Scent

[Priority1]

The flash will definitely draw them in, and maybe they hit it, or just look it over. I do think scent is a big factor. I know a lot of the West Coasters will tie herring to the back of Quikfish, (a LJ large flatfish like lure). Some say just having one meat rig in a spread will up the percentages. Fish are not all that different from us, when it come to feeding. If you walk down the midway at an expo or fair, the smell of french fries, cinnamon pecans, and other goodies, is what seals the deal.

[1mainiac]

I tend to agree Frank the last couple years I always ran a meat rig in nearly every spread and my fish per trip rate was much better. I talked to a friend who is a charter captain on lake O who was one of the primary field testers for Rhys Davis. He told me he no longer ran the cut bait anymore that it was too costly and no more effective than flasher fly combos. He gave me several pointers on how to improve my fly setup and they worked. I ran the boat Herring impaired all season and did ok had a couple bad days and a few great days and the boat smelled better than last season. I did actually break out some Herring on a few bad trips and it did not seem to change much and did not catch a single fish on meat this year. But will point out I almost never ran it probably under 4 hours of trolling time out of over 200 hours of trolling this summer. Versus having meat running nearly all the time last year and the 200 bucks or so I saved on strips got spent on other things anyhow like the extra cost of gas. I tried several spray scents on my fly program and most of them worked so maybe dropping the Herring is less of a factor than the major change I made due to high fuel cost. Since I live close to the lake it was easier for me to try and only fish peak times so I would make a plan for the morn and go fish it but if it worked or not I generally pulled lines and headed in when I completed the plan. Most of my trips were under 3 hours start to finish and I ended with a less than 5% skunk rate. I know several guys who fished less then me and got skunked more times so that is not all that bad. So other than the Tournaments and a couple other times I stuck with the program all year. On the days I pounded the fish I never ran any scent program even in past years I never ran meat during peak fishing it has always been a go to when the bite slowed and in daylight to try and bring in a few more fish. Since I did not fish this scenario much this summer I am not the best judge however I really think in years past it was a big help to have meat rigs going. If gas prices next year are like they were this year my program will take even more reductions unless I win the lottery.

[2UNREEL]

I am not a salmon biologist or anything but I belive their sense of smell is not there best sense. I could be wrong....I think in a case of pond or ice fishing when you have a fish that has time to sniff and sample it may be better. In a trolling situation your target senario is sight, and sounds for that aggresive bite. But I think that if you do use a meat rig that it could have its day and as long as its a smell they like that it couldnt hurt the spread.

[joelsanders]

i saw on tv a guy in alaska,fishing in the river said salmon like anise oil like we used to put on our rubber worms for bass