Atractants and flavored plastics

[telecaster]

The Yum/Gulp thread got me thinking about this.I'm sure there is some reason they came up with salt as a bass attractant.I dont think someone took a bite of a tube bait and thought,jeez this is tasty but it needs salt.Funny but it probably didnt happen like that.

I was lookin around the local tackle shop today,I cant remember the brand but they had coffee flavored,I think they were tubes.When do you throw them in the morning?Then switch to salt and beer flavored in the afternoon?

Just a thought,thats been roaming around my head.Kinda like why is there Maple syrup.Did somebody see sap leaking out of a maple tree and think,that looks really good I think I'll give that a taste.

[Oscar O.]

Yum passes salt off for an attractant by itself, i know that much. Somebody told me when i first started fishing that the salt was for weight. If salt attracts fish, thats another reason why senkos catch fish i guess...lots of salt! Doesnt strike king do the coffee tube thing? I dont remember. Maple syrup, lol

[fishhawk]

I can't fathom the thought of letting anything that tastes like beer out of my sight! Actually Gene Larew was the first to put salt in plastic baits. He sued several companys over copying his idea. The claim is that blood tastes salty so a fish will hold the bait longer. Most that have experimented agree. I prefer Berkley Powerbait or Gulp products over salt. Up here in smallmouth territory it is getting aroung that Gulp is like crack to our brown fish.

[Jeff H]

I never got on the salt wagon, probably never will....but I got a whole lot of confidence in Original Powerworms. I don't think it does squat for attracting but once they get a taste, they EAT it. You gotta be on your toes fishing Powerworms because if you give them too much time you'll end up killing that fish trying to dig a hook out of it's throat.

[iceintheveins]

I really don't think salt and scent matters nearly as much as action of a bait, nor do I think it attracts large amounts of fish. However, salt and scent DOES cause a fish to hold onto a bait longer, and in really tough conditions, a few more lookers are turned into biters. At least with bass anyway.

I've never found anything that works as well as natural bait when the situation calls for it for just about any fish. However much of the time, lures outproduce natural bait.

[Catt]

The term Attractant is as wrong as Fish Finder

No spray, juice, rub, dip, or any other concoction will actually cause fish to come to your lure. They will lubricate your lure so it comes through vegetation easier, they will mask any smell your lure may have pick up & the fish will hold on longer.

Just like there is no electronic device that you can turn on and it will Find Fish; there are however Depth Finders.

Salt is for in all blood in certain levels  

[Rayraff]

I got some Jelly Worm worm attractant in Grape.... Probably 20 years old

[Big-O]

This debate is still up in the air and it won't be figured out for a long time because there are so many so called authorities that say and believe different theories.  Common sense should be applied to trying to understand scents and their effects.  As mentioned by previous posters, a variety of scents help the hold time once the fish has the bait in their mouth (power worm, salt, LPT etc.). Others say that they leave a scent trail and some do exactly that. Now how much of an effect this scent trail has in bass fishing is still not proven. Others are saying the oil based scents that are cooked in the plastics have no effect at all, but this comment and info came out of the same camp that produces the Power Worm. I am not sure why they would say that since it has been proven otherwise. Insect repellents are oil based and spray that on your bait and see how many fish you catch, NONE. And if fish can't smell oils then how do they detect human scent on baits. Is our scent moisture based which would wash off immediately upon water entry or oil based which some say that fish can't smell.  I believe human scent is both water and oil and easily detected by fish.  Important to remember that with many types or styles of fishing whether fresh water or salt water, chum scent trails are the norm. And many of these chummers use an oil base (menhaden oil) as a base for their chum concoction. They have been doing this for years with proven success. I believe as many of us do, that the best scent ATTRACTANTS are a mixture of water based scent (for immediate dispersal in the water) and oil based scent  for concentrating the scent as well as providing a type of carrying agent that helps to transfer the water base scent until such time that the fish actually gets the bait in their mouth, then the oil base (concentrated scent) comes in to play that increases hold time. There is even disagreements on this, as many say that oil and water don't mix.   They do mix for a time if you shake it up good or the two are absorbed into or produced in any given material. Ck for yourself by putting oil and water in a jar and notice how clear each of them are. Then shake them vigorously and notice how long it takes for them to separate completely. Each stays cloudy for an extended period of time before  totally separating. And if this mixture is placed on any given material, the oil will also trap the moisture against that material for a certain amount of time as well. We all know that soft plastics are oil based. How many of us have left a soft plastic bait in the water for an extended period  of time only to notice that the color changed and got cloudy due to absorbing moisture, then leave it out in the sun for a while only to see it clear up again. I don't believe that there is any single person or group that knows all there is to know about scents in the bass fishing industry at this time, but the study goes on and it is an interesting subject to say the least.