04_2025_REELLIFE_digital - Flipbook - Page 9
Liquid scents can be used
to marinate herring, shrimp,
white shoepeg corn,
chicken livers, salmon eggs,
and dough baits. Place your
bait of choice in one liquid
scent or another overnight.
One of my go-to kokanee
baits is tuna corn. A day
before a trip I upend a can
of white shoepeg corn
into a mesh strainer and
let it drain overnight in
the fridge. Then I open a
tin of packed-in oil tuna
and pour the excess oil
into my drained corn. I
divide the corn/tuna juice
mix evenly between some
small containers or Zip-Lok
snack bags and then add a
different scent of oil to each
container or bag.
Many freshwater salmon
anglers marinate herring,
sardine fillets, or shrimp in
their secret mix of scent
oils and amino acids then
use the enhanced bait for
trolling or wrapping their
plugs.
Regarding flavor, everyone
has their personal favorites
for a given fishery. I find
that garlic, anise, and
carp-spit oils work best
for Westside kokanee. For
most Puget Sound salmon
fisheries, I am partial to
Anchovy. For general
freshwater fishing, you
can’t beat nightcrawler/
garlic or anise.
These are a few of my
personal preferences
(superstitions). There are
a gazillion different scents
available. Here in the PNW,
scents like anise, sand
shrimp, krill garlic, or bloody
tuna seem to enhance any
fishery.
It would be a good idea to
visit a tackle shop in the
vicinity of your fishery to
pick up the local favorite.
With its proximity to some
solid fresh and saltwater
fisheries, Holiday Sports in
Burlington is a great source
for local fishing information.
Their scent corner is well
stocked with numerous
brands and different scents.
Any scent discussion
must include a segment
on proper storage. Scents
have different shelf lives
depending on the product.
Generally, they are:
Super Gels, Sauces and
Paste: 7–10 years
Bait Oils: 3–5 years
Water Soluble: 3–5 years
It would be a good idea to
use a permanent marker to
mark the purchase date on
your scent bottles. Typically,
you’ll run out before they
are ineffective but knowing
when you purchased them
gives you something to talk
about. “I caught that huge
walleye on 10-year-old
worm sauce”.
A couple of thoughts on
storage:
On the boat store your
scent collection out of
direct sunlight in a cool
place. While fishing I
put a wet towel over my
scent containers on my
workstation, making sure to
keep it damp as required.
At home store them in a
dry, cool place. Preferably a
metal cabinet in the garage
or in the bait/beer fridge.
The mice in my garage
love to chew through scent
bottles.
At the end of the day, make
sure you clean your gear.
Being superstitious I use
Lemon Joy to wash all my
lures and attractors. Lemon
Joy or not, just make sure
you clean everything after
each trip.
Where your local
knowledge, trip planning,
gear set-up, and
presentation are important
in a successful outing, the
use of scents will help you
consistently fill the fish box.
Proper scent storage,
application, and cleanup will go a long way in
making sure your fishing
trip doesn’t stink!
