Soft plastic odor

[HillbillyGeek]

I just received the "Tin-o-baits" from bass pro shops. The lures look good, but they all smell like new tires. I don't think trying to mask the scent by rubbing them with a commercial gel is the best way to make them smell more natural. Have you ever been around someone who had body odor and tried to conceal it with a quart of cologne? It doesn't work; the BO is still there -- and the extreme intensity of the cologne is just as offensive as the BO.

Maybe storing the baits in something that is not oil-based would help. (Oils eventually dissolve soft plastic baits. Trust me, I tried it.)

Perhaps vacuum packing them in coffee grounds?

The liquid from a can of water-packed tuna might be good, but the package would need to be refrigerated or frozen. Hmm... I wonder what happens to soft plastic baits when they are frozen? Boil some shrimp, let the water cool, add some soft baits, then freeze. Could be a fun experiment.

Something simple like sea salt mixed with distilled water & a little garlic powder might work just as good.

Even though these soft baits have a chemical smell, they probably catch fish, but they might not work as well as a more natural smelling bait. ALL soft plastic baits smelled bad back in the 70s and 80s, but they still caught fish. Scented/salted baits are relatively new. Since many of the bass out there have been caught & released, they probably learn very quickly that certain smells indicate danger. Bass are intially attracted to a lure by sight and/or sound, but when they get close, scent becomes a factor -- especially with a slow presentation (tubes, senkos, jigs, etc). They might rush in quickly and then abort the attack while thinking "whoa baby, what's that smell"....

What do you guys think?

[fisherhall]

I know what you mean. I just got a big set of plastics and they all have that tire smell. I still haven't found a way to mask the scent but I might try some of you ideas.

[A9]

I know what you mean when you get the unscented plastic baits. I'd try the vaccuum packing coffee grounds. Even putting a bunch of coffee beans in a gallon size freezer ziploc bag and then throwing in the plastics should do it....Just make sure to let us know how the coffee scents work for you, so we can do that instead of paying a company to make coffee scented baits...

[trucknmusic]

I would not store them in anything w/out testing first. I tried it once and ended up ruining the color. Safest bet would probably be the salt and garlic power. But I think you will be fine with just spraying/dipping them in scent while fishing.

[quickfish12]

I fish tournaments on a regular basis and some of my favorite baits have absolutely no added smell. I think the best example would be Zoom. They have no natural smell to them and catch ALOT of fish. If I do add smell I use smelly jelly Bass Feast something about garlic that I like. I really believe it's a confidence thing, use them with or without scent and see which is better for you.

[iPodrodder]

I just got my Tin-O-Baits today and they look like money well spent. I got some straight worm baits, they look a lot like Senkos. Do you guys think they are actually Senkos or just generics? I hope they are Senkos because I love fishing with them.

[Anonymous]

I love the smell of plastics.
One of the stinkiest baits I own would be my Hudds and they have never had a problem catching fish. I have never scented one either. I wouldn't really worry about it man. Just scent it with your favorite scent on the water. Even if you didn't scent your plastic bait you'll still catch fish.


fishnislife

[iPodrodder]

I love the taste of plastics.

[ChrisB]

I just got my Tin-O-Baits today and they look like money well spent. I got some straight worm baits, they look a lot like Senkos. Do you guys think they are actually Senkos or just generics? I hope they are Senkos because I love fishing with them.

Those would be BPS stick-o's. Definetly not senkos, though they do work. I got the tin of baits last year, there was some decent knock off sweet beavers in mine.

[islandbass]

I know what you mean about smelly plastics and I think I just might have the answer....

We all know that baking soda can remove the smells from even the smelliest refrigerator. So my train of thought is if it works for a fridge, then why not soft plastics.

I don't know if there might be a chemical reaction between the plastics and the soda, so I would try two things simultaneously:

1) Take a few of the plastics, put them in a plastic zip lock with some baking soda and wait to see if anything happens

2) Get an airtight plastic container like those for food that is big enough to accomdate the plastics and the baking soda. It will need to be big enough to accomodate both the lures and the soda, but keep them separate.

I hope and think this should work to get most of the smell to at least tolerable levels. I would try it myself since this has piqued my curiosity, but I don't have a smelly plastics at this time.

If you give it a shot, please let us know if it works. If it does, we could submit it to BASS Master as a useful tip.

Good luck!

-ib

[HillbillyGeek]

I know what you mean about smelly plastics and I think I just might have the answer....

We all know that baking soda can remove the smells from even the smelliest refrigerator. So my train of thought is if it works for a fridge, then why not soft plastics.

I don't know if there might be a chemical reaction between the plastics and the soda, so I would try two things simultaneously:

1) Take a few of the plastics, put them in a plastic zip lock with some baking soda and wait to see if anything happens

2) Get an airtight plastic container like those for food that is big enough to accomdate the plastics and the baking soda. It will need to be big enough to accomodate both the lures and the soda, but keep them separate.

I hope and think this should work to get most of the smell to at least tolerable levels. I would try it myself since this has piqued my curiosity, but I don't have a smelly plastics at this time.

If you give it a shot, please let us know if it works. If it does, we could submit it to BASS Master as a useful tip.

Good luck!

-ib

That's a great idea! I will definitely have to try it.

[A9]

But I think you will be fine with just spraying/dipping them in scent while fishing.

I'd have to agree with that too. The tin o bait isn't exactly a big purchase, so I wouldn't be expecting too much out of them. I think covering them in good scent while out on the water should be good enough....

[quickfish12]

You are putting way too much thought and time into a plastic that will be torn in half after 1 or 2 fish at most. Try them without scent and if you catch nothing then maybe you should simply add the scent. Going to the extreme of using baking soda is far too time consuming in my opinion.

[HillbillyGeek]

You are putting way too much thought and time into a plastic that will be torn in half after 1 or 2 fish at most. Try them without scent and if you catch nothing then maybe you should simply add the scent. Going to the extreme of using baking soda is far too time consuming in my opinion.

One of the most fascinating things about fishing is that there are a "shload" of factors that could determine whether or not we catch any fish. I strive to eliminate as many potential problems as possible BEFORE hitting the water. The "new tire smell" of unscented plastics is one of the things I want to rule out. A strong artificial odor may not be a factor when bass are actively feeding and competing for food, but when they are feeling finicky, a negative odor could mean the difference between fishing and catching.
Just my 2 cents...

[bpm2000]

I've always sorta wondered about that in the back of my mind... WE find the plastic odor to be offensive. I wonder if some of us are just applying human characteristics to the bass here and assuming they ALSO must find it offensive?

Garlic, anise... I just dunno. I can see actual craw/baitfish type scents making a difference because they are obviously foodstuffs for the fish but thats not to say I've actually experienced as much.

.02

[T Dot]

yum has a liquid craw scent. its available at most stores like walmart, gijoes, and sportsmens

[iPodrodder]

You are putting way too much thought and time into a plastic that will be torn in half after 1 or 2 fish at most. Try them without scent and if you catch nothing then maybe you should simply add the scent. Going to the extreme of using baking soda is far too time consuming in my opinion.

Couldn't hurt. Something to do in the off season, by the time even one of my lures is ripped to shreds the rest of the tin could be all finished baking soda-izing. I don't care if that's even a word.

[HillbillyGeek]

Bruce has a good article here on WL about how bass react to scent called "scents that make sense".

http://www.washingtonlakes.com/ReadArti ... a=4&id=277

[bpm2000]

" The smell of tobacco or rather the nicotine that is in the smoke that gets on your hands just make bass run the other way."

See, I've never had that experience. I smoke when I fish a lot of the time and the bite is not any more diminished in doing so.

[HillbillyGeek]

" The smell of tobacco or rather the nicotine that is in the smoke that gets on your hands just make bass run the other way."

See, I've never had that experience. I smoke when I fish a lot of the time and the bite is not any more diminished in doing so.

When I smoked cigarettes, I didn't notice anything either. But since I always smelled like tobacco, I had nothing to compare my success rate against. I have only been a non-smoker for a couple of months and this year's results should provide some insight.

There's really no way to know exactly why fish do what they do]not[/b] to bite I usually don't even know that it happened -- let alone why. Until the effect of tobacco scent is proven in a controlled environment (like a laboratory), it's just a theory. This is also true for other factors like color, size, sound, flash, vibration, etc.

The folks at Berkely (Pure Fishing) do lots of controlled experiments, which is why many of their new products work so well. "Gulp" eggs are excellent. I've had more success with them than with powerbait or nightcrawlers.