I'm not a scent user

Edit: I use scent on my shad lures. It's the only fish I have noticed a difference using scent.

 

I use scent on my shad lures. It's the only fish I have noticed a difference using scent.

Would you mind sharing what scent do you use for shad? Thanks.

 

Fish can smell in the parts per million maybe more. Less is more IMO. You have to really learn that thru trial and error. I buy my own “food grade” ingredients and make my own scent. Further I don’t think you need a whole box of scents to be efficient and effective. It’s kind of like having the 30 spinners and only using 4 or 5 of them.I’m a big fan of Anise,Shrimp and krill. All natural scents. Some people use garlic at times and it can be very effective.You gotta change it up sometimes. Lastly I think the quality and freshness of the bait you’re putting scent on is the most important. Also think about this. None of the types of natural bait or food these fish are eating in the ocean or rivers have artificial scents. 100% natural taste and smell. FWIW.🇺🇸

 

You sound exactly word for word of a really good friend of mine, you guys must know your stuff! I mean word for word....

 

I don’t think the stuff goes bad…. It all stinks… I haven’t noticed a huge difference with, or without it on salmon…. Kokanee is a whole different ball game. I use freshly scented corn of different varieties. Once you find the right one , on that day…. Bingo! Never seen that happen with salmon with scent.

 

Scent is important for making bait brine but most of the bottles of scent they advertise covering all your offerings with is mostly a gimmick. fisherman love gimmicks

 

I dont know, some of that stuff smells pretty strong

 

I use bloody tuna powder in my herring brine. Chinook like some stuff on egg baits, otherwise no. If flavor is needed, I use real meat.

 

Im a witness to that!

 

It depends what species Im fishing for. Sturgeon,I use a lot and it does not need to be fresh scent. Maybe years old.
Salmon smell in parts per million so, I use a drop to a good 2 or 3 squirts per bait/ lure.
I've also caught fish on up to 5-6 year old bottles of scent.
That's were if it's in front on a fish it's getting bit.
2, I usually buy 1-3 new bottles per year. Bloody tuna smells gross after the season. For salmon.

 

I’ve used Mike’s Lunker Lotion that was ~7 years old and slammed the Kokanee on it. It Probably varies by brand and type of scent but seeing that scent out fish every other new bottle I had gave me reassurance that some of these scents are just about spoil-proof

 

so
more is less
I am looking at Kokanee next weekend
going to make up 4 types of corn
I have
anise
bloody tuna
shrimp....
and I think I am going to go with...
PINK no scent .... just to see what happens
Thanks for sharing.

 

so
more is less
I am looking at Kokanee next weekend
going to make up 4 types of corn
I have
anise
bloody tuna
shrimp....
and I think I am going to go with...
PINK no scent .... just to see what happens
Thanks for sharing.

try some oil packed tuna from your grocery store, and just pour the oil over white kernel corn. with kokanee they are fickle on scent. i never freeze and save my kokanee bait. always use fresh stuff. stays on the hook better too.

 

I keep mine in my bait fridge when not fishing, and replace it all every couple years.

 

I do the same, keep bottled scents in fridge when not fishing and no more than two years old or I chuck it. IMO keeping scent bottles cool is key. When out in the boat they stay in the cooler. Definitely not out in the sun. When it makes sense, I use natural scent (tuna in can or egg juice).

 

1) I would argue that this part is multiple verticals - Amount, Refrigeration & Care, Standing out in an attractive way
2) Guides have more channels of information coming to them as well as filters for the information they're getting - whether personally or naturally

 

I used to store my extras in a cupboard in my shop. During the summer the Mikes bottles would explode and made a huge mess everywhere even though my shop generally stays fairly cool. I started keeping them in my bait fridge and haven't had any problems since. I also started keeping my shaker egg cures in the bait fridge and they seem to not get clumped together now. I generally toss them after a year or two. Maybe they are good longer?

 

I used to store my extras in a cupboard in my shop. During the summer the Mikes bottles would explode and made a huge mess everywhere even though my shop generally stays fairly cool. I started keeping them in my bait fridge and haven't had any problems since. I also started keeping my shaker egg cures in the bait fridge and they seem to not get clumped together now. I generally toss them after a year or two. Maybe they are good longer?

Stick em in the freezer and they last years.

 

As usual, I must be in the minority. Heck, I probably single-handedly keep Pro-cure in business. I use a lot of scents. There are probably 6 or 7 Pro-cure scents that I use on a regular basis, plus 2 Mike’s scents that I couldn’t fish without, and one Smelly Jelly jar that is showing some promise (am I the only guy that still uses SJ?). Plus, a few of the NW Baits & Scents “Graybill’s” formulas have created epic days in the gorge when nobody else was catching consistently. If you really want a memorable day on the water, try a spray can of Bang “Craw” on a windy Springer day!

I need to get one of those little college beer fridges for my scents; some of them don’t hold up when I leave them in the boat. I throw most of them in my bait freezer, but some of them separate too badly when frozen (specifically the Pro-cure water-soluble spray bottles, which are a game changer).

Contrary to what some have said, I think more is more, especially in crowded fisheries or dirty water. I also have a different philosophy on the cost of bait and scents. I consider scents and brines an integral part of the bait. With how much I invest in boats, tackle, gas, snacks, etc., bait and scents are the smallest expense but likely the most important part of the equation. As my fishing mentor once told me, “Nothing is more expensive than bad bait.”


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The first scent I used was Dr Juice

 

I’ll second Dr. juice I was using some spray one day with one other guy in the boat. Young guy going to college to learn to make beer of all things (my brains getting old, but it might’ve been sublime.) finally he asked me why are you catching all the fish? I told him “I like to catch fish” he said yeah but I’m not catching any. I said if I’m not catching them and the other guy is. I Pay Attention to what he is doing and every word of what he is doing was another squirt of scent on my bait. He got the message. He also told me a hilarious story about putting a bottle of spray sent in his dad‘s Christmas stocking one year and when dad pulled the stuff out of the stocking, he said oh I know what this is for cold and flu season and proceeded to squirt. The fish sent in his mouth. He said it was positively hilarious and they relive that every Christmas. It definitely was not throat spray.

 

I'm not quite as fanatical as Beefcake, but I have come to love "Deadly Dunkin" water soluble scent that goes on everything with a little Anise in the Spring, Garlic in the Fall, with maybe some WD and a couple of other oils mixed in 'just in case'. I'll never forget when I started fishing the 'Meat Hole' on the North Fork Lewis for Springers in the 80's, had to have Crawdad tails and eggs, but couldn't figure out why it smelled like an Italian restaurant as we floated around . For years after that that shaker bottle of garlic powder never left the boat. And Magic Brine, Beath's Supper Scent, or Butt Juice for Halibut........never be without.
Do we have specific and multiple formulas for our brines? Do we take multiple bottles of 'differently processed' eggs with us every time? Do one brand of 'Coonies' fish better than others? I'd have to say 'Yes' to all of those questions. That's all 'scent based'. Is the freshest and best quality bait underneath the most important? Absolutely. That being said, in years like last year at Buoy 10 and other places we fished from Spring to Winter, I'd be hard pressed to say or think that we would have gotten bit more if our baits had been 'clean' and unadulterated. That's just me. Your results may vary. jc Tuna Maru

 

I can remember(ok, just barely) when Berkeley Strike 1st came out with the "moldable" scent sticks - about the size of a tootsie roll and looked like a cat ****(smelled about the same). The package said catch 3 times as many fish. The test - three of us trolling - same gear. I used scent and caught 3 fish - them one each. On a subsequent trip we figured out to put a small gold Eagle Claw egg hook on a swivel appx 3' about our trolling lure to trail the scent. We'd cut disc's from the moldable stick and impale on the egg hook. Caught a fish on the swivel egg hook. Been using scent ever since.

 

Anybody out there actually used "Charlie White's Bilge Water"? He was quite the snake oil salesman...

 

CLASSIC!!!

 

Charlie was right up there, his protege, Dr. Phil, who ain't far behind. The term Vaudeville comes to mind...
"Ya gotta get ya some of this, we tested this last year with several prominent guides, and had phenomenal success...."
Lol!

 

 

Wait so I need to toss the Case of Ultra Bite I have left out? God that stuff stinks

 

Nope

 

The Ultra Bite curdled my carrot juice!

 

The best herring scent is real herrring. The best shrimp scent is fresh shrimp. The best sand shrimp scent is fresh sand shrimp. Do you see where I’m going with this? I don’t use bottled scent.


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I can remember Bill Monroe in a video grinding up sandshrimp for his herring brine. Made sense wonder if he still does that?

 

Sonetimes yes..sometines no....I'm an oppurtunistic guy. I'll jump on whatever works in a heart beat. I didn't came in this world with pride...but nekked and crying. Pride was imposed on me...and being that guy...I'll leave my pride behind and firmly believe in 'objective complete'. Steps don't matter...objective does.


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Garlic for Springers. Nothing in the Summer or Fall. That is all.

 

Anise in coldish water. Stinky Salmon Slammer in warm to hot water - I think it is egg goo, garlic and something hideous but it gets bites. Sand shrimp oil in between low and high river temps. For Kokanee and corn, yes the juice from a tuna can with added salt and dye. I’m also experimenting with Boat Sauce. Contains only liquid of Vietnam anchovies and salt. I added some to my already cured Kokanee corn and it petrified it in short order. So I’ll try some next trip on out of the can, short soak.


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Anise in coldish water. Stinky Salmon Slammer in warm to hot water - I think it is egg goo, garlic and something hideous but it gets bites.


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I haven’t tried Salmon Slammer. My early spring scent tray consists Anise Plus, Anise Bloody Tuna, Addicted Salmon Blend, and Herring Oil. Once the water gets over about 57, I add Garlic to the mix.

I agree with Dog and SH’s assertion that sometimes I’m really just after something that “doesn’t not work.” I have caught a lot of springers with herring straight out of the package or brined in non-iodized table salt and distilled water. My scent tray is mostly just for entertainment when fishing hardware, but the ones listed above are the ones that I am confident don’t repel fish.


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