michael merrill Posted November 9, 2005 Report Share Posted November 9, 2005 I know a secret, but it sounds a liitle nuts, so, I dont have to worry to much because many will disregard the truth anyway...but for those of you looking for an"edge", one that is completely free-Do this...when you want to catch more fish just catch that first one, then take your lure, whatever it is, and rub it all over the captured fish's anal glands.Does that sound odd?Think about this... As that fish is being scared to death, it is releasing all natural scents, the same ones that it would release if a big 'ol bass was about to eat it...And that bass tastes that every time he eats a preyfish.I havent bought scent for my cranks in many years.Plastic comes equipped, usually, but I do it then also.Try it and laugh when you see...I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpoRoller Posted November 10, 2005 Report Share Posted November 10, 2005 I knew a guy once in Maryland that used Preparation H on his bait. I actually saw it work on the fish. Good thing is if it doesn't work you can always use it after sitting all day waiting for them to bite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael merrill Posted November 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2005 That's pretty good Spo-I visited your site and I must say that I am very impressed,You fellas at C.L.U. are craftsmen indeed.I look forward to seeing more of your artwork in lures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted November 10, 2005 Report Share Posted November 10, 2005 I think that is a great idea although if you intend to release the fish it may be harmful. Keep in mind that the slimy coating on fish are their protective barrier from varios bacteria, fungi, etc. If you retain the fish and then rub the lure on it great, if you intend to release it I would suggest you touch the fish as little as possible. Here is an example; I live in Oregon and work on a small river with both salmon and steelhead. We have an adult trap near the mouth of the river that is used to enumerate adults and collect broodstock for our hatchery. When the fish are handled the guys naturally grab them in the narrow part of their tail. Several months later when the fish have matured, nearly all of them have a white fungus spot where they were grabbed and the slimed removed. Some popular scents out here are WD40 (which works great by the way), anise, garlic, shrimp, sardine, herring, grecian formula, MSG, and various others. Regards, RM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael merrill Posted November 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2005 I usually lip'em and touch them with just my lure. I never thought that it may be harmful though.Well,so much for that idea.Thanx for the different perspective RiverMan. Kinda like an eye-opener! By the way, those gliders are very cool indeed.WD40? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBait Posted November 10, 2005 Report Share Posted November 10, 2005 I have heard this as well and to be honest have stuck the nose in bags of Berkley powerbaits and there is that wd40 smell...I am sure it isnt the same but smells kind of like wd40. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted November 11, 2005 Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 Yep, WD40 works very well, at least for salmon and steelhead. I am guessing that it would work well for other species too. jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael merrill Posted November 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 Hey RiverMan, do many queerlike dudes dressed up in fish outfits follow you around with signs?lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted November 11, 2005 Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 Sorry Michael, I don't follow you.????? jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael merrill Posted November 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2005 I was refering to the radical conservationists,some of which who dress up in fish outfits and carry signs about fisherman,usually tourny guys,who are supposedly cruel by nature to the fish.Kinda like the tree-huggers who interrupt logging operations in the name of conservation.Conservation is a wonderful idea ,these types just take it to the extreme,in my opinion.The WD40 being introduced to the water might get those guys goin'.They very well may have something to say anyway,after all,they think tournaments are cruel to fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted November 12, 2005 Report Share Posted November 12, 2005 I gotcha now Michael. Well I am not too far from being a "tree hugger" myself. I make my living as a habitat biologist and spend every day trying to restore river corridors for the sake of salmon. After doing this for two decades you start to see trees as being "your friends", if that makes sense. It takes so much work to reestablish native trees and shrubs and yet it only takes a few hours to remove them. To recover a mile of stream habitat litereally costs the public tens of thousands of dollars. We have areas here in Oregon in which a million dollars has been spent on one mile of stream! Once a riparian corridor is removed, a mature stand of trees/shrubs will in many cases not be seen again in our lives. Not only that but so much habitat is gone forever that you hate to see anymore lost. But, I will add that I do recognize the need for logging so long as it is done in a good way. Sorry for jumping up on my soap opera box. As far as WD-40...you are entirely correct, not a good thing for water quality. Jed V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael merrill Posted November 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 You continue to impress.I just wonder about radicals... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted November 13, 2005 Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 I have been reading this thread for a now while with a slight grin. I not a big believer in scents at all. There are a lot of articles out there, not from fish magazines that may shed a little light on the subject of schreckstoff. Intresting topic with research continually being done. Typically these "chemicals" are released in response to fright in some species of fish. So a few questions come to mind: do bass secret these fright scents? If this is a negatvie scent response why would it "bass fright" increase bass feeding activity, shouldn't the exact opposite be the case? http://apt.allenpress.com/aptonline/?request=get-abstract&issn=0045-8511&volume=004&issue=03&page=0592 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael merrill Posted November 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 I guess that would depend on whether or not there were any particular forage species that produced the same or very close to the same chemicals...I am not sure how much difference there would be between different species excrement.My guess would be not much.Prior to RiverMan's ability to get my mind to open wider,I did it ,and it worked-thats all I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted November 13, 2005 Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 Hi Travis, As you know bass and many other pisciverous (fish eating) critters are very sight oriented. There have been studies showing that growth rates of "sight feeders" like crappie are significantly reduced when water clarity is compromised. So, if you want crappie to go well they need to have relatively "clear" water during part of the growing season. The fact that "feeding activity" generally didn't increase with the addition of certain phermones from prey species (with the exception of one) is interesting. It could be that the bass feeding activity increases when a combination of factors are introduced. It would have been interesting to see what would happen if he put some prey species in the tank in say a closed wire box so predators could not get them and then introduce the fright scents. Maybe fright response scents AND the prey species are what it takes to get them fired up...just a guess tho. I am not a big bass fisherman but I generally don't use any type of scent for bass because they are so sight oriented. For salmon, however, it's another story. Salmon find their way home through their nose. It has been said that a salmon can smell one part per trillion. They swim litterally hundreds of miles and in the end navigate back to a creek of their origin that is perhaps no larger than the width of your computer monitor. Years ago I manned an adult trap within a fish ladder for salmon on the Snake River. We had a rope that operated a small gate in the trap. The rope hung over the water on a series of pullies and my boss at that time warned me to not let the rope touch the water as it would "shut them down". I pretty much thought he was "full of it" and proceded to let the rope hit the water on occassion. Sure enough the migration of steelhead would absolutely stop for about 15 minutes, for salmon was closer to 30 minutes! What was interesting was watching the salmon as they started into the trap after the 30 minutes had passed. Instead of just swimming blindly into the trap (like they did before the rope hit the water), they would very cautiously poke their nose in and look around and then back out. They would continue to do this for up to an hour! This was just from a rope touching the water for a second and coming back out again. I have no doubt that salmon and steelhead easily detect predatory odors. They may choose under certain circumstances to ignore them, but they do know danger is near. It's an interesting topic of discussion. Kind regards, Jed V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael merrill Posted November 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2005 Live and learn.I appreciate the candid authenticity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
