How To Thicken An Oil Based Scent

[tmier]

I have a bottle of Dr juice and would love to make it thicker. It's pretty viscous and messy but I don't want to waste the stuff. Any suggestions?

[SDoolittle]

I've heard of people melting vaseline and adding scents to it, but I'm not sure how well it would work.

[tmier]

I am leaning toward using something organic. I narrowed it down to crisco or lard. I'll warm each up carefully and mix the bass oil in and hope the mix doesnt separate when cooled. Will the lard have to be refrigerated? That would be a deal breaker...

[Crestliner2008]

Switch to MegaStrike.

[tmier]

Did I just hear a bait monkey screaming?

[Scorcher214]

This is why i permanently switched to Megastrike. It's thick like vaseline and I don't even mind the smell. Perhaps, mix your juice with some megastrike, make a super scent!

[tmier]

I'll try a few things to make the juice useful. Im actually trying to imitate the thickness of megastrike without buying it.

[WRB]

Your time on the water is far more valuable than a few $$ for a gel scent.

Don't mix brands of scent together.

You can use unscented "Vasoline" with your scent.

Smelly Jelly, Hot Sauce are also excellent gel scents.

Tom

[tmier]

Copy WRB, stick to k.I.s.s.

[tmier]

The lard came in a 40oz tub, way too much. So I put a tablespoon in a glass dish and mules it for a minute. I mixed in one tablespoon of the bass juice and chilled it. After an hour I pulled it out and let it sit on the counter overnight. At 50/50 this stuff is pretty thick, I will double the batch for thus weekend. Thanks bird dog and wrb I will pick up a jar of vaseline also

[JoePhish]

Maybe wisk in some cornstarch or flour?

Those are both thickening agents for food so maybe they may work on Dr. Juice.

[tmier]

I will try it. I strained some bacon grease into the crisco mix earlier. As it cooled everything separated. Corn starch could glue it all back together. I will pick up vaseline after work for the second batch.

[Jig Man]

Use the lard up pretty quick as it will get a very rancid odor after it gets old.

[Sam]

From page 75 of Dr. Keith A. Jones's book, Knowing Bass - The Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish, "Oil-based scents never have and never will be true attractants - and that's just a physical reality."

He continues..."Although dismal as attractants, oil-based scents do serve a purpose in angling: they make great masking agents for covering repulsive odors and tastes."

Get the book. It is a fantastic read based on scientific research.

P.S. MegaStrike rules!!!!

[joshholmes]

use yum f2. its water based so all of it spreads throughout the water column instead of just leaving an oil slick on the surface

[tmier]

I agree Sam, Dr. Jones sounds like a smart guy. I believe scents could make a fish hold the bait longer after proper presentation lures a strike. Adding corn starch to batch one made a bigger mess. After scrapping this I melted down some petroleum jelly in a baby food jar and added the super juice, 50/50. It solidified quickly and holds a solid consistency. Now I can scoop some of this stuff into a ziplock baggy and dip my plastics in easily. This weekend should be fun. Next batch could contain garlic and anise oils with salt for an alternative. Thanks for the tips guys, I doubled my batch of Dr J's super juice and made it more functional.

[philsoreel]

I agree Sam, Dr. Jones sounds like a smart guy. I believe scents could make a fish hold the bait longer after proper presentation lures a strike. Adding corn starch to batch one made a bigger mess. After scrapping this I melted down some petroleum jelly in a baby food jar and added the super juice, 50/50. It solidified quickly and holds a solid consistency. Now I can scoop some of this stuff into a ziplock baggy and dip my plastics in easily. This weekend should be fun. Next batch could contain garlic and anise oils with salt for an alternative. Thanks for the tips guys, I doubled my batch of Dr J's super juice and made it more functional.

I've found that after being heated "scentless" petro jelly becomes scented. All my efforts with heated petro jelly kept coming out with the same smell and I narrowed it down to the jelly. I eventually found the smell could be covered but it required such a large amount of the oil or other product that it was a waste or the desired consistency couldn't be achieved, still more of a liquid than a solid.

[Sam]

Hey all.

Following up on this post and what Dr. Jones says about taste in his book, here is what was written about taste on pages 56 and 57.

First, the results of a chart illustrating Feeding Response Magnitude when cotton pellets or small pieces of sponge saturated with assorted flavors were presented to the bass:

Worm Extract = 100%

Sugar = 3%

Garlic = 2%

Anise = 1%

Salt = 3%

Prey Salt Mix = 3%

"The things bass eat, mostly prey fish, crawfish and other aquatic prey, although as opportunistic feeders they will take just about any small animal that comes their way. As such, they savor a wild variety of meaty flavors to varying degrees, especially those high in protein. Cooked fishmeal, for example, is frequently the major flavoring agent (and animal protein source) used in pelleted hatchery feed for bass.

In contrast to animal materials, flavors derived from plants are invariably poor performers. Bass are meat eaters, not vegetarians. No matter how appealing sweet flavors like strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, almond-fudge, chocolate-frosted sugar bombs, or molasses marmalade supreme may sound to us, to bass they mean nothing.

That also goes for anise (licorice) oil, the odorous essence found in many popular versions of early fish attractants, and spicy flavors like pepper, onion and garlic.”

Dr. Jones goes on to say table salt is mildly appealing at best.

So where do you get prey salt as recommended? I have no idea.

I contacted Dr. Jones and he gave me this formula to use when making my own sent for bass. He says this is the best scent we can use. I have not made it so far but I have the blender ready to go. Here it is. Maybe you can incorporate this into your formula:

Purchase one dozen live Nightcrawlers.

Place in a small Black & Decker One-Touch Chopper

Blend the Nightcrawlers together.

Place in a Tupperware container with a tight lid.

Add the plastics you want to use.

Seal the Tupperware container tightly.

Let sit overnight or a few days.

Use the plastics and enjoy.

May I suggest you purchase Dr. Jones’ book. It is a fantastic read.

Let me know when you do this and what type of mess it makes.

And by the way, get your own One-Touch Chopper so you will not use the family's blender.

Good luck.

[Catt]

Knowing Bass: The Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish by Keith A. Jones

Peer Review Fact: Observational bias; an observational bias occurs when researchers only look where they think they will find positive results, or where it is easy to record observations.

Peer Review Fact: the results of Feeding Response Magnitude when cotton pellets or small pieces of sponge with no assorted flavors were presented to the bass. 100%

[Sam]

Catt, all I can say is that Jones has his Ph.D.; is in charge of the Berkley research department; studies bass for a living; and as a scientist does not really care about the results.

I have not see anything negative on what Jones says by any other research Ph.D. and until I do I will have to go along with Jones.

You and I know that our personal experiences play a larger role in what any scientist or professional bass fisherman says. However, we have to have a base to start from and the only base I know from a scientific research basis is what Jones says.

I would love to read other observations. Can you share any you know of with me?

Geaux Tigers!!!!!

[bilgerat]

The worm puree' should work, I just wonder if after the mixture goes rancid after a few days would that rancid smell ruin the baits that are soaking in it ?

Second thought - rancid worm mash + dough = catfish bait

[Catt]

I have a close friend with a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University, a Master’s of Science degree from the University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. from the South Florida with an emphasis in the philosophy of science.

Hear is his thoughts on Knowing Bass: The Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish by Keith A. Jones

Among scientific researchers, empirical evidence (as distinct from empirical research) refers to objective evidence that appears the same regardless of the observer.

An empirical validation of a hypothesis is required for it to gain acceptance in the scientific community. Normally this validation is achieved by the scientific method of hypothesis commitment, experimental design, peer review, adversarial review, reproduction of results, conference presentation and journal publication

Empirical evidence of animal behavior gained though research of animals in captivity is widely being rejected by the scientific community as evidence of animal behavior in the wild…Dr. Jones’s research is done solely in aquariums’.

[grimlin]

use yum f2. its water based so all of it spreads throughout the water column instead of just leaving an oil slick on the surface

I don't believe that theory either. Ever drop one drop of lemon juice in a bath tub and still able to smell or taste that lemon juice? Nope...water disperses that pretty quickly.Same theory applies trying to drop one little lure into a body of water and expect the fish to smell it.They might smell it for a second or so,but then it'll disperse.

As far as a fish holding onto a lure because of the scent,I can buy that.I imagine if your lure tastes like a crayfish and not something fake,would make them hold onto your lure just a little longer giving you more time for a late hook set.

I have used Vaseline and a crayfish scent and it worked awesome...Only reason why I stopped is because I don't want to be putting chemicals in the water that could actually pollute the water.Nobody can tell me how safe it is to use vaseline in water.

I'm waiting for the day JJ's comes out with a crayfish scent now...LOL

[Sam]

Catt, I can't disagree with what your source says.

I would think other scientists have their opinion of what Dr. Jones has found.

However, Dr. Jones has the research to support his findings even if they are a result of lab tests under controlled situations.

Of course I would love to have test results with "wild" bass in lakes and rivers to give us a better overview.

Bobby at MegaStrike has completed his research on "wild" bass and you can view his findings on YouTube.

I like to put MegaStrike on my lures and plastics and JJ's Magic on my plastics so the bass will hold onto it longer. I do not believe in attractants as I think they are a waste of money and don't work.

Although with that said, I must add that Gulp! does attract bream and catfish.

I contacted Dr. John Caprio at LSU regarding his BioPlus Lure. John has developed a "scent" that is supposed to stimulate the neurosensory systems of the bass. I have the 5.5 inch swimbait but have not used it.

Here is what John emailed me when I contacted him last year.

Dr. John Caprio of LSU:

The BioPulse Lure will get a facelift in the future. The initial product is too large and too deep diving to be used in most freshwater lakes. It's fine in deep lakes and in the marine environment-we've had a number of good reports from fisherman catching large striped bass in some deep California lakes and also fisherman off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia; however, it presently is not a good lure for bass in shallow ponds. The company hopes to eventually come out with a 3.5inch BioPulse lure rather than the present 5.5 inch. The company is presently working on soft lures that release the chemical scents and tastants. The actual chemicals in these products are proprietary information.

Sincerely,

John

Catt, I am thinking of putting some of the BioPlus Lure product on plastics and give them a try. I will let you know what happens when I compare it with MegaStrike. I may also throw the swimbait lure in our club's Lake Anna tournament later this year but a 5.5 inch swimbait is a big bait to throw. I will use my Penn saltwater rods and reels.

You can find out more about the Shimmering Shad Freshwater Model #911 by calling 860.415.0530.

I love these debates. They add some spice to the Forum.

Now lets get ready for some football!!!!

[Sam]

Bildgrat, I will make up the concoction two days before the tournament and soak the plastics in it as it sits in the refregerator.

I will keep it on ice with my JJs in a cooler on the boat.

Should be interesting to see what happens.

Thanks for the feedback.