Scents?!

Do you guys use them? Which ones? Do they really work ? Give me some direction!!! The last one I used was a VERY long time ago and it was very poor quality, I think it even left a huge oil stain in the water and was packaged badly. I have heard everything from it actually attracts fish to it just make them hang on longer.

I catch the same amount either way.

I go home empty handed whether I use them or not.

I tend to use scents more in the summer when I feel like my sweat may get on the bait.

IMO they don't attract. I do feel they help fish hold on a little longer which can help fishing things like a jig

Everyone should be using some kind of scent to mask the human odor. My Biotech that produces my Minnow and Night Crawler says he is surprised that fisherman catch anything after handling their lures. His test shows that the human odor is very deterrent and they will move away from it. The two most natural scents to fresh water species is Minnow and Night Crawler. They like the most natural scents the best with Crayfish running third.

We catch about 30 more bass per day in Mexico using the scent. This is not just one test this is day in and day out on all our trips down there for 25 years. Here is a direct post from a TFF member asking your same question basically.

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/10217642/Harpers_scents...

I use them primarily on jigs and big swimbaits, but I'll use em more during the summer when I'm using sunblock/bugspray. I mainly feel it masks the unnatural scents, and helps fish hold on longer.

I only ever use garlic. However, that's just because I have so much confidence in it. Never had luck with anything else.

Night crawler? A natural scent to a bass? That they are familiar with? HAha. What a joke. Most bass will live their entire lives NEVER seeing a night crawler. Night crawlers are earth dwelling creatures. Maybe the minnow idea could seem possible. But, I'd even doubt that "scent" would make a difference.

The whole idea of a scent isn't to attract bass. It is to mask non natural scents.

Gotta love this forum. It's like people can't wait to pitch a product that they sell. Lol.

What's next? Scented Flourocarbon? Hell. I touch that stuff continually while I fish.

I Like Don's scents, I put a little in each bag of plastics I buy. I have several DD that had these scents on the bait.

wow, your a real treat. Donald is very successful with his "earth worm" scent. Also he doesn't have to pitch it, it sells itself. I've used it myself, I personally don't think I catch more fish with it but a ton of people do so I guess he's doing something right. And you bring up scented line, while I don't think it would give an advantage, I do think someone could get rich off of it. It's not always about catching fish. sometimes you gotta catch fisherman, at least when running a business. Stay classy my friend stay classy

Never really ever used scent attractant. Just started using scent attractant, (Bang) regularly last year on jigs. I can't tell a difference yet..., but I've always had a power bait trailer (which obviously has scent). I'll continue trying it this year again. I think the scent I got, (Pro Cure) for the swimbaits, will be a positive for me though. When they nose-up, seems like a couple more commit. Most of my fishing is a reaction bite though.

"Night crawler? A natural scent to a bass? That they are familiar with? HAha."

It is natural to many of the shallow water species of fish. When the lake is on the rise and the fish are in the shallows that is exactly what they are looking for along with insects. I will change over to Night Crawler when fishing shallow water and using slow moving baits.

I truly believe in the scent and know it works. I don't make one dime on anything I sell here.

Scents help my confidence. I've been dumping Gulp Alive marinade (Shad) in my Fluke bags a have been more than pleased with the results.

I don't see any reason to be a douche bag about it......Donald is always helpful to people even if he does sound like a slap chop commercial!

Aren't you the dude that talks about your 1000$ outfits all the time???

If you fish plastics in grass, a scent will make the plastic slick and it comes through the grass better, so that's one advantage. Masking odors that repel fish is the second benefit. As to which scents work best, I've tried a fair number and still don't know. Some are made with Anise oil. I've bought Anise at the grocery store and mixed it with mineral oil for a scent, always seemed to work pretty well.

Have you ever seen Worms washed in the water from rain???
Why do fish have nostrils?
How do Salmon find their way back to their spawning grounds?
How does a shark find blood?
Have you ever seen or smelled an oil slick from a school of shad that have been fed on by other fish?
Have you ever smelled Bream/Perch on the Beds?
These are all questions that have been asked and need to be considered when you think of scents.
Scents have been proven to be effective for many different reasons at particular times. Sometimes they work best as a cover to help mask the Gasoline and Oil that got on your hands. Or the Sun Screen that has been proven to deter fish. Other times scents can help a fish to commit to that last second attack and not turn away. Sometimes they work best as lubricants when fishing in heavy cover. BUT one thing is that they DO NOT HURT. Our Kick'n Bass Scents have been around for over 18 years with pages and pages of positive testimonies from just normal anglers and not from PAID Pro's. Personally I consider it another tool that is not very expensive to be used on ALL of your selected baits. Basically just try them and find out for your self. Compared to some of the prices of lures and tungsten weights the cost of a bottle of scent is minimal.

They all work as long as they're garlic.

The scents work...see the picture in my sig? Good luck with your AOY with that attitude

I think scents work, I use quite a bit of the power bait products, going to give Donalds stuff a try.

I have always favored using a scent to mask anything that might be on the bait from me. Been a firm believer in scents for a long time.

I don't have a bad attitude. Lol

I just don't think a bass would be able to distinguish the scent of an earthworm. That's all. I don't think the earthworm smell is worse than anything else. Just I don't see that it could make a difference vs garlic or licorice. What struck a nerve was the way the seller came on and spoke about what natural scents a bass would recognize and knowing that the earthworm is not a naturally occurring forage in a lake. That's all.

As to the comment about the cost of my gear? Haha. Well. Can't help anyone there. It is cheaper in the long run though.

Hey. Last week when Bassmaster was live, howany times did you see Pros lubing up their baits with scents? Haha. Evey cast? Every other cast? Once a day? Never? Just curious what the AOY guys did with their baits. I know one thing, I have fished with a LOT of pros over the last few years. Haven't seen one yet that sprays down their lures with stuff. Lol. I have seen them use 100% DEET on their skin and Simms non scented sun block. That's about the only thing. Maybe watched Ike spit on his jigs. But that's for luck. Not for scent.

I don't know if scents work or not. I know a lot of better fishermen than me who swear by them. I do know Donald Harper. I know his Elete electrolyte supplement works, and I don't see how he could be making a lot of money on it. I've seen Donald answering questions and helping a lot of guys on this forum. I do have some of his scents, and plan to test them for myself this year. Im betting they do work.

Not to get into a pissing contest but how many fish have you caught on a garlic pod or a piece of licorice ? I know I have caught thousands on earth worms, as far as the pros using scents, really don't know but I bet most all of them use plastics with some kind of scent/attractant already built into the bait. I will go out on a limb and bet that using scents will not cause you to catch less fish. I have been crappie fishing before and my partner was wearing me out, we were using the same jig, only thing different is he was tipping his jig with a power bait niblet, as soon as I started using the nibblet I started catching fish, I think for sure the power bait scent made the difference.

For bagged plastics you do not have to keep spraying it on. Just put a few drops of the extract in the bag and it is done. So I can see how one wouldn't know or see someone using it.

I started using these in 1982 after getting whipped pretty bad by a older gentleman who I fished with for several days. He bought two doz. minnows every evening and kept a jig/living rubber skirted, spook and spinner bait/living rubber skirted in the bucket all night. Then set the bucket in the boat and fished with each of them during the morning. He had the three rods already tied on to the lures with the line running out of the bucket. He said even way back then it was important not to touch the baits.

When it got hot he pulled out a old wooden cigar box with night crawlers in it and had two lizards and blue flake worms burred in the dirt. He would handle the night crawlers and dirt first before putting the plastics on the hook. He made a believer out of me so I have used it ever sense.

[/quote] Not to get into a pissing contest but how many fish have you caught on a garlic pod or a piece of licorice ? I know I have caught thousands on earth worms, as far as the pros using scents, really don't know but I bet most all of them use plastics with some kind of scent/attractant already built into the bait. I will go out on a limb and bet that using scents will not cause you to catch less fish. I have been crappie fishing before and my partner was wearing me out, we were using the same jig, only thing different is he was tipping his jig with a power bait niblet, as soon as I started using the nibblet I started catching fish, I think for sure the power bait scent made the difference.[/quote]

It is the little things that have given up all the big Bass I have caught. You have to make sure you are playing upon every sense that that fish is looking for in order to assure the strike.
- sight
- sound
- vibration
- scent
- colored eyes are even important.
- size of the bait
- the presentation must be exact or either you got lucky
- Living rubber skirts that are scented on all skirted baits.

Here is another one some of you guys can blast me on. HA. I have found that Bass are cold blooded and can sense any pray with a different body temperature than their own and will go after it. Something as simple as having your baits laying on the deck in the sun (HEAT Signature) then making a cast to catch a fish on the first cast then never getting another bite. A lizard or small snake sunning themselves on a rock then getting in the water or falling out of a bush doesn't have a chance. I have seen it happen many time.

I use the procure line. It's just ground up bait made into a paste. I don't know if it gets more bites but if a bass grabs a bait and it tastes right he might hold on long enough for me to wake up and realize I am getting a bite and actually get him in the boat.

I think scent plays a big role in all types of fishing regardless of target species. I've had lots of experiences where I will fish without sunscreen one afternoon and crush the fish flipping docks and brush and then next day wear sunscreen and the bite completely shuts off. I believe especially in shallow dirty water scent is a really important aspect. I use JJs magic on a lot of my baits and the ones that I don't, typically have a scent in the plastic already (coffee, garlic, etc).

Thanks guys! Thanks Don, Did you link the scent you are talking about?

Here we go again, slamming a product you have never used...like the spiral wrapped rods you slammed and never used.
Pros and scents, I believe Strike King sponsors many pros and they have coffee scented baits. I guess those are for the non-pro fishermen to use, not for pro use. LOL You crack me up.

I've been thinking about converting to the markers

I

Glad I could make you happy.

You actually made my point for me. Coffee scented. Bass love a cup of joe! It masks human odor with a different odor? So, since I know bass don't forage on coffee, why do you think the coffee smell is added? I actually do know. Just curious to see if you know.

Unwrap a peppermint and put it in you pack of plastics, I can't say why but it does make a difference.

I did a test last year on Coleto Creek when fish were biting like crazy fishing soft plastics. When I got a bite I would pull tension on the line and see how long the fish would hold on before spitting it out. It was only a few seconds on unscented. Most of the scented soft plastics I almost couldn't get them to let go of. After an hour or so trying both ways I had absolutely no doubt that they were hanging onto the scented lures MUCH longer. I didn't notice much difference in the number of bites though.
Not a purely scientific study but I was 100% convinced by it as there were dramatic, obvious different results between the scented and unscented.

the oil in peppermint does the same thing as coffee bean extract oil. It neutralizes bad odors from detering fish bites. In fact, almost any very light viscosity consumable oil will do the same thing. Obviously, most don't smell good. Coffee smells good. Especially when your up early
and fishing. Peppermint smells good too. So it would work just the same. Licorice works. Don't think castor oil smells good, but it would work just the same. It just wouldn't smell good to the angler.

I could see a challenge match evolving out of this post How could we get it going.

Not enough space here. I will be glad to show you many big bass caught using my scent. So send me your email address for this. Then ask the others to send theirs and you will have an idea who's the best. But keep in mind that I do many other things to my baits besides scent as I am sure the others do also.

SteezMacQueen

1. Earthworms....Ever use Power Baits..? If you were to get Donald's Earthworm Extract and compare the 2 scents you would find a very similar odor between the 2.
2. You ever take into consideration that the Pro's might lube up the plastics prior. There's alot of secrets the Pro's do before they hit the water. Shave bills on cranks, beat the heads of the jigs, apply scent to skirts and so on...
3. I'm a firm believer in using scent myself. I smoke and like to mask the odor. Does it work...? That's your own opinion. I do have 2 AOY's under my belt and use scents 90% of the time.
4. Nothing wrong w/a 1k combo. I've got more than a dz of Daiwa's Flag Ships...Best reels ever made...!

Count me out. i haven't been to Mexico yet.

I will leave out the Mexico Pics..

My personal best came on a Berkley Power worm. I agree the scent is nasty. But it does cover the smell of my hands. So I guess it works.
And about what the other guys do before tournaments. See it all the time. Haha. Shared a hotel for a week with "the tackle doctor" himself. Nothing is safe from him.




I wouldn't have even been on this thread it didn't seem like another commercial. Haha.

The best one I have found is called liquid mayhem by Rage fish attractants you can use it on hard baits Or plastics and it is the longest last by far... It is more of a gel than these water ones so it sticks to the bait and does not rub off

You have to understand a commercial is used to promo. a product that you are making a good profit on to pay for that commercial. My juice is at my cost no more. Not everyone that ask a question on here has your knowledge of what I have written about Minnow and Night Crawler Scent.
So the process of telling about it takes time and explanation of how I feel it works. I don't care if they buy it or not. It was developed for my customers to catch more and larger bass. All those that go with me fishing get all of my baits and scent free of charge. Now that I no longer fish tournaments all I want is to help others catch more fish and I believe I know how to get that done.

I

Ok. I apologize. I'm sorry for being a dick. You have a lot of close friends on here too. They are quick to defend you. It must be a good product.

Damn. I apologize and still get blasted. Haha.

It is a good product that I have worked hard on to find the right man to make it. It has taken all these years to get it to an extract that is very potent so it will last longer than others.

I have taken no offense by any thing you have said. You have every right to question my philosophies. Thanks for your apology, but not necessary.

Don't waste your breath Mr. Donald.....he's PMing me and trying to condescend to me because I teased about his $1000 outfits.....you know, I'm too poor for such things..

no. I apologized to you too about possibly offending you by saying what brand product I have. But that's ok. I'll admit when I'm wrong. And I was wrong.

Lol!

I personally like to use scents on baits that reek of unnatural plastic

That's admirable and if I misunderstood I'm sorry as well....

The comment was made about scented Fluorocarbon line. BUT on a similar note we have gotten reports from some of our Kick'n Bass Attractant Pro Staff using Braid and soaking the first (approx) 12" with the formulas. It sounded odd at first but it makes perfectly good sense. So it probably won't be long before some of the manufacturers do it to their braids.

SteezQueen, Strike King uses coffee scent in their baits because there aren't any Starbucks under water so they get their morning coffee from Strike King.

There are a lot of good scents out there today ! I use them very often but should use them more. Had a example just about a week or so ago. Threw a bait that was scented just a bit but not real strong had no bite.

I told my guys the fish are there but not biting. I then applied Garlic and it was game on ! They started hitting the bait and holding on to it. Made all the difference. I tried again with out apply it and again no bites.

I have always told my customers I am a firm believer in scents for the biggest reason is not to cover my scent but to attract a predator that is what a bass is a PREDATOR.

Just like a Coyote/Bobcat he/she relies on Sight,Scent,Sound and using them everyday ! A Bass does also ! So with scents you increase your odds of catching a bass/predator every time you use it. IMO

Harpers stuff is legit. Had a little bit on my fingers and took a pinch of snuff tasted like a power worm was making love to a bucket of dead minnows in my mouth for a good 20 minutes A drop really will go a long way.

Dang it Doug, they were so close to a group hug..

Scents work, enough said. Like Marc said he was on fish and couldn't get them to bite. Applied scent game on! That oil you see in the water after applying scents, don't you think that would produce a scent trail for a bass to follow.
#1 they mask your scent
#2 they leave a trail
#3 fish hold on longer
#4 if your confident in them, we all know about confidence
I started using scents and dyes last year and truly believe I've caught more and bigger fish.

I believe in scents I like using Pro Cure. It works for me.

I've use scents since the mid-70s - mostly anise in mineral oil, until I started using Don Harper's minnow and nightcrawler. I catch fish with them and without them and I also get skunked with and without them. I always use always in my jar of pork, but only once in a while on soft plastics. Do they work? I have no idea. Who knows? To me, it's more about camouflaging my own scent. Still, after reading this entire thread again, I predict that we'll start seeing scented line conditioners in the near future.

Keep 'em on their toes, Don!

JJ's Magic is good stuff. I use the red, blue, and the chartreuse depending on where I'm fishing. If I'm throwing a jig deep I use the blue on my trailer. Overall I use scents pretty regularly.

If I've handed you a soft plastic bait in my boat since the late 90's, it's had Kicknbass on it. Garlic unless I ran out, then shad. Every bag gets a few drops. A bottle will last me at least a month when I'm fishing 5+ days a week.

Don't use scents on running baits.

I feel fish hang on longer. Mask or attract? Who really knows. But I know I have confidence, and every fish costs money.

So why not?

OK, enough. It's time to shut up and fish! LOL

I always marinate my baits well in advance so they soak in. This helps the fish hold on longer, releasing scent and give them a more natural hand poured texture. Chompers A Formula on all of my minnow type baits and G Formula on my worm/creature type baits. This is especially true for Zoom which seem to absorb more scent than most other baits. I warn you that each lake likes its own scent so there's a trial and error factor involved. Try soaking a Fluke in generous amount of A Formula for a week and see the difference for yourself.
http://chompers.com/