Story by Hunter Sales | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
In a world where bass are more pressured than ever and anglers are looking for something unique to throw, every detail of your presentation matters. We are constantly importing lures from different countries, tinkering with rigging styles and downsizing line sizes and weights. One aspect of our presentations that often get overlooked is the scent. Today, we’re going to dive into what scents are available on the market, and how I utilize them.
In recent years, products such as BaitFuel, MaxScent, Nories Bite Powder, BaitPop, and other new scents have hit the market and have had mixed success. Some other staples that have existed for years are Pro-Cure, Bang Fish Attractant, Spike-It, Powerbait, and coffee-scented plastics. All of these products have die-hard followers and those that say that scent is a gimmick. Quantifying the impact that a scent makes is nearly impossible due to the inability to replicate a situation. Each fish has its own personality and conditions are always changing.
Even without being able to quantify the impact that a scent makes, I have seen instances that you can certainly trigger bites by changing the scent of a bait. Typically, I opt to use scent on slow presentations when fish have an opportunity to inspect the bait or when fish are short-striking. Pro-Cure has concentrated formulas that mimic different forages and seems to hold well on soft plastics.
The Z-Man Scented Jerk Shad comes with Pro-Cure and is one of my favorite FFS minnow baits. I’ve also used the Goby formula of Pro-Cure when fishing up north with a lot of success. I certainly think that MaxScent attracts bluegill to your bait and can trigger some additional bites as well. I always carry a few different types of scents in my boat and will play around with different combinations to get fish to commit. Around bed-fishing season, I have seen scent instantly trigger a fish to bite that had no interest previously.
Outside of trying different scents in different situations, the other thing that’s important when using scent is to reapply often. Most of these scents will wear off within 15-20 casts. It can be a hassle to reapply all day long but can certainly pay off with a couple of key bites. The night before a tournament, I pre-soak my baits so that the scent stays on a bit longer. I have also put scent in a Solo cup so I can dip my bait before making a key cast. Does scent make this big of a difference? I do think there are situations that it can be enough to trigger finicky fish.
The next time you’re out on the water and facing finicky fish, give scent a try. Start thinking of scent as another way to trigger a bite just as you would consider changing colors or profiles.
I hope these tips are helping you put more fish in the boat.
Tight lines!
Hunter Sales – Angler Profile
