Bass Attractant

[fishhugger]

i feel like the only guys who responded to this thread are into scents.    anyone not into scents who care to chime in????  interested in the other side of the story

[DaubsNU1]

22 hours ago, Mike L said:

HA!!

That wins the “Best Post Award” if we had one!!

 

Mike

 

Agree 110%...

 

Outstanding @A-Jay!!!

[Reel]

5 hours ago, fishhugger said:

i feel like the only guys who responded to this thread are into scents.    anyone not into scents who care to chime in????  interested in the other side of the story

Well I responded but I'm not necessarely INTO scents.  I don't use them on crankbaits, spinnerbaits or bladed jigs.  I don't use them on days when the fish are really biting and I'm going to loose enough time putting them on that it's not worth the trouble. But I use them on difficult days ( for the fish) when it means catching one more fish ( when I've caught only two or three) or when the guy next to me is catching more fish than I am, to act as a confidence booster. 

[Catt]

20 hours ago, GaryH said:

Why do you always have to be logical 😁😁👍

 

Spock 😉

[fin]

I’m even more skeptical of using attractants on hard baits. The reasoning for using it is it covers human scent and the fish might hold onto it a little longer. With soft baits, okay, maybe that makes sense, but I don’t think a fish is holding onto any hard bait, period. Unless the fish is used to eating rock hard and pointy foods, like turtles, and you're using a turtle lure.

[WRB]

Soft plastics I use Edge Hot Suace, soft swimbaits Pro Cure Trout, pork rind jig trailers 100% Pure anise oil.

Tom

[ChrisD46]

For Strike King Elaztec soft plastics : Mega Strike , Pro Cure , BANG spray, Berkley Gulp ! Alive spray , Kick'n Bass and Bait Fuel all appear to play nice with the Elaztec material.

[Cgolf]

Add Liquid Mayhem to that list as well.

[fishhugger]

u guys no ten, no, a hundred times more about bass than me...  maybe a thousand times.  this is an interesting thread.  but do you think it's possible when fishin' is tuff, and you reach for the smelly stuff, that it's the... placebo effect or whatever.  that you have more confidence, and so it seems like something positive has happened with the fish catching thing?

or maybe for some of you guys that's exactly what it is --- confidence builder. in my day we called that 'hai karate.' lol.... like al pacino in 'scent of a woman',  "i been around...."

[Tennessee Boy]

I’ve used them in the past and my results were inconclusive.  
 

I find it interesting the logic that people use on this subject.  Take anise oil for example.  It has been used for decades as an attractant.  It’s made from the seeds of a Mediterranean plant so it’s not something the fish would encounter naturally.  It seems logical that the only time a fish would smell it is on a lure.  The only time a fish would taste it would be when the fish has a lure in it’s mouth.  It’s seems logical that a fish could learn to associate the strong and unique scent of anise with fishing lures and being hooked.  I’ve seen no convincing evidence that attractants help or hurt but notion that attractants can’t hurt seems illogical.  
 

I will admit that I’m suspicious of a conspiracy spawned by the bait monkey when it comes to attractants.  

[Bazoo]

I appreciate everyone sharing. In my specific case, the lake we fish, we can fish all day, changing lures and spots and never catch a fish. @riverratryan and I fished it yesterday for about 6 hours together, on the small end which is two large ponds connected to the main lake via channels, and he got 1 bass on a flat sided crankbait.

 

There was at well over a dozen other people fishing too. Some for bass, some for cats and carp, some bluegill or crappie. It has that much pressure every evening from about 3 until dark when the lake closes.

 

We watch what other people use. There is a lot of ned rigs, soft plastics, chatterbaits, and topwater. And of course a mishmash of typical bass gear.

 

I've never seen anyone using scent. If they are using it, its most likely something bought local. I am thinking something a bit more obscure or custom made might help. 

[Cgolf]

1 hour ago, fishhugger said:

u guys no ten, no, a hundred times more about bass than me...  maybe a thousand times.  this is an interesting thread.  but do you think it's possible when fishin' is tuff, and you reach for the smelly stuff, that it's the... placebo effect or whatever.  that you have more confidence, and so it seems like something positive has happened with the fish catching thing?

or maybe for some of you guys that's exactly what it is --- confidence builder. in my day we called that 'hai karate.' lol.... like al pacino in 'scent of a woman',  "i been around...."

 

For me you could say maybe, but for the story I had about my father in law on this thread, I would say no because he was a non believer at the time and only reluctantly tried it.

 

The best time to try it is on a tough bite day to see if it makes a difference, not a day where they are hitting anything you toss.

[DinkDonkey30]

1 hour ago, Bazoo said:

I appreciate everyone sharing. In my specific case, the lake we fish, we can fish all day, changing lures and spots and never catch a fish. @riverratryan and I fished it yesterday for about 6 hours together, on the small end which is two large ponds connected to the main lake via channels, and he got 1 bass on a flat sided crankbait.

 

There was at well over a dozen other people fishing too. Some for bass, some for cats and carp, some bluegill or crappie. It has that much pressure every evening from about 3 until dark when the lake closes.

 

We watch what other people use. There is a lot of ned rigs, soft plastics, chatterbaits, and topwater. And of course a mishmash of typical bass gear.

 

I've never seen anyone using scent. If they are using it, its most likely something bought local. I am thinking something a bit more obscure or custom made might help. 

 

[DinkDonkey30]

Most of the water I fish is high pressure. I mainly bass fish but have done some catfish and panfishing. I’ve tried scented and unscented. My best days are with unscented hardbaits bass fishing. Throwing things that aren’t popular or just a little different in the right spots. I have found color makes a huge difference on a specific ultra clear lake. I do very very well on specific 6th sense jerk baits in red and silver or goldish. No others. I have tried similar other jerks in similar and different colors they flat don’t do as well. Same thing with spinner baits. I have specific ozark trail cheap Walmart brand in purple and green that out performs any of my others trailer or not. Now with catfish and panfish nothing has ever out done live bait or cut bait for me. None of the artificial catfish baits, not chicken livers, not dyed chicken breast none of it. I’m by no means an expert or any kind of hammer but I do fish 3-5 days a week on a lot of different waters so I’ve got a lot of time experimenting.

[Bazoo]

1 hour ago, DinkDonkey30 said:

Most of the water I fish is high pressure. I mainly bass fish but have done some catfish and panfishing. I’ve tried scented and unscented. My best days are with unscented hardbaits bass fishing. Throwing things that aren’t popular or just a little different in the right spots. I have found color makes a huge difference on a specific ultra clear lake. I do very very well on specific 6th sense jerk baits in red and silver or goldish. No others. I have tried similar other jerks in similar and different colors they flat don’t do as well. Same thing with spinner baits. I have specific ozark trail cheap Walmart brand in purple and green that out performs any of my others trailer or not. Now with catfish and panfish nothing has ever out done live bait or cut bait for me. None of the artificial catfish baits, not chicken livers, not dyed chicken breast none of it. I’m by no means an expert or any kind of hammer but I do fish 3-5 days a week on a lot of different waters so I’ve got a lot of time experimenting.

First, welcome to BassResource! Thank you for sharing. Interesting that a Walmart spinnerbait does well for you. I have a couple... I'll have to give them another go.

[DinkDonkey30]

Thanks for the welcome. I have the best luck with it when I add a small creature trailer. I also experimented with adding small jointed minnow style baits that generally go with a chatter bait. It gave mixed results.