GUIDE: To Scent or not to Scent
To scent or not to scent, that is the question! Most anglers seem to have an opinion on the effectiveness of using scent on fishing lures. Some people think scent is a gimmick, that it’s more inclined to catch the fisherman in the store as opposed to fish out on the water. While other people swear by its power to be able to get fish to hone in on your lure or plastic, or at a minimum switch on shutdown or timid fish.
I am more in the latter group, but maybe not with such as a biased view. I think that while it is not absolutely necessary to use scent to catch fish, it definitely doesn’t hurt, and using scent may be one of those ”1%” things that can be used to help entice a bite or achieve that PB.
With the question of its effectiveness aside, I have also seen scent used as a confidence tool, just like a favourite lure or colour. Confidence can play a huge part in successfully targeting and catching fish. I remember one bream competition we did, where the fish were really shutdown and Rob was managing to catch a lot more fish than me, I put it down to his technique, but he was adamant it was the scent he was putting on after every second cast. Confidence at it’s best.
Here is some Pro’s and Cons of using Scent
| PRO | CON |
| Hide man made smells from hands, ie Sunscreen | Some scents will need to be washed off lures prior to storage |
| Give the lure a more natural scent | Adds additional costs. |
| Leave a scent trail in the water for fish to hone in on | |
| Some brands claim to be a fish trigger feeding stimulant | |
There is a myriad of different scents available on today’s market from both locally and internationally manufactured and each with their own group of followers and converts. I like to use Australian made scents, as I know they have been made and tested for our conditions and our species and also helps support the Aussie fishing industry too.
Aussie made scents worth checking out include:
- Sax Scent
- Dizzy Scent
- Squidgies S-factor
- Pro lure – Probite
But don’t take my word for it, go out and give scent a go, see if it does help your catch rates and form your own opinion of this angler splitting subject.
I’m a massive fan of scents, as you know Darren. I’ve had plenty of tough sessions turn good just by adding some scent to my lure,which had been enough to convince me of their effectiveness.
Yeah I know how effective scent has been for your fishing Corey, and in my opinion thats a pretty good example of how well Sax Scent works too.
Once I started wearing gloves to apply sunscreen and dipping my lures in anchovy oil, my catch rate increased dramatically. Thanks for the tip.