Your Favorite Scent...?

[Bitethis]

So there are a thousand different scents out there to choose from. I have NEVER tried them, and been nominally successful at whatever I fish for, whether it be LM Bass, white bass, catfish, etc. (Crappie fishing isn't my strength). I have noticed a new product by KVD called fishsticks in a couple diff scents.(Shad, crayfish) So the lineup is something like this:

1. Fishsticks (Shad, Crayfish)
2. Chompers (Garlic, Anise)
3. Basspro 8UP (Baitfish)
4. B.A.N.G (Garlic)
5. Berkley Powerbait (Bass, Crappie, Walleye, Trout)
6. Berkley Gulp Alive! (Crawfish, Garlic, shad/shiner, nightcrawler, minnow)
7. Strike King (coffee)
8. YUM F2 (Shad, Crayfish, Garlic)

and probably 4 or 5 more brands/scents.

So....do you use it? What have you found to be most effective, if at all, and on what lure for which species?

Chompers is the only Anise product I can find...does anyone prefer this over the normal garlic?

[wtr dogs]

I look foreword to the results you get from your quiery.

About 15 years ago a fishin buddy had a home brew in a spray bottle. ????Anise oil+WD40 +garlic+?.

Gosh it worked on TR that day with worms,tubes and grubs.

[Dutch]

I either use anise of a homemade garlic which comes in spreading or dipping consistancies, but mostly nothing since I don't really think it matters except when those scaley things are really picky.

[Walcrabass]

Dutch made a good point. You can tell it makes a difference when they are picky. So that means that it makes it more appealing to them. I know there are many scents to choose from and I know they all help to some degree. But what if the scent you used smelled and tasted like real food to them??? Because it was made from real food that they like? Wouldn't that make more sense (spelled scents)? I have tried a bunch of them and have decided that for Bass in particular Crawdad is No.1. A fish or fish and Crawdad combo is No. 2. I have some of the dyes for plastics and some of them are garlic scented. Great for covering up your scent ( weird food, gas, oil, suntan oil, etc.) but I don't see it as being a strong attractant. I can tell you this for sure.....the guys that have fished with me.....and watched me catch Bass without them catching any.... have certainly started applying it to their rigs. Virtually every time it turns things around for them. I do believe that they can tell the difference between "Real Scent" and "Fake Scent". Just as I do with the Deer urine I use for killing Bucks. These animals and fish aren't stupid you know!!!!!!!

[fishinwrench]

Anything oil-based that makes a slick on the surface has no merit IMO and its use should generate the same frowns as you'd get by slinging a cupful of gas on the water.

Whatever it is that's in Berkeley power worms has been proven beyond a shadow of doubt to make bass hold on longer....For whatever that's worth. But even though I know that I'm still a Culprit/Zoom buyer.

I kinda think that bass/sunfish/crappie/trout/walleye rely on their olfactory senses more for homing and navigation than they do during the actual act of eating. But simple reasoning should suggest that a whiff of something they associate with "food" when they are moving in on your lure SHOULD help seal the deal.

[Walcrabass]

Fishinwrench,

I have a little different opinion about the oil base stuff. (Oil base scents that represent food to the fish.)The oil scents that I use stay on pretty good. In fact you can put it on plastics and fish quite a while and still smell it on them. I personally have found the fact that oil floats up through water is a huge help to catch fish. In this way it travels it's way up to the fish that is looking at it or is just over the top of it. That is exactly why I don't use the paste types. I have actually done "tests" with others fishing in the boat with me that were NOT using scents. I literally clobbered them. Oil scents are an everyday part of my arsenal. I might add a very effective part of my arsenal. I have made many fishing trips when the fish weren't exactly jumping in the boat and I managed to catch them anyway. It's like blood to sharks....raw meat to dogs.....fish to cats......ground feed to cattle....it just plain makes them eat!!!!!

[Ham]

I've used BANG spray before and liked a couple of aspects of it. I would mainly use it on slow days to help my confidence. I also used to use the REAL Craw oil. Same deal. I was NEVER really convinced it help me catch a single extra fish.

I also purchased some Kickin Bass. That stuff smelled so darn bad I threw it away. It wasn't worth putting up with that smell for a few extra fish.

I do believe in Berkley Power Bait and Gulp at a minimum for panfish. I've seen it make a night and day difference for bluegill and catfish.

I've also used a Cottee product ProBait Tip It in saltwater and I KNOW it made a difference in number and types of fish caught.

I do believe in washing my hands with an unscented soap to remove sun screen and petroleum oils that might stick to my bait.

[Bitethis]

Berkley Products (powerbait and gulp) seem to be no argument for most people who have confidence in scents. May not always use them, but even those who dont say that it makes a difference (*fishinwrench). Anyone have opinions on wether it would make a difference or not for White Bass (like on a grub, jig, roostertail, swimming minnow). I always assumed them more of a sight fish then anything else.

[Dutch]

When they are "in the mood" whites will hit anything that moves.

[Walcrabass]

Don't know about the White Bass thing but I do know this....if a fish has 10 senses and you appeal to all 10 of them your chances of getting them to bite is better than if you only appeal to 9 of them.

Albert Einstein, Circa February, 2013