Non-Fly Bait scents: bullshit or not?

[Wanative]

I'd rather use scent on my lures while fishing than deer or elk piss on my clothes while hunting.
I can't help myself sometimes.
Kidding aside I use scent on my lures in freshwater almost all the time.
Usually on slow moving plastic baits for bass and hoochy and shrimp baits for sockeye at Baker lake.

 

[Stonedfish]

deer or elk piss on my clothes while hunting.

Fred,
Please wash your clothes before we fish together next time
SF

 

[Nick Clayton]

Saltwater, I don't believe scent means a damn thing.

And Brian, I go out of my way to fish my hoochies strip free

Freshwater is likely a whole different story. I just haven't done any of that type of fishing in so long I really can't speak to it.

Funny enough, I was out mooching with @ffb a few weeks ago. I had some herring leftover from a previous trip brined with just rock salt and freshwater and I bought a few more dozen specifically for that trip and on a whim picked up one of those bottles of Pro Cure herring brine. That'll be the last time I do that. Fished side by side for a good portion of the day the basic rock salt herring consistently out performed the Pro Cure version to the point that I was cursing the stuff and finally just tossed about half of it and went back to the old standard and started hooking fish. At least that day, adding to the basic herring did nothing that interested the fish. (Obviously in this scenario its comparing a natural to a modified natural, so not apples to apples, but it was interesting nonetheless).

 

[Wanative]

Fred,
Please wash your clothes before we fish together next time
SF

Ok...if it means that much to you.

 

[SurfnFish]

Brad's Plugs stuffed wth oily tuna my go to when trolling the rivermouth of a coupla coastal rivers, and the more often it was replaced, the more often the bites...

 

[dep]

I WD40 the bait pieces I put on my hoochie. been working well for me.

 

[Wiznet]

I WD40 the bait pieces I put on my hoochie. been working well for me.

alright what's the reasoning behind wd40 working lol

 

[CRO]

when i first started fishing spinners for summer runs over 50 years ago i was taught to remove human scent by washing the lures with ivory soap bar after tying them on. There were so many fish in those days that you would see fish before they hit. It was not uncommon to watch a fish follow for over 10ft and either strike or not. Always felt that no scent was better than human scent.

 

[Evan B]

alright what's the reasoning behind wd40 working lol

It's a solvent so would remove human scent. Its use is highly controversial, illegal, and not something I'd recommend flaunting if you do it.

 

[Peyton00]

Back in the early 80's , hit the tacoma boat house in the dark and pickup a few dozen herring. Drive down to the cowlitz and fish those fresh herring around the barrier damn boat launch at sunrise.

 

[Paige]

It's a solvent so would remove human scent. Its use is highly controversial, illegal, and not something I'd recommend flaunting if you do it.

And at one time contained fish oil!

 

[Evan B]

And at one time contained fish oil!

I've looked in to that and it's just an urban myth. Never had fish oil in the formula.

 

[Evan B]

went and checked AI just to check my work

 

[Porter2]

I save my banana peels from previous couple of days and the one in the am for the boat. To the boat I bring a cheese board and tack down my banana peels splayed and flesh side up. About a 9-12 peels total. All flies and lures are rubbed up and down on one to three of the peels 3-4 times. Catch a tad bit of flesh from a peel is even better specially if bait plunking. It’s an amazing tactic.

 

[Evan B]

Bananas is of course the unfounded classic.

But anyone ever says to not bring fried chicken salmon fishing, you best listen.

 

[Porter2]

That’s new to me. I wanna know the story behind this one. Or maybe I’ll just use the internet because the truth is out there on google/bingo/etc

 

[Evan B]

That’s new to me. I wanna know the story behind this one. Or maybe I’ll just use the internet because the truth is out there on google/bingo/etc

Not so much a story, just data from a lot of non superstitious, experienced salmon fishermen and guides who say that the oils and smells on fried chicken are salmon repellent.

 

[Paige]

Bananas is of course the unfounded classic.

But anyone ever says to not bring fried chicken salmon fishing, you best listen.

Back when the old man was running charters we had a company take out there whole crew, took 3 or 4 trips. Each time he would bring in 50 peices of KFC and all the extras. We limited out every day, and they rarely ate more than 15 peices. As a starving lanky teen I was in heaven!!!

I remember an STS article where a Columbia river guid hated greasy food on board, even potato chips. He also debunked the banana myth.

 

[Evan B]

Back when the old man was running charters we had a company take out there whole crew, took 3 or 4 trips. Each time he would bring in 50 peices of KFC and all the extras. We limited out every day, and they rarely ate more than 15 peices. As a starving lanky teen I was in heaven!!!

I remember an STS article where a Columbia river guid hated greasy food on board, even potato chips. He also debunked the banana myth.

Like all things there's no absolutes. But I also think like already mentioned, fresh vs saltwater may be the difference here.

 

[Stonedfish]

Can't say for sure about the bananas on a boat being bad luck, but I eat a banana every day before I go fishing, sometimes two.
I eat at least one every day even on non fishing days.
SF