The Scent of Your Bait

Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers wrote:


I'm sure that RichZ will argue that point with you.

Nope. I've given up arguing that point. If people want to spend money
and effort on it, it's no skin off my back, and I'm not wasting any more
of my time thinking about it. Except my one time reply to RichP in the
next message in this thread.G

This would be to say that all fish have exactly the same behavior when it
comes to scent color etc. Hard to believe. I do use scents, Dip and glow
garlic, have I noticed a difference, yup, could it work against me... yup.
What fish like one day they might not like the next. IMO

My reply to Rich Z, I don't know for sure. What I do know is that my
numbers seem to have gone up since I started using it. What I also know is
that when other guys are struggling to avoid getting skunked I'm putting my
3rd or 4th fish in the live-well. Maybe I'm just getting better at finding
them? Maybe my presentation has improved recently? But I've been
slathering my Senkos in Mega-Strike for almost a year and my stats have
improved markedly. I can't say I'm ready to stop using it just yet.
That said, I don't know what a fish can taste or smell and how that
affects things for sure. I would not be surprised if some "attractants" do
more harm than good, but I'm fairly convinced that this one in particular
makes them want to eat my bait. Maybe one day I will think otherwise
though, I'm flexible when it comes to fishing.

Rich P


"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...

This would be to say that all fish have exactly the same behavior when it
comes to scent color etc. Hard to believe. I do use scents, Dip and glow
garlic, have I noticed a difference, yup, could it work against me... yup.
What fish like one day they might not like the next. IMO

"RichZ" wrote in message
...
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers wrote:


I'm sure that RichZ will argue that point with you.

Nope. I've given up arguing that point. If people want to spend money and
effort on it, it's no skin off my back, and I'm not wasting any more of my
time thinking about it. Except my one time reply to RichP in the next
message in this thread.G

Well, I am not convinced that it makes any difference in how many hits you
get. I am pretty convinced it makes huge differences in how long a fish
holds a bait.

I noticed it when I first started using salt impregnated plastics. I used
to fish almost exclusively u-tail and ribbon tail style worms. One day I
got ahold of some Zoom U-tails and I started dropping them into shadows,
eddies, and back washes in the canals. Its pretty hard to fish those
conditions with the current on a tight line and get the bait to drop where
you want it. So I started deadsticking it and pulling the line tight every
couple seconds to see if it was moving oddly. I gut hooked an amazing
number of fish. Heck I caught an amazing number of fish period. For a long
time that was my goto bait. I did have some of my older plastics, but they
just didn't seem to produce as many fish. I'm sure there were a lot of
other factors, but I am convinced it was (taste) not scent that made the
difference.

This spring I started using mega strike after having a ton of fish hit and
spit (post spawn) too fast for me to react. Almost instantly I noticed that
fish were picking up my bait and holding it. I was thriled. Of course it
could have been just a subtle shift from one day to the next in fish
attitude so I still was not totally convinced. One day fishing a tournament
with Hammer I was getting bit and putting fish in hte boat, and Hammer kept
missing fish. We were fishing to radically different baits, but in a
similar manner. I was pitching a wacky stick worm, and hammer was pitching
a t-rigged baby size beaver tail. It was so bad I was throwing to his
missed fish and picking them up. I was lettign them take the bat too, not
just nailing them the moment they hit. Finally Hammer smeared some
megastrike on his bait and he started having them hold onto his bait. For
one fish he just stood there and watched it swim away before he set the
hook.

Now I have no idea whether scent ameks any difference or not, and my
experience doesn't seem to indicate that you get any more hits from using
it, but I am certain that taste makes a huge difference in how long a fish
holds a bait. I know my story is purely anecdotal, but its good enough for
me.


--
Bob La Londe
http://www.YumaBassMan.com

Bob La Londe wrote:
Well, I am not convinced that it makes any difference in how many hits
you
get. I am pretty convinced it makes huge differences in how long a fish
holds a bait.


It always amazes me when people have fish drop plastic worms and/or
jigs. I don't use any flavors or scents, and routinely let a fish swim
with my lure before setting. In fact, years ago, Charlie Brewer taught
me to lead a fish out of cover by just slowly reeling before setting the
hook, and he didn't use any chemical enhancements, either. IMHO, it
fixes a problem that doesn't exist to the extent that most anglers seem
to think it does.

Yup.... done it myself a time or three, fishing a small worm on light
line... usually a Charlie Brewer's Slider rig, tossed back into buckbrush or
around laydowns. When the fish takes the lure, trying to horse it in is
futile. You might as well toss a handful of slider jigs and worms in the
general direction of the tangle and go on to the ramp... you aren't getting
any of them back anyway.

But if you just gently guide the fish with your rod tip with enough pressure
to coax it rather than pull it, sometimes it will follow the line right on
out into open water.

Last time I tried that was eleven or twelve years ago on Sardis Reservoir in
Mississippi. Dad and I were fishing in one jon boat, Bubba and his daddy in
another. I was catching bass on Rat'l'traps around Engineer's Point, a rocky
point jutting out into the lake just above the levee, near the ramp. Every
now and then I'd pick up an ultralight rig and toss a slider jig and worm
into bushes along the flooded shoreline. A six pounder picked up the worm,
and I knew there was no way I'd force it out of cover. After a quick
hook-set, I slacked off and just let the fish relax. I kept the boat well
away from the brush, and eventually the big girl stopped hunkering down and
swam right out. I led it right up to the side of the boat, where I had my
hand in the water waiting for a chance to lip her. Until I tightened my
grip, I don't think the bass even realized it was hooked. Probably just
curious and taking the path of least resistance.
--
Joe Haubenreich
Secret Weapon Lures
Web: secretweaponlures.com
---------------------------------------
Better designs... better lures.... better results
---------------------------------------~ 0")))


"RichZ" wrote in message
...
Bob La Londe wrote:
Well, I am not convinced that it makes any difference in how many hits
you
get. I am pretty convinced it makes huge differences in how long a fish
holds a bait.


It always amazes me when people have fish drop plastic worms and/or
jigs. I don't use any flavors or scents, and routinely let a fish swim
with my lure before setting. In fact, years ago, Charlie Brewer taught
me to lead a fish out of cover by just slowly reeling before setting the
hook, and he didn't use any chemical enhancements, either. IMHO, it
fixes a problem that doesn't exist to the extent that most anglers seem
to think it does.

"RichZ" wrote in message
...
Bob La Londe wrote:
Well, I am not convinced that it makes any difference in how many hits
you
get. I am pretty convinced it makes huge differences in how long a fish
holds a bait.


It always amazes me when people have fish drop plastic worms and/or jigs.
I don't use any flavors or scents, and routinely let a fish swim with my
lure before setting. In fact, years ago, Charlie Brewer taught me to lead
a fish out of cover by just slowly reeling before setting the hook, and he
didn't use any chemical enhancements, either. IMHO, it fixes a problem
that doesn't exist to the extent that most anglers seem to think it does.

Oh, I agree that often fish will swim off with any bait. I've had fish pick
up and swim away with almost every type of drop bait. I am talking about
circumstances though where they were specifically picking it up and spitting
it out in a single breath. In one case two anglers fishing the same spots.
One with attractant and one without.


--
Bob La Londe
http://www.YumaBassMan.com