Mattlures Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Catt inspired this thread. Have any of you ever conducted your own scent vs no scent experiment. I for one think it helps but I am not sure it makes a lot of difference when it comes to bass. Bass are sight feeders. The feed by sight and feel. I do think scent makes a difference but I am not completely positive. It is possible that scent doesn't make much difference. Now with other fish like sharks or catfish they use there sense of smell as a primary sense. I know scent makes a difference with those species. Can anybody show an example of an experiment or experience where scent made a noticeable difference. I would think it would help the most with a slow moving presentation like a worm or jig. And I would think it would make little difference on a reaction type presentation like a spinnerbait or crank. What do you guys think or know about it?
Super User fourbizz Posted September 22, 2009 Super User Posted September 22, 2009 I dont think it makes a spot of difference. I never really use scents anymore. The smell of powerworms turns me on though.
Super User Dan: Posted September 22, 2009 Super User Posted September 22, 2009 The smell of powerworms turns me on though. phew, I thought I was the only one.
CHEVYRIDAZ Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 I did my own for about 2 years with different scents. My conclusion was that it makes no difference in the amount of strikes i got. However, it did make a huge impact on how long a fish holds a lure before it spits it out. Like stated above, mostly in slow moving lures. I only use them in the winter now and only on T-Rigs/Jigs when it is harder for me to feel the subtle bites. Buys me a few more seconds to react! BTW, I LOVE Power Bait too......................................
kms399 Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 if they are hitting I won't use it. if I cant get a bite I will slather on the megastrike and I will usually pick up a few. now with muskies I think it makes a huge difference here is why I think that. for 6 years I fished my lake knowing it had muskies but I had never caught one. I found mega strike and started using it. that year I picked up 13 muskies with the biggest at 40 inches on a bandit 100 of all things. my thought is that muskies often follow a bait before committing and when that mega strike is leaving a scent trail I am certain that is what is getting them to bite. it has been a couple years since I have been using megastrike and I have so far caught 32 muskies. and coincidentally my PB had mega strike on it as well.
Super User Paul Roberts Posted September 22, 2009 Super User Posted September 22, 2009 if they are hitting I won't use it. if I cant get a bite I will slather on the megastrike and I will usually pick up a few. now with muskies I think it makes a huge difference here is why I think that. for 6 years I fished my lake knowing it had muskies but I had never caught one. I found mega strike and started using it. that year I picked up 13 muskies with the biggest at 40 inches on a bandit 100 of all things. my thought is that muskies often follow a bait before committing and when that mega strike is leaving a scent trail I am certain that is what is getting them to bite. it has been a couple years since I have been using megastrike and I have so far caught 32 muskies. and coincidentally my PB had mega strike on it as well. Complete that experiment: Lose the MS for a chunk of the season. If you again fail to boat a single muskie, (or very few), then you might be onto something. As to Matt's question, I've never used it. Just never got around to it. Keith Jones claimed that a lot substances that pass for fish attractants fish aren't even capable of detecting. And finding bass repellents wasn't so easy either. The one thing he said bass noticeably disliked was soap.
skillet Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Â Nothing scientific about this. IMHO the best you could hope for with scents, bass might just hold onto the bait a little longer... skillet
timothy_spain Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Can't answer this until I personally try it. Â But I'm leaning towards -- no, it's just a marketing scheme.
Super User grimlin Posted September 22, 2009 Super User Posted September 22, 2009 Nothing scientific about this. IMHO the best you could hope for with scents, bass might just hold onto the bait a little longer...skillet Been experimenting...that's what i would say from what i gather. I make my own using vaseline & crayfish scent. Â ;D
Super User Big Bait Fishing Posted September 22, 2009 Super User Posted September 22, 2009 i only use scents as lube for swimbaits and frogs (Canyon Plastics 4.5'' frog) a plus is that the lube doesn't smell unnatural so i guess you can say that i use scents not to add taste to the lure but as to mask the lube scent , does that make sense ??? Â
Mattlures Posted September 22, 2009 Author Posted September 22, 2009 This is why I tend to believe in scents. In humans smell and taste work together. I assume bass are similar. Now I definitely could be wrong but I think fish, specificaly bass do use their sense of taste. I think they use taste more then smell but they probably do use smell a little. I have heard many anglers claim that fish hold the bait longer with scent applied. I also have experienced this. I do think that the smell of a slow moving bait will help a little but I think taste helps more. I have seen footage of a bass biting a jig and the angler had no idea he was bit the fish spit the bait and he never knew it.. After seeing this, I think fisherman using scent/attractant may believe they are getting more bites because they are aware of more bites. I have also seen bass reject food after tasting it. So they were interested enough to try it but something was negative about the taste. Tadpoles come to mind. I have fed bass bullfrog tadpoles and they almost never kept them down and they rarely tried them again. these same bass would eat a small bullfrog but not the tadpole. And toads, forgetaboutit! I have never seen a bass eat a toad and not spit it out. One more example. I make my own scents using the actually prey fish species. One day I was throwing a prototype trout swimbait with my secret trout sauce on it. I watched a big (around 10lbs) bass come out from under a dock from a distance and charge the bait. The fish hesitated right when it got to the bait and then it nipped the tail. It slowed for a second and then charged and swallowed the bait. I ended up loosing the fish > I theorize that the fish was unsure about the bait. I was fishing a lake where swimbaits are heavily fished so I am sure this fish had been caught before. I think when it nipped the tail it was tasting it. When it tasted like a real trout, it ate it. So I don't know how much bass use their sense of smell or even how much they can smell, but I believe they use their sense of taste alot. I also believe taste and smell overlap. BTW I really like that sweet stink of power worms.
Branuss04 Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 The smell of powerworms turns me on though. phew, I thought I was the only one. What... the only one to turn jay on?? ;D
Super User roadwarrior Posted September 22, 2009 Super User Posted September 22, 2009 Here are some other replies: http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1192120855 8-)
Super User Bassin_Fin@tic Posted September 22, 2009 Super User Posted September 22, 2009 The most I've done for experimentation into whether it is better or not is using it on bedding fish. Sometimes it seems that they really respond to the foreign odors invading the nest and I also noticed that they tend to crush the bait rather well instead of hit and spit.
simplejoe Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 I'd say yes, scents do get more bites. One day I was pitching a senko in the pockets of lily pads without success, then I dipped the same senko in the clear JJ's Magic and landed 3 fish right before weight in. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â joe
Super User MALTESE FALCON Posted September 22, 2009 Super User Posted September 22, 2009 This Spring I tried Megastrike for the first time. I was fishing in my canal with no success. I applied some Megastrike to my Finesse Worm, and ten seconds later, I was setting the hook on a two pound largemouth. Each of my next three casts produced fish also. I then put a fresh worm on and cast it out without Megastrike.......nothing. I applied Megastrike, and caught a fish................I'm convinced. Falcon
Culln5 Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Scientifically, I can't make a determination. Â For me it's about CONFIDENCE. Â Not only in scents, but also in the actuall lures that you are using. Â Do I use scents..... Yup, I'll dap some Mega Strike on plastics, cranks, jigs, and spinnerbait skirts..... Does it work.... Absolutely, it hooked me!
bassinri Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 I am a firm believer in scents in slow presentaion baits. I use Bang Crawfish scent and do hnestly notice a difference. Me and a friend will both be fishing the same exact lure out of the same boat and I use the Bang and he doesnt and I will catch more fish. I can also cast 4 times or so into one spot and get no bites then cast useing the Bang crawfish and get a bite. I do notice alot more junk fish bites as well.
Uncle Leo Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 This Spring I tried Megastrike for the first time. I was fishing in my canal with no success. I applied some Megastrike to my Finesse Worm, and ten seconds later, I was setting the hook on a two pound largemouth. Each of my next three casts produced fish also. I then put a fresh worm on and cast it out without Megastrike.......nothing. I applied Megastrike, and caught a fish................I'm convinced.Falcon X2 This has also happened to me numerous times. It may not have been an attrative but I am convinced it produced more of a strike to feel, possibly the bass liked the taste more. Â If nothing else it sure provides confidence. Give it a try!
Blue Streak Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 I don't believe that scents attract bass, I do think it may make them hold a bait a little longer, but I am not even sure about that. Â Two things you do not want on your bait are sun screen and insect repellent.
Blue Streak Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Matt to answer your question, I have have never tried an actual experiment. Other than, on days when I fished for a while with little or no luck, I have put scent on my baits and it has never made a noticeable difference in the results.
skillet Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Â I'm pretty sure it was Wayne P. who did an experiment using sun screen. Actually put the stuff on his bait and it didn't seem to make a difference... skillet
Super User fishfordollars Posted September 22, 2009 Super User Posted September 22, 2009 I use them. For no other reason other than to mask the bad scents that may be on my hands. It gives me more confidence and that is a good thing.
I.rar Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 i havnt cought a single fish since i bought the powerbait scent stuff. however , i do smoke while i fish and i think it does mask those scents well.
Super User Paul Roberts Posted September 22, 2009 Super User Posted September 22, 2009 This is why I tend to believe in scents. In humans smell and taste work together. I assume bass are similar. Now I definitely could be wrong but I think fish, specificaly bass do use their sense of taste. I think they use taste more then smell but they probably do use smell a little. I have heard many anglers claim that fish hold the bait longer with scent applied. I also have experienced this. I do think that the smell of a slow moving bait will help a little but I think taste helps more. I have seen footage of a bass biting a jig and the angler had no idea he was bit the fish spit the bait and he never knew it.. After seeing this, I think fisherman using scent/attractant may believe they are getting more bites because they are aware of more bites.I have also seen bass reject food after tasting it. So they were interested enough to try it but something was negative about the taste. Tadpoles come to mind. I have fed bass bullfrog tadpoles and they almost never kept them down and they rarely tried them again. these same bass would eat a small bullfrog but not the tadpole. And toads, forgetaboutit! I have never seen a bass eat a toad and not spit it out. One more example. I make my own scents using the actually prey fish species. One day I was throwing a prototype trout swimbait with my secret trout sauce on it. I watched a big (around 10lbs) bass come out from under a dock from a distance and charge the bait. The fish hesitated right when it got to the bait and then it nipped the tail. It slowed for a second and then charged and swallowed the bait. I ended up loosing the fish > I theorize that the fish was unsure about the bait. I was fishing a lake where swimbaits are heavily fished so I am sure this fish had been caught before. I think when it nipped the tail it was tasting it. When it tasted like a real trout, it ate it. So I don't know how much bass use their sense of smell or even how much they can smell, but I believe they use their sense of taste alot. I also believe taste and smell overlap. BTW I really like that sweet stink of power worms. Interesting observations. Sounds plausible. I suppose the trick is getting a substance the bass can detect, like, make it stick to a lure long enough, then has enough shelf life to be practical. Which ones do this? I've also heard that bass don't like bullfrog tadpoles, and noticed there can be more of them in bass ponds than I'd expect. That sunscreen post was within the year -on Lake Erie I believe. They were dropping tubes to smallies on sonar. As I remember it, the sunscreen outfished those without. Statisitically it wasn't anything to write home about, but it at least showed that the sunscreen did not repel the bass. I also remember a very old experiment done or reported by Homer Circle in F&S (I think) in which they soaked one group of plastic worms in gasoline, and found no difference in catch rate.
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