Plastic Baits-Salt Content

[Hawg]

It used to be that everyone bragged about how much salt was in their plastics a few years ago, now they just talk about infused scent. I would guess you could tell by the weight of the bag because salt weighs more than plastic. Who's still got the highest salt content? Anybody know?

[Craigums]

Hard to beat the Yamamotos as far as salt content. It does affect there durability though

[Deitz Dittrich]

yeah, Yamamoto would be up there for sure.. but not sure if its documented whom has the most?

[Comit 2]

The main reason for the salt as you said; is to make the soft plastic heavy. Have you ever tried to cast a Texas rig style worm without a sinker? Without the salt you would need to use spinning gear and/or sinkers.

More salt, the faster it will sink......

[Stick in Mud]

Interesting. Never thought of it that way before. And here I was thinking fish liked salty worms like I like salty potato chips.

[Hawg]

Me too Carmike, and still do.

[corncob]

Yup, I think sinking is simply a byproduct of adding salt to a lure.

[Deitz Dittrich]

its also been though that when it was first tried, it was to cheapen the cost.. as salt was cheaper than plastic too.

[Hawg]

So to be clear, most of you guys don't think salt IS the attractant?

[CAMAN]

So to be clear, most of you guys don't think salt IS the attractant?

Its been a few months since I have gone through my plastics but don't some companies still dump a handful of salt in the bag with the baits? That right there would tell me they're using it as attractant also. I'd guess the salt soaks into the baits and help cover human scent.

[thatoneguy]

Just for kicks, this winter I stored a few soft plastics in a bag with some salt, and a few in a bag filled with coffee.

Probably won't help a bit since they won't really be "impregnated" into the plastic, but I'm curious to see anyway

[Deitz Dittrich]

my personal opinion is that salt is not an attractant.. fish can only smell something if its water soluble. Salt is, but not if its trapped inside plastic.. so, after your first cast and all the sale that was on the outside of the bait is already disolved, its no longer salty to smell.. a fish may taste the salt in the plastic once it hits? and maybe hold on longer? maybe not though.

[Cecil]

I would agree with that. MIGHT give you another second to react

[Comit 2]

Quote:

So to be clear, most of you guys don't think salt IS the attractant?

The main reason for the salt is so it casts well with baitcasting gear. I can't think of anything a Bass would eat in fresh water that is salty. In some cases it might work as an attractant. Then again some people swear WD40 works too.

[TR21HP]

Most natural bait that bass prey on is salty. I once had a conversation with Don Iovino, and since have used his worms almost exclusively, but his main contention in using salt is that the bass recognizes the taste and holds onto the bait longer allowing more frequent hooksets. By the way, if you haven't had the chance to use his worms you are really missing out on a great artificial. With that being said I also used Havoc baits last year that contain no salt and had about the same success without salt as with it except I did notice that the baits without salt had lighter hits and not as noticeable than with salt baits.

[luckycrank]

comit ,but what are they attracting? fish or fisherman. maybe it is added to sell product because anglers feel it is and attractant

[mainbutter]

Yup, I think sinking is simply a byproduct of adding salt to a lure.

The only reason I add salt to my homemade soft plastics is to alter the weight. My base plastic is buoyant, and good to use for frogs and other topwaters, or for plastics you want to jig on the bottom and float the hook upwards.

I add salt to senko-like products.

And I've heard that yamamoto doesn't actually use 100% salt anymore. They inject their molds and can super cool them fast, so they can use some kind of sand and salt mix to weight their plastics, but not have the sand settle out (which is an issue with many potential additives)

[CAMAN]

I can't think of anything a Bass would eat in fresh water that is salty.

And I can't think of anything in the bass's diet that would taste like garlic or coffee either, but yet those are some of the biggest producers for me. It's all about getting the bass interested in the lure and curious about the flavor/scent, it doesn't necessarily have to taste/smell like nature.

[RawHog]

I agree Caman, I never thought that you always have to imitate any single natural prey item or smell in order to trigger bass to bite.

My best example:

What the heck is a brush hog supposed to resemble, a salamander or some type of lizard, maybe? But regardless of whats its supposed to be, it looks a living organism and fits very nicely in a bass' mouth

As long as a scent isn't bothersome to a fish, like tobacco smoke or cyanide.. there is a good chance that bass will have interest in that scent.

[Superduty]

I agree with Deitz when it comes to loose salt in a bag. Only good for one cast. I do think bass can taste the salt impregnated in baits and that it helps to get them to hang on a little longer. Am I the only guy that has bitten into a senko or a salt craw? Those babies got some flavor!

[Stick in Mud]

Nope, you're not the only guy. Whenever I bite off the top of a worm or senko because it's gotten ripped up, I always realize the bass are eating "food" with more garlic and salt flavor than the spaghetti I'm eating at night.

[delmuts]

"Am I the only guy that has bitten into a senko or a salt craw? Those babies got some flavor!"

None of those, BUT i've done it with chompers!

[HandGunner]

wouldnt you think bass get sick and tired of eating the same old stuff anyways and just pass up bluegill and minnow/shiner shad lures but when something falls in the water smelling like WD40 they want to be the first to taste. my thaughts are that. as for salt and what not I just buy off brand senkos and plastics for the price of Yamamoto senkos and trigger X stuff and what not a regular size baggy of em I can buy twice as much or more buying an off brand GanderMTN for like 2 bucks more

[Cecil]

How many french fries do we eat?

I dont get sick of them

[TonkaBass]

wouldnt you think bass get sick and tired of eating the same old stuff anyways and just pass up bluegill and minnow/shiner shad lures but when something falls in the water smelling like WD40 they want to be the first to taste. my thaughts are that. as for salt and what not I just buy off brand senkos and plastics for the price of Yamamoto senkos and trigger X stuff and what not a regular size baggy of em I can buy twice as much or more buying an off brand GanderMTN for like 2 bucks more

I don't think they have large enough brains to get sick of a type of food. They eat to survive.