Human Scent

[Stickling]

About a month ago i got into fishing alot. Ive fished all my life and never realized how fun it was untill about two months ago. But i read time and time again about your body scent affecting the wya fish bite. And i opn up my tackle box just to look and hold my lures from time to time. Is your body scent really that important? ???[glb][/glb]

[Chris]

Oh your going to open a can of worms. lol  For me if i am using a crankbait, spinnerbait, topwater, or grass frog, I don't use a cover scent unless i am using them in cold water. If I use anything plastic or a jig i use a cover scent mainly because the bait is slow enough for them to smell it or i use scent as a lube to help get my bait down in cover. The main thing that you are coving up is any gas smell or sun tan lotion anything that would be offensive to the fish.

[Stickling]

Thanks for replying, i dont use suntan loation so i wouldent be worried about that. But i do work out doors and sometimes get gas on my hands, but i was it off as good as i can before i touch my lures.

Hate this col water fishing though, cant wait till spring. :-/

[reellittlephish]

It has been shown that human hand scent is repelling to bass. Sweaty hands especially.

I'll go with Chris on this. For plastics scent is good idea. Added bonus is the slickness lets the plastic lure slip through some reed/ cattails and weeds. Many, many times has been the only difference between fish in the boat and no fish.

Get a paste type scent and keep a ziplock baggy with some in it. Put the lure, weight and all in before fishing to soak up some scent. Remember this bag is GOING TO LEAK; keep it warm but act appropriately. Spring and summer I keep a lidded plastic container with the baggy in it on the deck and the sun warms it for me.

This site has some articles on attractants.

[Stickling]

thanks reellittlephish, What kind of sents would you use on plastics? Crawfsh or shad sounds good to me. i dont really use much plastics though. I dont have much experiance using plastics. But lately i heard that they are one of the best things to use in the cold weather like this, so ive been using some watermellon seed zoom worms, havent cought anything off of them yet though. :-/

[Chris]

I got hooked on Baitmate Classic i guess because i got it cheap lol but Bang, Dr. Juice, work too. I usually use crawfish on anything on the bottom and shad on anything moving off the bottom. Some soft plastic have scent in them like garlic or Bang or powerbait. They are great because the scent is already on them but after use you might want to spray some on it.

[squid]

If i have put on suntan lotion, I will spray and then wipe my hands with BANG, so that it will not effect the way the bass will act around the bait.  Just remember this....when in doubt, spray it out...lol

[Shad_Master]

A tip that I learned a few years ago, but don't always follow :-/, is to carry a bottle of garlic salt when you go out.  After getting in the water (handling the motor, etc.) wet your hands and shake some on and rub it in like lotion.  This will mask a lot of the "human scent" and supposedly avoid spooking the fish.  You can also use this to sprinkle in your bag of soft plastics from time to time to rejuvenate the scent.

[Nick_Barr]

I always spray B.A.N.G. scent attractant on all my lures except topwaters

[LUNKER]

Im a big believer that scent has a lot to do with turning fish off more than on. Gas, oil or anything that is foreign to water is a bad idea. Certainly, you can wash your hands after gassing up but I can still smell it. So I think you really need to consider gloves prior to fueling. My 2 cents.

[squid]

You should always scent up your baits, even if it is topwater...so I have been told.  

W. W. G. D.   lol.....what would Glenn do?

[roadwarrior]

I don't think scents make any difference at all.  I have been running an experiment on what I'll call a control pond.  On this particular pond, on average, I catch five largemouth in the hour and a half it takes to make one complete loop. I'm generally fishing Senkos or Fat Ikas and that's all I'm counting for this experiment.  After I catch three fish without any attractant, I put some on.  I only use one on any given day but the brand varies: Yum, MegaStrike, Kick'n Bass or Berkley something Bass Attractant (?).  Results: Zip,nothing,notta...NO IMPROVEMENT.  Now that's when they ARE biting.  If they're NOT biting, no fish after a loop, on my second loop I 'm back with attractant. Results: I'm thinking no improvement although I sometimes catch a fish, but I think that's really a function of just spending more time on the water.

I'm going to continue with this experiment until I run out of the attractants.  Unless something changes dramaticallly, I won't be buying any more.

[Snag]

I've never had a fish tell me I stink, lol, but I do use a garlic or crawfish scent on plastics. I seem to have better luck somedays and other days it dosen't really matter.

Later all,

Snag

[scbassin]

I agree with Road Warrior. I do keep a bar of soap in the boat in case I need a bath   or have to wash my hands. Mudfish, Catfish, & Jackfish will hit your lures & after handling one of them I'll wash my hands. They are a enemy of the bass. If fishing in heavy weeds I'll spray on some fish formula to help slide thru the weeds. I wonder if that helps but they say it does. I can not tell the differance.

[tritonman]

What did all the old timers do before all this new fancy scent stuff came out? What.......nobody caught fish! C'mon guys.. :

I have used scents as well as anus oil and I catch fish, but I also catch fish without scent, and if anything, I believe the fish are bigger without.

[squid]

Let it be Tritonman to be the one who uses butt oil...lmao  Please do not try this at home...lol  I think he meant to say anise...lmao...Leave it to my partner for that one...Enjoyed the laugh.

[jignpig]

Squid you CRACK me up! Oops, did I say crack! I use Smelly Jelly in the Bass Feast scent and I really think it got me some extra strikes or at the very least made the bass hold on a second or two longer. I believe if it makes you more confident in your lure then you will be more successful. Confidence makes you concentrate better, use your lure better, set the hook better, cast better, and so on. So I say go for it and  if it works for you great.  

[squid]

Well i am glad to see I can make people smile, even on here at the expense of my Partner and his anise...lol  I can see it now...he is gonna push me off the boat in Kentucky.

[duncast48TN]

I just use a little garlic and salt in my soft baits, i dont know if it helps the bite but i believe they will hold on to the lure longer, especially with salt. 8)

[Glenn]

W. W. G. D. lol.....what would Glenn do?

LOL!

Well, I wouldn't use a certain oil!

Ok, ok... family site.

I use scent on my plastics - not really to illicit a strike, mind you. I believe the fish hold onto the lure longer, thus giving you extra time to set the hook. This is particularly useful when the bite is very light and hard to detect.

But really, it boils down to confidence. If you believe it will help you, it will.

[Glass_Man]

My dad swears off smokeing while fishing. He says the fish smell it on the bait and you catch less. Seeing as he only uses live bait I have to question his ****** ???