Fish Scents And The Current Line Of Thinking

[blazt*]

You see a lot of talk on forums and articles in bass rags about scents, and it usually terminates something like "bass can't smell oil in water, because oil is not water soluble" or "those droplets aren't small enough for bass to detect".

Most admit that, with a good scent, bass will hold on longer.

But isn't it possible bass and other gamefish can taste the trail of oil in the water as they take water into their mouths and it passes out the gill? I've notice bass tend to start doing this as they approach a lure (that hasn't been hit with scent), sometimes even snapping the jaws a bit.

I have NEVER heard or read anything about this line of thinking...how bass might taste the attractant from a few feet away.

Could this induce a strike? Because what really matters is results on the water: whether a good scent will put more bass in the boat. Not whether remaining in the "theory A" box would logically seem to lead to the probably of more bites.

I've been thinking about maybe getting a bottle of Kick 'n Bass, or maybe some Bang or megastrike.

Been having a hard time deciding because a lot of the talk on forums sounds like a paid endorsement for brand x, and I'm not sure how low brand x would stoop to boost their product. A lot of it just seems a bit suspicious, like they are actually trying to sell it for somebody!

[BobP]

Blazt, I've used Kickn' Bass for years and like it. As well as masking human odors and PROBABLY enhancing the attraction of the bait, it lubricates plastic baits so the hookset is easier and the bait is much less likely to get torn up while playing the fish. A Senko slathered in KNB will normally end up on the line above the hook, with no tears in it. That's a 60 cent saving for every bait not torn up. KNB is based on pure fish oil. How anyone is going to prove scientifically whether it or any other attractant attracts more bites is beyond me, but I feel KNB does work. I started out using KNB garlic. Strong stuff! But I've had just as good results with the KNB anise shad, which has a milder, more pleasant aroma. My thinking is that maybe the popularity of garlic flavored attractants has worked its way into the olfactory memories of the bass population.

I've also used Megastrike, which comes as a paste you squeeze out of a plastic tube. Personally, I did not notice any increase in catch rates with that one. I haven't tried Bang or other attractants. Considering the lightening speed with which a bass can suck in and then expell a plastic bait, I think anything that will keep your bait in their mouth is a plus.

Edited February 8, 2012 by BobP

[blazt*]

Blazt, I've used Kickn' Bass for years and like it. As well as masking human odors and PROBABLY enhancing the attraction of the bait, it lubricates plastic baits so the hookset is easier and the bait is much less likely to get torn up while playing the fish. A Senko slathered in KNB will normally end up on the line above the hook, with no tears in it. That's a 60 cent saving for every bait not torn up.

You just sold me. I'm going to try it on your recommendation. If you say you believe in it then I guess I believe in it, at least for now.

I usually fish Shad Assassins (rather than Senkos) and struggle to get more than 2 fish out of a bait. Maybe this'll help out with durability. The spare change saved is something...but the time I spend rigging these just right so they'll catch fish is something else!

But I've had just as good results with the KNB anise shad, which has a milder, more pleasant aroma. My thinking is that maybe the popularity of garlic flavored attractants has worked its way into the olfactory memories of the bass population.

My garlic tolerance is low. My SK 3x lizards are bad enough. Might have to check out that shad/ anise flavor. Have you tried crawfish? If you have, does it stink?

Considering the lightening speed with which a bass can suck in and then expell a plastic bait, I think anything that will keep your bait in their mouth is a plus.

I always tell people you can't outrun a bass with your lure. One day, standing on the bank, I saw a small bass dart about 15 feet from a dead standstill, crush a minnow, turn on a dime, dart back 15 ft to his resting spot precisely, and come to a dead stop. All within the span of a fraction of a second - maybe 1/25 or so if I was forced at gunpoint to guess.

Edited February 9, 2012 by blazt*

[blazt*]

Side note: anybody notice how nobody puts out a bluegill scent?

Now that I think about it, it's probably because you aren't allowed to throw bluegill into your big industrial fish blender thing because they're gamefish.

Edited February 9, 2012 by blazt*

[BobP]

KNB uses pure fish oil base for all their scents. The guy who started the company worked for years in the perfume industry. The garlic will shock your sinuses and stay on your hands for hours. It's actually stronger than real garlic. The anise shad and crawfish are mild scents and are rather pleasant. I've tried them all and the anise shad works best for me, even when used on jigs that are crawfish imitators. BTW, the fish oil will destroy rubber skirts but it's fine on silicone skirts.

Fish oil is rendered from saltwater species. I'm sure there are chemical differences from bluegills, but I don't think you're gonna find bluegill scent anywhere. They don't school in large enough groups to make netting them economically feasible for oil extraction.

I can't dope out whether there's a case to be made for water soluable scents versus oil based scents and I don't think it matters that much in bass fishing since bass are primarily sight feeders. The only observation I have is that Gulp is water based and does attract fish from a distance. Let a Gulp bait on a C-rig sit still too long and suddenly, you're catfishing! Personally, I'd rather avoid that.

[crankpaint]

I've used scents for over 20 years and beleive in them 110% from fishing with them and having others fish the same lure

without them, i've seen just how well it will put fish on a hook. as for oil vs water i like the oil becouse it stays on the the lure

better is all.

[Musky Glenn]

Like so many comparisions in fishing, it is really hard to prove one way or the other. Every cast is an individual cast to an individual fish that may or may not be there for the lure fished the "other" way. I'm not sure they help, but I don't believe they hurt. I just find them a pain to deal with in a boat. I would rather make an extra cast than dip a lure. But what do I know.

I have seen muskies follow a lure all the way to the boat only inches from the lure, nipping at it without touching it, like it was trying to taste it.

[BobP]

Yes, until we can put remote sensors in tiny little bass brains and record exactly what's going on when a bait is presented, there are many things about bass behavior that we can only guess at. I think muskies are considerably different from bass and are more bite oriented. Bass can inhale a bait - including crankbaits - and expel it if they sense that it's "not food". And you'll never know it happened. Maybe a musky nipping at a bait's tail is their version of a food test.

[RayburnGuy]

Like Bob I'm looking for any type of advantage that will make that fish hold onto the lure just a little longer. I have no idea if any of the attractants actually "attract" fish from a distance, but once it's in their mouth I want that fish to hold the bait as long as possible. Bass are known for spitting out hard lures rather quickly. When one will hold a jig even when your trying to shake the fish off (just checking for bites for a tournament the next day) it has pretty much sold me on using them.

Ben

[barrybait]

I have agonized over the use of scents for years.  Last week I was fishing the edge of a weed mat where the weeds had cleared the water up to the point that I was surprized the bass were not spooky.  The bite was on and my boat was blown against the mat.  I looked down and seen to LM Bass and lowered a dropshot down with a roboworm on it.  Bass tipped up inhaled it and spit it.  Made me wonder.  Put some scent on my fingers and slid them down my bait and watched the next ones (like 6 in a row) suck it in without spitting it out.  Coincidence? Maybe but it looked otherwise and I prefer not to use scents.  I'm not sure if it masks our scent or confirms their "prey".  There are few enough scents that I have confidence in but Bang and Megabass are two of them.  Also I prefer to use a scent that is prey related like shad or crawfish or rainbow trout and I can't understand the coffee, garlic, etc.  That's probably just my problem because anglers that use them outfish me and don't overanalyze it. 

[Thomas1996]

I've used baits with scent and without, to be honest I don't notice a difference with or without scent. The only thing I have noticed is how long a fish hangs on when it has your bait. Salted/ flavored is when they hang on longer than a plain lure. I've observed this many times because I fish really clear water and watch the fish take my bait. When I have a small bass hitting my lure, instead of hooking them I will just observe what they do with my lure. It really helps you better understand what your fishing for.

[Bassinfool]

Everything I have ever read and seen points to the reasoning that bass cannot taste or don'y have a very well developed sense of taste, but they do have a developed sense of smell and color.  My buddy in fisheries at Auburn has even been involved in a few studies showing that the bass will use it's lateral line, sight, smell and touch before taste is factored in because it is so poorly developed.  All that being said, I think the main reason to use scents is 1) Hide human scent and 2) Attract the fisherman as well!

[rhahn427]

Who ever said fish can't detect oil has never seen an oil slick from a shad slaughter and all the fish it attracts .......... I would have to wonder if that person ever fished ........... Oil is the main attractant ingredient in chum

[RayburnGuy]

Who can say with 100% accuracy? For years we were told bass didn't see color. That's since been proven wrong. The best we can do is make decisions on our own observations. Personally I think scents make fish hold on much longer. I can't tell you the number of times I would be trying to shake fish off and they would pull so long and hard that they hooked themselves. I've also had bass refuse to turn a 3/4 oz. jig loose until they had pulled so hard they came to within a few feet of the surface just by trying to swim off with the jig. And the initial bite was at a depth of 15 to 16 feet.

 

I also don't think all scents are equal as I've used some that I noticed no added advantage. My best results have been using Smelly Jelly liquid in the craw/anise formula. I'm not trying to convince anyone to start using scents nor do I want to argue the point. If you think they help then use them. If not then don't.

 

just my

 

Ben

Edited February 15, 2014 by RayburnGuy

[Bassinfool]

Smelly jelly is an unholy smelling substance but if you use it you can be sure the fish won't be smelling any of your human scent on the bait lol.  You'll be able to smell it in your carpet for a long time too if you just so happen to spill some on it

[RayburnGuy]

Smelly jelly is an unholy smelling substance but if you use it you can be sure the fish won't be smelling any of your human scent on the bait lol.  You'll be able to smell it in your carpet for a long time too if you just so happen to spill some on it

 

I would keep mine in a Zip-Lock bag and after threading the plastic on the hook give the rigged plastic a dip in the bag with the Smelly Jelly. Jigs would get an occasional dip in the bag as well. That way it doesn't get all over your hands or the boat.

 

Ben

[Bassinfool]

All well and good unless you get a hole in your bag like what happened to my partner and I! Luckily it wasn't on my boat considering we just replaced the carpet on it last Spring haha. After the hole in the bag incident he now keeps it in a bag which is then placed inside a Tupperware container.

[kajay920]

Do any of you try to use scents on a hardbait? Or does it even stick?

[Thomas1996]

I've heard of some people spraying WD-40 on their hard baits.

[Anglinarcher]

I have posted on this subject before, but probably not on this forum.  If any of you have any chemistry background, you will know how to look up the solubility of different materials in different reagents.  Water is considered a universal solvent and even oil will dissolve in it, but it is a small amount and different oils dissolve in different amounts and at different rates.

 

So, size of oil drops makes no difference, but water temperature does (oil drops is a mixing thing, not a dissolving thing).  It should be noted that all you need to do to test this is to use some salt in a pan.  Mix salt into cold water until it stops dissolving, then add some more.  Now heat the water and more salt dissolves.  This is true of all materials that dissolve into other materials.

 

So, what have we learned?  Oil does dissolve in water, and IF a fish is predisposed to smell that trace oil, it can.  Is a water or oil based solvent better?  Sorry, that is not a valid question, it depends on too many variables.  Consider that salt is considered a good additive, scent or taste, and it is a sold, so now you have solid verses oils verses water based to add to your list of variables.  Ouch!  It is the solubility of the material and the fish's ability to detect that scent.

 

I can tell you two very different things.  First, I do not allow any oil or water scents to be used in my boat, to include sprays.  It took me 8+ hours to clean my boat last fall after a summer of partners dunking lures and having drops fall off onto my boat.  If they want to add scent, I require the stick type that does not splash, drip, overspray, etc......... 

 

Second, when I am by myself, because I know how to stop it from getting all over my boat, I will add scents.  When I do add scents, I have learned by observation that paste or jelly type scents stick a lot longer in cold water, meaning you get a lot less dissolved in the water.  I have also observed that they do not seem to work as well in very cold water when compared to a light oil or water based scent, or salt.  LOL

 

OK, so maybe a third item.  On some days some I have noticed that some scents work better then others.  I remember one time some years ago when we had fish following lures to the boat all day, but no hook ups.  After several different scents, we found an old oil based "night crawler" scent and it was fish on.  The one person that refused to use that scent, caught nothing until he added it and he joined the catch.  Another time the same thing happened, but it was a completely different scent that worked.  On some days, no scent will work.  I will admit, after 50+ years of dedicated fishing, I have only seen scents turn fish off a couple of times, I have seen scents really work maybe 10% of the time.  The rest of the time scents are to give us confidence, and do little but mess my boat up.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Anglinarcher

[kajay920]

That is all great information Anglinarcher. What I was curious about is hard bait vs soft baits. Does the scent wash off of the hard bait faster? What if I added a felt patch like a kill spot dot, would the scent dissolve more slowly because it has a more textured surface to adhere to?

[BobP]

Yes, a felt patch will hold scent longer than hard plastic alone will.  And soft plastic baits are more permeable so probably hold scent better than hard baits.  But I draw the line at putting scent on crankbaits because they will stink up a crankbait box afterwards if you use scent like KNB that is very persistent.  If you want to try it on hard baits, I'd suggest Megastrike or Smelly Jelly, which are gels and should adhere better to smooth surfaces.   

[RayburnGuy]

In my opinion if your having to put attractant on a hard bait  to try and entice a bite then your probably using the wrong lure. Don't get me wrong. I use scent on soft plastics and jigs, but draw the line at putting it on hard baits that move quickly and therefore don't stay in the strike zone as long. It's also my opinion that scents don't really do much in the way of an "attractant". For me it's all about getting a fish to hold on to a bait a little longer which gives me more of a chance to detect the strike and set the hook.

 

On the other hand if adding scent to a hard bait gives you more confidence in the bait you will fish it more thoroughly.

 

just my

 

Ben

[saltwater]

Yes fish have a sense of smell. The remarks about oils not being soluble in water shows a lack of understanding about how smells are detected.

 

As for fish, those holes that look like nostrils, called nares don't go to the throat, they go to  a chamber containing olfactory sensor pads.

http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/can-fish-smell/

 

[kevin24018]

in regards to hard baits, they make some with a rubber tail, you could probably add a small curly tail to the back treble without changing the action of the bait.