Do you use fish attractant? if so what are your favorites? What do you prefer? any tips on using them?
I use Kickn' Bass liquid and Megabass gel. My favorite is the Kickn' Bass, which is scent blended into purified fish oil (garlic, anise, or crawfish). It lasts a long time and works great in my experience. I also use JJ's dye for dipping the tails of plastics to present an accent color. It contains garlic scent. What you choose might depend on how you think fish react to "attractants". I like scent to encourage bass to hold on to a plastic bait longer, not to attract them via smell which I don't much believe in as far as bass go.
No, unless its on/in the baits from the factory, with the exception of JJ Magic i have found nothing that seemed to make a realistic measurable difference. I have several packs of sample stuff that I keep getting in my LTB if anyone likes it they can have it.
On 4/23/2016 at 1:26 PM, BobP said:I use Kickn' Bass liquid and Megabass gel. My favorite is the Kickn' Bass, which is scent blended into purified fish oil (garlic, anise, or crawfish). It lasts a long time and works great in my experience. I also use JJ's dye for dipping the tails of plastics to present an accent color. It contains garlic scent. What you choose might depend on how you think fish react to "attractants". I like scent to encourage bass to hold on to a plastic bait longer, not to attract them via smell which I don't much believe in as far as bass go.
Thanks for the tips
On 4/23/2016 at 1:26 PM, S. Sass said:No, unless its on/in the baits from the factory, with the exception of JJ Magic i have found nothing that seemed to make a realistic measurable difference. I have several packs of sample stuff that I keep getting in my LTB if anyone likes it they can have it.
Gotcha, How is LTB I have not tried them I have only tried mystery tackle box. I am trying to experiment with scents a little.
I had MTB and just like you I wanted to try the LTB so I switched and it seems to me LTB might be slightly better but really since everything is different and for different species and different parts of the country who knows. I'm happy enough I am not switching back to MTB.
On 4/23/2016 at 1:46 PM, S. Sass said:I had MTB and just like you I wanted to try the LTB so I switched and it seems to me LTB might be slightly better but really since everything is different and for different species and different parts of the country who knows. I'm happy enough I am not switching back to MTB.
Cool thanks for the info
The only scent that I've seen make a difference is JJ's Magic dip and the implanted scent of Berkley Powerbait and Gulp plastics.
I haven't had any additional luck with the greasy spreads and gels, and I've spent about $75 on them.
Megastrike original and crawfish. Pro cure trophy Bass.
Third vote for megastrike here!
LC
A-Jay
I use baitmate and berkley powerbait; haven't seen a huge difference with either, although I have seen baitmate work pretty well. I applied it to my jig, pitched it in the water, watched a cloud of iridescent scent billowing in the water, and a bass came up and ate the jig. Pretty cool, but still searching for the perfect one.
yum,powerbait,megastrike. all seem to work for me about the same.
Bunker oil, smelly jelly, bacon grease, garlic infused olive oil.
Yup. Mega strike here as well.
Liquid Mayhem gel scent for me and yes this stuff makes a difference. I did a real world test on panfish and dropped a crappie slider over the side and watched the fish swim up to it inspect the bait and move away. Added some of the scent and watched the panfish attack the bait. That same week I got crushed by cold fronts and all fish were caught when the scent was on the bait, if it had worn off zero fish.
The scent I had used for many years previous to LM was Atlas Mike's gel scent which did well for me but didn't stay on the baits as long as LM.
I've been a long time fan of MegaStrike. It's probably just confidence thing for me, but I never use soft plastics without it.
When I do use scents I use Megastrike or KVD Scent Sticks...
I'm old school. BANG garlic for me.
On 4/23/2016 at 7:54 PM, A-Jay said:
A-Jay
I usually place a few soft plastics of the same color in a ziplock bag and add a few drops of Kick'n Bass to the bag the night before I fish. I also use Spike It garlic dip on the tails of some plastics. My fishing partner uses Bang attractant and he does quite well. It may be in my mind but I think scent and dip makes a difference. When my Kick'n Bass is used up, I will probably try Mega Strike.
Bang crawfish scent
I've been thinking of trying sent for bass to see if it makes a difference but haven't given it a shot yet. I tried scent for trout once and they wouldn't touch the lures with scent on them.
When I was about 12 or 13 years, a friend and I found a bottle of the original Fish Formula lying on the bank, and we decided to try it. Maybe it was coincidence, but we had the best fishing of our young lives that day. That was 30 years ago, and I've been using scents ever since.
Over the years, I've tried many different brands and various scents from each brand. I really don't believe that it matters what kind of scent you use. Bass aren't as smart as many people seem to think. A bass isn't going to reject a salt craw because it smells like a shad. Nothing in the water smells like anise, yet it still works great.
The main difference is how well the scent stays on your bait. If you're seeing an oily sheen on the water after every cast, that's your scent washing off the bait, and you may want to find a scent with more longevity. I don't want to have to reapply every few casts.
I use to use Berkely Strike , Riverside Real claw . I thought they both helped the fish hold on longer . Now days I just use a spike-It marker . I like to add a little mottled look to my soft plastics and this adds a garlic scent as well. I .caught a lot of fish using it but dont know if it actually makes a difference .
If you use any of the Berkley scented soft plastics there isn't any reason to add scent.
Unscented soft plastics or salt impregnated soft plastics adding a scent you have confidence with can make a difference at times.
The lubrication factor can be important with larger size soft plastics like swimbaits and big worms, Pro Cure makes a good trout scented gel. I have used pure anise oil with glycerin oil for decades on pork trailers, Hot Suace, MegaStrike, etc and don't see any big difference between several products on the market.
Tom
I don't believe any of them will attract fish from a distance. Just my belief. I do believe that when a bass engulfs a bait they have to decide if it is reel or fake. With scent/attractant it usually means the bass will hold on longer giving me as the angler a bit larger window to feel the bite/fish and get a hook set. I use both Megastrike and Smellyjelly. I don't believe either one is better than the other.
Sense of smell is the least developed sense for bass but it's the there and can make a difference. What you don't want in a scent is something negative.
Tom
1 part anise 3 part's baby oil.
Mike
JJ's magic is the real deal
Dip the tail in garlic chartreuse Spike It and spray some Spike It garlic on there too.
That's for soft plastics. For hard baits I don't use anything, but I just bought some smelly jelly yesterday I'm excited to try out.
I'm kind of surprised at the lack of love for JJ's Magic on this thread.
Did JJ's fall out of favor with Bass Resource while I was gone? It used to be wildly popular just a few years ago.