Fish scent

[tracker x-2]

whats everyones opinion on these? Im thinking about trying somthing new for spoons and jigs and stuff. any brand or smell you found works better?

[efgh]

I ran into a old fisherman years ago who would rub his lures and decoys on the first fish he caught or speared. He claimed the scent would help attract fish.

[c0untryf1sh3r]

I always crush some live bait between my fingers and rub it on my hands before I start fishing. That helps mask the scents of anything, that would be foreign to the fish, we come in contact with between home and the lake. Old trick my grandpa told me.

Doesnt really pertain to the subject at hand but I have never used any sort of attractants other than what I mention above and I still catch my fair share of fish.

[TyGuy02]

I always crush some live bait between my fingers and rub it on my hands before I start fishing.

Makes the copenhagen taste just that much better!

[c0untryf1sh3r]

Yup, gives it a very distinct flavor

[Dbumb]

mega strike fish attractant is really good

[live4chrome]

Cheetos

[Grum]

Makes the copenhagen taste just that much better!

[Knoc]

I personally think all that scent stuff is a gimmick. I could maybe understand on lures with like feathers or hairs, but like spoons and stuff... nah..

[Deitz Dittrich]

The biggest thing is masking your human scent, not really adding scent to the lure.

To be real honest, fish can not "Smell" anything that is not water soluble. So pretty much any oil is not smelled.. and if you look at most fish scent.. its oil.. so go figure..

[cylinder]

The biggest thing is masking your human scent, not really adding scent to the lure.

I always volunteer to take the first fish caught off the hook, no matter who in the boat catches it. I think the fish scent masks whatever might be on my hands.

[SkitterPopper]

Quote:

The biggest thing is masking your human scent, not really adding scent to the lure.

I am a big believer in this too. I actually keep a bottle of scent free soap in the boat. This is the soap sporting goods shops sell in the deer hunting section. It has worked good for me.

[marineman]

I also use the scent-free soap - especially after I've caught a northern. Don't know if this helps but I will also use the soap on my spinnerbait after a northern catch (and release - can't stand those hammer handles!).

[BleedSiouxGreen]

I was laughing last summer when we actually caught more fish with suntan lotion on our hands. I've also heard of guys pouring coke on their bait. Everybody's got their opinions and experiences, but I'm not a big believer.

[harvey lee]

My dad was a firm believer in using anise. he said it always increased his catch and the fish hit harder.

Never used it but it may cover up any human scent.

[TyGuy02]

When I was younger, my family was a firm believer in WD-40 on leeches. Maybe it was for the shine, I don't know. I also don't remember catching anything as well, so go figure.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I used to use Berkley Strike. Don't anymore. I do wash hands and lures with no-sent soap as I feel is needed such as the northern catches mentioned already.

[Sonicrunch]

I personally think all that scent stuff is a gimmick. I could maybe understand on lures with like feathers or hairs, but like spoons and stuff... nah..

Agreed. But people are gonna believe what they want to believe. It's a salesman's wet dream.

[Hoffer]

I am going to try some of the stuff this year that comes in a stick. You rub it on rather than spray it on and its supposed to last all day. I agree with Deitz - I think these things mainly "mask" your human scent rather than add in any "attractant" scent....but who knows. I am hoping at the very least it wont hurt and it would possibly help.

Harvey Lee...if you smell most of these modern day scents - many of them I have tried smell like anise. So your Dad had the right idea all along!

[Ice em]

Try a few different kinds and let us know if it works!!! I used a few kinds when i was a kid and i never rememeber it helping, but who knows. The stuff in a stick sounds a little more promising

[Beets]

X2....

I always crush some live bait between my fingers and rub it on my hands before I start fishing. That helps mask the scents of anything, that would be foreign to the fish, we come in contact with between home and the lake. Old trick my grandpa told me.

Doesnt really pertain to the subject at hand but I have never used any sort of attractants other than what I mention above and I still catch my fair share of fish.

[Fish Head]

I keep no-scent soap in the boat too, just in case I get something on my hands.

A couple years ago many of my jigs were getting pretty old and dirty looking, so I put them in a big bucket with dish soap and water and washed them. That was stupid! They all smelled like dish soap. So I went through a long processes of spraying them with Trigger-X spray, let them dry, soak overnight in plain water, dry and spray with trigger-X, repeat, repeat... After several days of labor they were fine.

That wasn't one of my better moves.

[matthothand]

This year I'm applying fish sticks brand scent to all of my slower presentations for bass. There's a bunch of shad here so I'm using the shad "flavor". I've been very successful in the past without scent and I definitely don't see it as any sort of secret weapon but I doubt it will have a drastic negative impact so I'm giving it a trial.

[Hoffer]

Yeah...i think that is the stuff i was looking at. Long lasting and comes in a stick with a variety of different scents. I am ordering some this weekend.

[Sonicrunch]

The real question is whether fish use a sense of smell to locate and/or if it entices them to bite on something.