Does It Make Sense to Use Scents?

This guest post was written by Todd Hollowell, FLW Tour Pro and Host of the WFN TV show the “Bass Dr.”A question I get a lot is, “When do you apply scent to a lure? Does it really make a difference?” It’s a great question, and one that I can only answer based on my personal experience over the years in fishing. Does it make sense to use scents? This week’s tip will help you know when to make sure you apply scent during the year.Any time I am fishing pressured water with a bottom-oriented bait, like a River Rat Tackle Oxbow Bully, and the fish are barely picking up the bait – I’m going to start applying scent to the bait to make sure the fish hang onto the lure long enough for me to detect the bite and set the hook. If I’m missing fish during the day, and they are short striking – that’s exactly the time I make sure to reach for scent looking for that one extra fish during the day.More often, I religiously use scent when I’m flipping dense vegetation, such as milfoil or hydrilla mats. Applying a quality scent, like the Pro-Cure Super Gel, will have two major positive influences. First, because you are touching your bait a lot, it will help to masque any odors that you may have on your hands and keep the fish from detecting those unnatural scents. Second, Pro-Cure Super Gel has a lubricating, oily component that will help your plastic bait slide down through the thickest parts of the vegetation and not hang up on the vegetation and get stuck – which will allow you to make more effective presentations over the course of the day. Simply put, more effective presentations means more chances to catch fish – and using a scent increase your odds.For more tips like these, make sure you like the Bass Dr. page on Facebook and follow the Bass Dr. on Twitter, or check us out on the web at BassDr.com. See you on the water!