Two weeks ago I slipped out of work for a half day to enjoy an afternoon of inshore fishing. My dad met me at the house around 2 o’clock and we ran down the creek in the jon boat and started trolling for some trout. After a good 45 minutes without a hit we picked up and ran to a popular shell bank to try casting for a trout or bass. Within minutes I was hooked up with a nice spotail on a Berkeley Gulp Minnow. My dad continued to cast an array of live baits including shrimp, minnows, and finger mullet, and I continued to catch fish on my scented artificial. After about 30-minutes the score was Gulp bait 5; live bait 1! These stunning results reminded me of the article below put together by Andy several years ago. The info contained within certainly still applies, enjoy……
I spent several years managing a tackle department for a large Sporting Goods store. Our customer base was about 70% bass and freshwater fishermen and 30% saltwater fishermen. I always enjoyed seeing the many differences and likenesses in fishing philosophies. Freshwater bass fishermen, especially the tournament fishermen were obsessed with learning about their target and creating an almost scientific-like approach that gave them an edge over the competition. I always recognized one angler in particular because each time he came in he was talking about a new concoction he created to add scent to his artificial baits. He always said, “While most anglers focus on sight and sound, many of them overlook the sense of smell” and he was convinced that by focusing on this 3rd sense he would have a decided edge over his competition. I must say, this gentleman certainly had his share of tournament success.
Years later I was trout fishing with a friend and we were catching a few fish casting grubs. The action was a little slow and he pulled out a bottle of crawfish scented spray and covered his grub. I chuckled to myself thinking back to my former customer and his obsession. I told my buddy the story and he began his testimony about how he