Rat Man
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Spring is almost upon us and the lakes are waking up. This is a good time to revamp this thread. I'd like to discuss fish attractants. Do fish attractants like Berkely Strike really work? Yes, absolutely, but possibly not for the reason you think. Companies like Berkley and many others do a lot of research and experimentation trying to come up with the best fish attractant formula. They are very popular and many fishermen, myself included, use them. That said, there is a debate as to whether or not such a thing as a fish attractant actually exists. Some claim that fish attractants don't really attract fish. All they do is mask odors like tobacco, rust, human scent, or whatever. Here's the good news; it doesn't matter whether fish attractants really attract fish or just mask unwanted odors. It makes no difference whatsoever because in either case the result is the same... you catch more fish using them. My very favorite is Baitmate. It works as well as anything I've ever tried and it's reasonably priced. It has a licorice scent. Many lures come impregnated with fish attractant, salt, coffee, etc., etc. Do these lures work? Yes, yes, and yes. Absolutely. One of my all time favorites is the Mann's Jelly Worm. They come in fruit flavors like grape, blackberry, and cherry. The biggest Largemouth I ever caught in my life was on a grape Jelly Worm. Jelly Worms have been around since I was a kid and probably even before that. Fish them just like you would any plastic worm. After a while the scent wears off and they aren't quite as effective but they'll still work. Try them rigged Texas style and you'll thank me for the tip. While we're on the subject of smelly baits I'd like to mention pork rinds. Uncle Josh I guess is the most popular pork rind bait. They come in little jars of smelly pork brine. They're available in many shapes and sizes. Some are cut into strips like Bass or Striper Strips. Some are cut into chunky frog imitations. The strips can be used as trailers on spoons and spinners. The pork frogs are generally used on skirted bass jigs. (pig and jig) They are extremely tough so unless it falls off your hook you can use the same one all day. When finished fishing you can put it back in its jar and use it again later. Pork rind baits are extremely effective, so much so that most major Bass tournaments ban their use. I love them.
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