How many of you use scent on your plastics religiously? Is it one of those things you do because "everyone else is doing it" or did you notice an increase in your fishing success because of scenting your lures?

What brand is your go to?

Best ever was Carolina lunker sauce and I would put it on every bait every single time. I just had that much confidence in it. It wasn�t just for the attractant qualities, but the lubrication. Baits would come through cover better and not tear as much when bit. That stuff would stay on the baits a long time

There are some good attractants still available: Donald Harpers pure extracts and the Bioedge are my current favorites. With these, it�s easiest to put a few drops in the bag of plastics, then add a few drops of mineral oil for lubrication. Kickin� bass is good also.

But, I�ll additionally lubricate baits separately at times with smelly jelly, megastrike, or pro-cure

If I want dye+scent I�ll use a little spike it or JJs magic

My opinion is for most situations the economics don't work out. That is to say you don't see enough of an improvement in bite/catch rates to justify the expense of the scent. The one exception would be if you are saturation fishing an area with soft plastics. (casting the same area over and over). The scent can actually build up in the area and attract fish. Most of us fish too fast and move too much for scent to be much of a help.

I have used a little dab of MegaStrike on my plastics for the last 20 years. Not as an attractant, but as a cover scent that may make a fish hold on a little longer.

Kick N Bass is what I use don't put it on everything but do use it a lot , I believe it gets the fish to hang onto it longer or makes them commit to your bait more then just grabbing the tail end.

Smelly Jelly Garlic.. Proven it too many times..

After a while you'll like it so much you'll be putting it on your sandwiches..

I used to use Smelly Jelly garlic and crawfish. It is good stuff, MegaStrike is just a little less mess.

I swear by it, some of my favorites are Bang, LFT Hawg,Kickin' Bass and smelly jelly.

This year, I noticed that the fish were not hanging onto the lure enough to get a hook in them. I ordered some of Donald Harper's Pure Extracts and my catching went up quite dramatically. The fish were hanging onto the bait and not just hitting it. So, I put a couple of drops in each bag and do it every time I go fishing and they seem to still hang on longer to set the hook. I often fish w/o it while my friend fishes with it and my friend will out catch me by about 4 to 1, so I do not waste much time in NOT using it, but LOVE IT. I used to use Kicknbass, but was not aware that it was still around. I will check into it as well. Hope this helps. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains.

I've tried a couple of the off the shelf varieties that you can spray.
Never really saw any difference.
Bought some of Don Harpers jigs, the trailers came packaged in scents.
I noticed I was getting more bites with his jigs then my favorite PB&J jigs, so as a little test I put some of the trick worms I use for Wacky Rigging in with the scents. YES, definite increase in bites and hook ratio.

Just ordered some more wacky rig worms from a place in Kentucky, had them made up in blue,green and red to match crawfish colors. I will definitely soak them in some of Dons scents.

Jpurdue is so correct when we fish our lakes it is really difficult to tell what works and what doesn't. So may questions enter the equation on our area lakes. The one that I ask most when fishing tournaments was;
Did I just get into the fish and catch a few more than normal?
Did they just start biting?
Was it the bait that I was using?
Did the scent have anything to do with it?

It is just very hard to answer these on a daily basis in our local lakes when you are only getting 10 bites per day. It could be the result of all of the above.

Now take it to Mexico where you can catch 100 Bass per day with 50 of those over 5 lbs. each and I can tell you by the end of the day what works and what doesn't.

Have actually done my own experiments with scents, dyes and rattles. I will say is that each have their time, place and water condition. Without getting too long winded with all of the variables, #1 WD-40, #2 Garlic Pam (no longer available) #3 Lake Fork Hawg Wild. Agree with Chu Chu 1 as much of a cover scent as anything. I remember the old story about a Grandfather and his Grandson fishing together one day while they were catching bass pretty good on a rattle trap. The Grandson ask Gramps if fishing scents make any difference? Gramps turns, removes the fuel tank cap and dips his bait in the fuel, throws the trap back out and almost immediately catch`s another bass. Gramps turns to the Grandson and says "guess not".

I have never personally witnessed any advantage to using scent. There are guys that swear by the Berkley Power Baits but I have never had any luck in using them. Same goes for the scents in bottles or sprays. I don't believe there is really any negative to using them either. I can see the cover scent aspect of it but not convinced it is a necessary action. All that being said for me it has no impact on my fishing so there is no reason to use it. There are so many scented baits out there now it almost seems harder to find one that is not scented.

I don't use scent "religiously" but I do use it every now and then, especially if the water is clear or conditions are tough. I pretty much just use BANG Garlic and Shad.

I remember when you could shoot a little Original Fish Formula on the water and it would create a slick that would have the minnows on top licking it up. I know it helped putting it on crappie jigs as I did my own experimenting and proved it to myself. Use spray on now but not all the time. Miss the smell of anise oil too. I grab whatever is at Walmart.