Favorite custom drop shot bait arrived in packs without the usual anise scent. Looking for anise or other scent (non-garlic) to store them in for as longs the packs take to use......potentially a couple years without issues. What do you recommend?

Buy a bag of these and add your baits to it.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Geecrack_Bellows_Gill_Swimmer/descpage-GBGSW.html

That's a great idea. Love the geecrack scent and nice big bag. Thanks for the recommendation.

Buy 100% pure* anise oil and glycerin. Add a few drops of anise oil and a teaspoon of glycerin in the original plastic bags and your soft plastics can be stored fore decades.

Tom

* pure no alcohol.

Thanks for the knowledge Tom. I'll probably try it out!

What does a bass naturally eat with the scent of anise? Makes you wonder why anything other than a natural bait scent would attract and hold a bass. No doubt it works. Darned bass are mysterious!

Fifty years ago, I used to soak my worms in anise oil.  Some anglers kept dipping pots full of the stuff in their boats (messy).  I haven't used anise in a long time, so I suspect it didn't help or hurt.  We thought it did, so there was a benefit.  When Mann's Jelly Worms came out, we stopped using it.  When Zoom salt impregnated worms hit the market, we threw away the Jelly worms.  The thinking was you needed something to mask human scent.  Some sunscreens were suppose to have fish repelling properties.  What I believe it does is make the bait shiny.  It also lubricates the bait, which makes it penetrate cover better.  I use Bang fish attractant which does the same.  Anise smells a lot better than Bang.   ?

Baitmate (clear) with a ½ oz of 100% pure anise oil.

22 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

Fifty years ago, I used to soak my worms in anise oil.  Some anglers kept dipping pots full of the stuff in their boats (messy).  I haven't used anise in a long time, so I suspect it didn't help or hurt.  We thought it did, so there was a benefit.  When Mann's Jelly Worms came out, we stopped using it.  When Zoom salt impregnated worms hit the market, we threw away the Jelly worms.  The thinking was you needed something to mask human scent.  Some sunscreens were suppose to have fish repelling properties.  What I believe it does is make the bait shiny.  It also lubricates the bait, which makes it penetrate cover better.  I use Bang fish attractant which does the same.  Anise smells a lot better than Bang.   ?

Agreed. Obviously not near as much experience at you. Need to cover the synthetic smell of my favorite custom drop shot bait that's usually lubed in anise and I've associated part of the confidence in addition to the neutral buoyancy, profile and colors; all may or may not matter. Thanks for the story captain Phil. Love hearing it. I keep a bottle of Bang garlic and Bang em in those lack of fishermen etiquette situations.

1 hour ago, Captain Phil said:

When Zoom salt impregnated worms hit the market, we threw away the Jelly worms.

You’ll get my Jelly Worms when you pry them from my slimy, fish-stankin’ dead hands! ?

13 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

You’ll get my Jelly Worms when you pry them from my slimy, fish-stankin’ dead hands! ?

 

When Jelly worms hit the market, they were all the rage. Many many tournaments have been won on those worms. Tom Mann made a fortune off them.  He also founded Hummingbird.

15 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

What does a bass naturally eat with the scent of anise? Makes you wonder why anything other than a natural bait scent would attract and hold a bass.

I really struggle to wrap my head around the garlic scents. Why on earth garlic would be a pleasant or attractive scent/taste to a bass is far beyond me. 

1 hour ago, Captain Phil said:

 

When Jelly worms hit the market, they were all the rage. Many many tournaments have been won on those worms. Tom Mann made a fortune off them.  He also founded Hummingbird.

I still use them frequently. It’s still a great plastic worm. Not bad for a lure that came out in 1956! 

2 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

I really struggle to wrap my head around the garlic scents. Why on earth garlic would be a pleasant or attractive scent/taste to a bass is far beyond me. 

*Immigrant bass brought in from Italy (lol !) ... All kidding aside , I have no idea - but it works for me and because I have found it to work - my confidence improves as I believe I will get bit more when applying BANG garlic or Kick'n Bass garlic scents to soft plastics . 

10 minutes ago, ChrisD46 said:

*Immigrant bass brought in from Italy (lol !)

That what I always joke to myself as well ? “they must be fishing for Italian bass!” 

Dr. Keith Jones, Berkley Fishing, has scientifically proven the bass can’t detect and don’t react to either anise oil or garlic scent.

It’s good that the I bass catch can’t read?

Tom

4 hours ago, WRB said:

Dr. Keith Jones, Berkley Fishing, has scientifically proven the bass can’t detect and don’t react to either anise oil or garlic scent.

It’s good that the I bass catch can’t read?

Tom

 

My bass must be illiterate also. ☺️

 

 

I recently drop fuel bait inside my soft plastics. I am not really fan of anis for the bass.

18 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

I really struggle to wrap my head around the garlic scents. Why on earth garlic would be a pleasant or attractive scent/taste to a bass is far beyond me. 

I always thought that too about garlic, anise and just about every other scent/flavor out there. 
 

Then I thought if I am traveling in some foreign country and start smelling the aroma of food wafting through the air, even though I am not familiar with that cuisine, I still might find it pleasant enough and curious enough about it to check it out (hence the attraction). 
 

Or you see food you’ve never ever seen let alone taste, and gosh darnet, it looks good and it catches not only your attention but something about seeing it attracted you toward it with the intent to at least try it. 
 

Admittedly, there are probably better analogies out there but pondering this many winters ago, I derived this analogy and conclusion. The fish likely do not have to know it to go after it. If what is presented as a potential meal, they’re in, lol. 

15 hours ago, WRB said:

Dr. Keith Jones, Berkley Fishing, has scientifically proven the bass can’t detect and don’t react to either anise oil or garlic scent.

It’s good that the I bass catch can’t read?

Tom

*Either the BANG garlic scent contains other enzymes that attract bass or the garlic scent simply inspires confidence in the fisherman - which leads to greater success . 

3 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

*Either the BANG garlic scent contains other enzymes that attract bass or the garlic scent simply inspires confidence in the fisherman - which leads to greater success . 

 

Many years ago I read an article in one of the fishing mags about scent. They interviewed a person who developed scents and he said they added scents we humans could smell to give us a reason to buy. He added that the scents that attract bass and other fish either have no odor or cannot be smelled by humans. Without the added smell we would not buy believing there was no attractant in the bottle. They hooked me. 

Personally I don’t add scent to plastics.  They smell nasty enough when they come out of the mold but the fish don’t seem to care and I don’t have some oily gunk to wipe on my pant legs.

Kick'n Bass has some pretty potent scents and anise/shad is one of my favorite. It last the longest when it's applied to a bait and has time to dry a little. I'd give that a shot. 

I use "worm juice" for two purposes first as a lubricant because I fish in grass a lot and the "worm juice" helps my plastic baits slide through easier.

 

The second is to mast any odor my plastics may have picked up. 

Want to bring this topic back up. My 10year old son is finishing his lure project and we have tried "exotic lure scents" to stand out....but they all stiffin the plastic and seem to add a plastic smell to the package after a week. Like its litterly melting the plastic. I think these are meant for real time use and not to have your plastic sitting in for weeks / months.  So should the way to go be just 100% anise oil mixed with glycerin?  Trying to wrap this project up by next weekend. Don't want him to hand 30 of his friends a bag of stiff lures poorly scented lures.  Thanks in advance.