~ ~
The Sense of Scents
By Jerry Puckett

January/February 1994

We probably all remember the speculation and conjecture that abounded when commercial bass fishing scent products first made their appearance on the market. I was first aware of them some twelve or thirteen years ago. I think most of them at the time consisted of little more than a little anise and some form of fish oil. Did they work? Who knows, but I remember an answer I heard given to that question by one of the top pros of the day. "Work, I don't know, but I don't think it hurts. And, just in case it does work I'd hate to be the last one to find out. You bet I use it."

I think that pretty well sums up the general feeling at the same time. Since then I think we have all come to accept the wisdom of using a scent product, and, if you're reading this, I know you're already a believer in salt and Yamamoto baits. In my case, my bass fishing mentor during my teen years believed in using a scent to mask the human smell on plastic baits as well as the petroleum smell on those early artificial baits.

His scent of choice? A 50/50 mix of cheap whiskey and anise (licorice flavor). This seemed to work and served my needs until commercial products became available. I think the next major advancement came when Berkeley took the bass fishing world by storm with their "power baits". I sure used 'em and I was a believer. Making my living by guiding neophytes on the sometimes stingy waters of Lake Powell required that I stack everything possible in my favor. If the fish would just hold on for another second or two even my most challenging client would eventually get the message that they had "been bit".

The problem for me was a lack of color selections in the power line and the belief that more fish could be caught on a grub, particularly the lighter colored shad imitating colors. I finally reached the conclusion that the combination of color, texture and saltiness of the Yamamoto grubs made up for the lack of a built-in scent.

This year I found that there is definitely something more, and that "something" makes a huge difference. When the research lab returned the formula for Yamamoto's new attractant things began to happen. The salt and anise content of this product you know about if you've tried it - what you don't know about is what the anise is covering up. The fish know about it and you'll have to trust them because I can't tell you what's there.

I can tell you that the difference is not based on how long the fish will hold the bait - they just eat it - you can pull away from them (with your hook cut off) and they will eat it again and again. I became a believer with the scented big grub in Mexico and the scented one-ounce jig at Lake Mead during the Vegas Open. But, I didn't fully appreciate the difference until this guide season broke open here at Lake Powell. The fish have been predominately feeding on crawfish and small bluegill this year. I've been rigging my clients with a scented chartreuse single tail grub (18-20-169) pinned on a quarter-ounce jig head. Swimming this combination through the shallow cover proved to be deadly on both largemouth and smallmouth.

But, some clients can screw up an anvil with a rubber hatchet. They would let these fish get up and jump, Bill Dance-style with the obvious result often being a pitched hook. Now comes the clincher - all they had to do was stop reeling and let the bait sink and in more than half the cases the fish would come back and eat it again! In my book that's not a small change, it's a major revolution.

I now believe that combining the known qualities of color, texture and salt with Yamamoto's new fish attractant creates the ultimate plastic bait. Guiding clients six days a week has proved this to me - beyond a doubt. Again, I can't tell you the ingredient that's hiding behind the anise, but the fish know all about it and exactly what to do with it. Trust the fish, they'll prove it to you.

~ ~