captjim Loc: Antioch Ca

Gentlemen,

I have a question for all types of fisherman in all sorts of places. Do you use scents or various fish/bait oils as an additional attractant to your bait or lures?

About forty years ago when I got my first boat and started fishing the delta, I met a number of guides that either swore by scents or swore at them. A spray on scent called "Bang" was becoming very popular. Some even used it on trolled lures. It had a heavy anise odor and did seem to attract stripers. Also in the same time frame various fish oils were coming on the market, Pro Cure Brand being the most popular around here. I will say the guides that seemed to like the scents and oils the most were not paying for them but got them for free from the distributors.

My own experience is that the spray on scents work much better on a natural bait, cut bait, with something to sink into. When it comes to trolled lures I do not see the advantage as stripers are hitting the motion not the scent. But when it comes to anchored fishing with bait then I see a use for the scents and oils. Just like some anchored fisherman will create a chum line of old bait etc. to attract the fish to you, the scents will do the same thing. Of the fish I have targeted sturgeon, sharks and to a certain extent striped bass seem to respond the best to scents. Pro cure has a shrimp oil I have used on shrimp baits for sturgeon. Tide flow in our area determines when to use scents when anchored. To much current 3KTS + will just spread and dilute the scent far past your baits. At the beginning and end of the tides seem to work best as the scent says concentrated enough around your baits to draw the fish to them. Of course the thing with scents is "would I have caught it without the scent anyway?"

So fisher folk do you use scents and oils when fishing? Tell me where and when or why not!

Mitch fish Loc: Frankston TX

Well I fish for bass and some time I get bit on almost every cast with a jig and loose.all of them so I put cradad jell on and get every one so yes it works good

DozerDave Loc: Port Orchard Wa.

Do a side by side comparison using the exact same set up on both poles using scents and the other without and see which one bites. I find in trolling for Kokanee that scents don’t increase the bite for me anyway but some other’s claim it does. Where as still fishing using bait may have its advantages to using scents. 🐟on

trlittle Loc: Chico CA

Well,captjim.
I heard a talk at a sports show, and the quote, is"any scent will work, as long as it is not "Human Scxent"

captjim Loc: Antioch Ca

I think a lot of the success with scents is just how well they hide human scent. Around here the most scent sensitive fish would be salmon. I saw a demonstration with a pool/tank full of salmon. The man put one finger in the pool at one end and the fish all moved to the far end of the pool. We do a technique called "salmon mooching". It is merely drifting a dead bait, usually an anchovy at the depth you see schools of bait under the boat. This technique can benefit from scents as you are not moving through the water very much, and it will hide human scent. Unfortunately the salmon schools offshore S.F. have not been large enough for the past decade to make this technique viable. So now we troll for salmon, the old conventional method, and cover more water. When trolling for salmon I do not see any advantage to scents.

plumbob Loc: New Windsor Maryland

First few cast in an area will be without scent, then if no luck, i scent.

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

A very interesting read, Jim, thank you. The only time that I have used scent successfully is when a buddy and I were fly fishing salmon, up a moderately slow-moving stream flowing into Lake Mich. He was fishing one side of the stream and I was fishing the other side of it and we were fishing at about the same speed, so, that we could talk as we moved up the stream. We were both using a size 8 freshwater shrimp imitation fly. I was using a shrimp stink solution on mine, but he didn't know it. I was catching fish and he wasn't and we were both basically fishing side by side. Pretty soon he stops and says, "What the devil are you putting on your fly, that's not fly floutant is it?" "Nope, shrimp stink." Then I tossed my extra bottle over to him and we both had a super day.

The next day we walked the same stream at the same time of the day and we caught fish, but it didn't seem like it made any difference if we had shrimp stink on or not. We do all catch and release so the salmon were still there, and we could still see them like the day before, but they were not as aggressive. Go figure!

JohnG Loc: Long Island NY.

I have heard WD40 works great !
Supposedly is a fish based oil. I haven’t trie it yet.

captjim Loc: Antioch Ca

WD40 is not made from fish oil. It is hydrocarbons designed to displace water. Years ago before I knew what was in it I did use it on shark baits. I think it worked because it is a penetrating oil and helped disperse the baits own smell. Now a days it is illegal to intentionally introduce any oil based product into the water. This is a Coast Guard reg and they enforce it. Although I have never heard of anybody being cited.

JohnG Loc: Long Island NY.

Good to know,
Thanks

PierRat904 Loc: St. Augustine

Chanel #5, built to attract fishermen, not fish.

JohnG Loc: Long Island NY.

But sometimes the catch.... oh, never mind.

USAF Major Loc: Sea Bright, NJ

I use either Pro Cure menhaden or their in-shore attractant depending on the circumstances.

agatemaggot Loc: iowa

I use WD 40 with great success on slower days and always hose down a couple foot of line and lure after catching a Northern Pike, covers or erases the pike smell from the lure as there is always pike slime on your bait !

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

I just cut the line before I get them that close to the boat. You don't want to get them in your boat, you would have to sell it.