Making sense of scents

When we fish with lures, we try to give ourselves any little edge we can, however many people choose to neglect the use of scents. To many, using scents is more akin to bait fishing than lure fishing, however using them effectively requires a bit of know-how. To those who use them, it is just another arrow in their quiver, and if the main aim is to catch more fish, scents are a great tool for doing just that!

Scents are fantastic on days where fish are biting but not eating your lures. In this way, they have become very popular in the tournament circuit, as these anglers aim to maximise every second they spend on the water, and of course, scents are one great way to do that.

Scents have been part of the angling scene for most of the 21st century so far, but these days there are many to choose from, and they all have their merits. Whether you’re fishing with soft plastics or handbodies, there’s no reason why adding scent won’t help you get more interest from your target species.

Scents such as Liquid Mayhem Scent, Sax Scent, Procure Super Gel Scent Berkley Rub On Gel Scent, Bad Azz Liquid Bait Dye, Gulp Alive Recharge and Squidgies S Factor are all trusted scents that can be used on hardbodies and soft plastics. Additionally, certain soft plastics such as those from Berkley Gulp! and ZMan come already scented, however when this wears off it can pay to add some of your own.

With application, a little goes a long way, but each scent should have instructions on the label to get the most out of them. Applying every 10 minutes to half an hour is a good general rule of thumb.

Scents can be useful from the smallest of target species like bream and whiting, and all the way up to some of our largest predators such as Murray cod and barramundi!

If you want to get the most out of your lure fishing, make sure you stock up on some different scents. When the fish start trying to really eat your lures as opposed to just following or nibbling them, you’ll be glad you did!