Scents + ethics/morality

Joe the wise, you always have a way with words.

Warren
--
http://www.fishingworld.com/MesaTackleSupply/
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com http://www.secretweaponlures.com
http://www.warrenwolk.com/ http://www.tri-statebassmasters.com/

"Joe Haubenreich" wrote in message
...
"Josh" wrote in message
...
snip Just wondering how rest of you feel. ok...shoot.
--
God Bless America

Josh The Bad Bear
-------------
Josh, this got me thinking.... Warning: this turned out to be a long
response.

In my reply to Jack, I stated my belief that scents are ineffective in
attracting bass. That's not to say they don't make a difference in your
fishing. Here's a distinction that may be obvious to most readers already:
while scents may not influence the hunted, they undoubtedly have an impact
on the hunt.

Wouldn't you say a whole lot of what we do as anglers falls in the
category
of ritual rather than true fishing science? I think one of the things we
enjoy about our sport is that it has evolved its own bass angling culture.
And as with every culture, this one has its rituals. Some are grounded in
fact... others in mystical lore and superstition.

Pistol Pete Maravitch wore the same pair of gym socks (without laundering)
to keep his winning streak going. Construction workers top out a building
with a conifer tree. Blood from his first deer is (in some cultures)
smeared
on a young hunter's face. Religious people practice rituals to greet the
day, celebrate a meal, initiate special events, invoke blessing for
travel,
and so forth. The boys I grew up with could be counted on to produce a
buckeye among the contents of their jeans pockets, and they usually
carried
a lucky marble or stone, too.

Just as native Americans stepping out of their wickiup tapped the deerskin
pouch hung by a thong around their neck or belted at their side to make
certain their talismans were secure, I pat my pocket as I head to the
truck
to make sure my old pocket knife -- not just any knife, but the "right"
one -- is in its place. The familiar shape that wears a hole over the
pocket
of every pair of jeans I own confers a sense of "everything is in its
place."

Some bass anglers feel unprepared if they're not wearing their lucky hats,
shirts, or shoes. Others, noticing that the landing net seems often to be
out of reach when they hang onto a big bass, deliberately leave it in the
rod locker in order to increase their odds. I have an unreasonable
preference for my red Ambassadeur reels over the plain aluminum
ones, even through the guts are identical since I've long ago replaced all
the brass bushings with ball bearings.

One of Bubba's bass fishing rituals was to reach down, pick up a bottle,
and
pump one spray of anise-scented oil on his lure every tenth cast. Do these
rituals affect the fish? That's doubtful. Do they increase our catch rate.
If they serve to relax or focus us so that we feel more comfortable and
are
mentally better prepared to react to opportunities the bass present, then
maybe they do.

A whiff of anise has the power to transport me back through the years.
Once
or twice each season, I'll rummage deep in my tackle box, pull out a
small,
yellowed plastic bottle, and squirt a few drops of the scent on my bait
just
to conjure up the shades of my long-departed friend and of the huge bass
we
caught together. Does it help me catch bass? Who cares? It helps me enjoy
my
fishing experience.

Should a manufacturer stop making "feel good" products, or should we
anglers
be made to feel like idiots for having and using them? Of course not.
After
all, this is a "feel good" sport we engage in -- not one based on our need
for meat or driven entirely on effectiveness, performance, and
productivity.
In the final analysis, most of us fish to relax, achieve some sort of
harmony, relieve stress, or enjoy our solitude for awhile. If rituals
helps
us achieve that, then we're probably going to keep on observing them --
even
though someone correctly points out that the rituals in themselves have no
discernable effect on our quarry.

If an angler feels like smearing his body with rotton shad and earthworms,
aligning the equipment just so on his boat deck, coating his baits with
scented oils, painting his face blue, and chanting Gaelic war songs as he
leaves the ramp and he thinks any of this will help him achieve his
objectives, I say more power to him.... sit back and enjoy the show.

Now.... about endorsements. Repeat after me.... "It's all entertainment."

TV news.... entertainment. TV news reporting is not about the pursuit of
truth, but about ratings. Ratings drive profits, and entertainment value
drive ratings.

Bass tournaments and all other sports.... entertainment.

Product placements.... entertainment.

Technological advancements in fishing gear, electronics, boats and
motors.... entertainment.

Pros don't sell products; mostly they sell dreams. They sell "be like me."
Remember "I wanna be like Mike"? Five foot-eight inch me wearing a Chicago
Bulls jersey and Nikes had absolutely no chance of dunking a basketball,
much less playing in the NBA, but who cares? I may buy some Kelly
Springfield tires for my pickup one of these days. Think they'll help me
catch bass like Hank Parker? Should I put the battery in my boat that
Jimmy
Houston has in his? Would it help to have the make of boat that Kevin Van
Dam drives. Will they help me be a better bass angler? Sure they will....
about as much as coating my baits with anise-flavored oil. My point is
just
this -- a pro who is hired to promote a product or does so on his
television
show is selling a dream, and people who want to buy into the dream
purchase
and use the products. Should a pro prefer the brand of rod, boat, lure, or
sunscreen he's promoting? That would be nice. Do some products actually
help
one catch bass. Sure they do; there is some science in this sport, after
all. But much of what we surround ourselves with in our bass fishing
culture
is just there for our entertainment and amusement.

As long as you keep all this straight, I think the ethics of endorsements
becomes less of a weighty matter.

Joe

I'm just waiting for Rich Z to chime in so we can resume the gasoline
challenge.

John Kerr, you know your stuff.

If you want to know the morality & (more importantly) personality of a pro,
go fishing with him. In fact, if you want to get to know anyone...

Warren
--
http://www.fishingworld.com/MesaTackleSupply/
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com http://www.secretweaponlures.com
http://www.warrenwolk.com/ http://www.tri-statebassmasters.com/

"John Kerr" wrote in message
...
I don't judge a pro's morality as relates to endorsements...it is part
of the business. I do respect honesty though. I like my son's attitude,
he is on staff with Strike Pro lures, and has several signature lures
out by them...but when he won the Open, and they did a big feature on
him, John insisted that they tell the real story...he was fishing a
Spook, not a Strike Pro lure. He did go on to say that Strike Pro makes
some of his favorite lures, and that he fishes them consistently. I was
impressed that Strike Pro went along with it and published it as John
insisted on. (Although they did get the bottom line in their favor,
"Open winner prefers Strike Pro lures!) in BIG print g. I think every
individual decides for themselves what level of morality they adhere
to...and I certainly wouldn't judge that decision. I personally take
endorsements with a grain of salt.
As for scents...I have no idea of the effectiveness, I have used them,
but my confidence is more in the selection and "presentation" of the
bait than anything else!
JK

They're all over wherever you have a rocky river Bob, especially in the
northland. I had a jet on my aluminum rig for a few years, fun toy. They
work especially well on aluminum tunnel-drives.

Warren

--
http://www.fishingworld.com/MesaTackleSupply/
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com http://www.secretweaponlures.com
http://www.warrenwolk.com/ http://www.tri-statebassmasters.com/

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
s.com...
"Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers" wrote in message
...

"Bob La Londe" wrote in messageSNIP

I'ld have to say that glass boats certainly have their place. I have
two of
them, (The Skeeter is for sale) but a well rounded TV show might need
to
be
open to possibilites that aren't necessarily your own. You might
consider
other options. An aluminum jet would be the perfect boat in some
circumstances. I love my Baker tunnel hull, but I just ordered a Waco
16
for back water running myself. If you could have balanced that out
with
the
potential sponsor you might have been able to offer more and serve
more
useful information to more viewers. JMHO.

I do understand your view, and I agree with you. I'm just not sure
that
you
shouldn't be open to other possibilities in your base choice about
glass
boats.

Oh, I'm not saying that I won't ever film a show from anything other
than
a glass boat. That's not
it and if circumstances warrant a change, i.e. sturgeon fishing on the
Snake River, or fishing some
remote backwater, I'll certainly use what is appropriate. But, much of
what I'll be doing can be
done from a glass boat. I might have to reconsider my choices and go
with
more of a multi-species
boat.

The ultimate would be to get a sponsor that has both a glass and
aluminum
line of boats and get one
of each! Any offers? :-)
--

You said aluminum jet. I know of lots of aluminum boats, but can think
off
hand of only one that has a jet boat setup for fishing. They have both.
In
fact I considered buying one earlier this year.



--
The Security Consultant
http://www.diycomponents.com
Bob La Londe - Owner
849 S Ave C
Yuma, Az 85364

(928)782-9765 ofc
(928)782-7873 fax

Rodney has brown eyes.

Warren
--
http://www.fishingworld.com/MesaTackleSupply/
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com http://www.secretweaponlures.com
http://www.warrenwolk.com/ http://www.tri-statebassmasters.com/

"Craig" wrote in message
...
I never had a problem with Rodney. I like the old Goat Farmer. I don't
have a problem with anybody that wants to sell anything fishing related
here. But the charter police will give you a hard time.
--
Craig Baugher

Absolutely Rich. These guys are working just like us. Roland Martin jumped
ship from Ranger to Triton in the blink of an eye. No problem there.

Warren
--
http://www.fishingworld.com/MesaTackleSupply/
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com http://www.secretweaponlures.com
http://www.warrenwolk.com/ http://www.tri-statebassmasters.com/

"RG" wrote in message
...
I'd guess that you could apply the "THIS is GOOD! " program to every pro
in
every sport for everything they endorse.

Is a Merc a better engine that Johns/Suz/Yam/issan ??? or does the pro
ride
it because he either gets paid or gets the
motor/boat/bait/reel/rod/shirt/pants/tacklebox/etc etc. cheaper or even
for
free?? Of course he gets a "deal" to endorse the product.
Better not stop at scents.

Does Tiger Woods reeaaalllly use Nike clubs or whatever??? Perhaps not...
I've heard that they are made to the specs of some other brand of club
that
he liked. You and I can't even buy the same thing. At least I can buy the
same scents, if I want to ( I think ).

The reality is... if the guy is a pro, he is endorsing SOMETHING that may
or
may not work as well for us as it does for him. The simple answer is a
pro
is a pro and has to do it to make his living doing what he loves. It is
NO
different in baseball, football, ( do you really think those ugly nose
bandages help a running back run?? ) or tennis, etc..

A well sponsored pro is a well paid ( you insert the WORD of your choice
here), and everyone knows it. It, unfortunately, is the sports program
that
we all support by buying the same stuff that they sell. But, sell it is..
the product may or may not really work as well as the pro makes
out.....and
I suspect everyone knows that.

RichG

Have scent impregnated lures worked? Yes...... I perfer to make them with
scent in them.

But as people who know me also know the idea behind my thought of scents.

Garlic..... Cover scent only, we dont use it for more or we would be using
it as bait.

Shad/craw... Both are great. Bass do eat both of them. I have been working
on a swim bait and use a unreal shad scent in them.

Anise.. well, this one has a great option built in to it too. Both as a
cover scent and atracting.

Spray on,,,,,, Gee get it wet and it just comes off. (a no brainer here)

Have it cooked into the plastic and it doesnt come out and lasts for a long
time.

This is how I use scents int he baits I make. Ask the people who went up to
the NWC, or even ask Steve, He has done some damage with them.

Jeff

--
COOL LURES
The Lures that put FISH on ICE!
www.coollures.com