd or 4th drop they would completely lose interest to the point they wouldn't even look at it. If you pulled it out and put a little bit of scent on it and dropped it back in though, not only would they rush it and smash it, they didn't want to let go! You could literally hoist them out of the tank and would have to shake them to get them to let go. You could continue to drop it in and get the same results and they wouldn't leave it alone. 

 

Like I said before, it's not that those results are going to happen every time, but even if it occasionally has that effect, it's worth it to me. 

 

That is quite an amazing scent testimony, I have never seen one more convincing!

[Scott804]

I have had a lot of luck in pressured situations using scented lures. I am a big fan of the KVD chapstick style scent applications. Sometimes I use markers too, although I'm not as confident in their ability to keep the scent on the lure. 

 

I also really cannot think of a time that the Berkley Powerbait Chigger Craw has ever failed me. Put me on my first bass in a super tough fishery after trying for many weeks, and continues to catch fish for me. I just caught my first smallmouth on one and it was a 2+lb fish! I will note that the scent in those bags seems to be a little bit worse than other powerbait bags in my experience, I left a singular craw in the trunk of my car by accident once and it was not a good time driving to work the next day. 

[evo2s197]

19 hours ago, livemusic said:

 

That is quite an amazing scent testimony, I have never seen one more convincing!

I've had scent work too many times to just be a coincidence, where it was a slow day and most of the fish i would hook was immediately after I had just used scent on whatever I was throwing be it a jig, worm or whatever, right after applying the scent and casting the lure I would get a bite most of the time within seconds of hitting the water.

 

Some days it's the missing link.