Are Snook Attracted To Scent? (Shocking Lure Experiment Results)
- By: Luke Simonds
- on November 22, 2019
Us anglers are always looking for an advantage over the fish…
Whether that’s by spending hundreds of dollars on a quieter trolling motor, using thin diameter braided line to cast farther, or putting scent on our lures to attract more fish, we’re all looking to increase our odds of getting tight lines.
But this begs the question…
What works and what doesn’t?
In this video, we’re going to dive into whether or not scent works, especially if you’re targeting snook.
This is day two of the Kishel’s fish scent experiment and the results shocked me.
Want to see what happened?
Watch the video below.
Are Snook Attracted To Scent? [VIDEO]
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That was not what I was expecting!
Here are the results:
Non-scented lure:
- 6 or 7 snook
- 0 redfish
Scented lure:
- 0 snook
- 1 redfish
Day one of the experiment was a little more balanced… you can see the results from day one here.
And the lure I’ve been using for this experiment series is the Slam Shady, which you can get here (Insiders only).
Now no matter if I’m fishing with scented lures, non-scented lures, or live bait, six or seven snook and a redfish in an hour and twenty minutes is pretty awesome, especially considering I had never been to these spots before.
Would you like to have those kinds of days on the water?
Here are the two main things I was looking for:
- Mullet
- Points
If I saw mullet jumping around points, I figured there was a pretty good chance I’d catch fish there, and that’s exactly what happened.
Also, it’s important to note that I kept it simple as far as lures go.
Obviously, this was a lure experiment, so I switched setups every three casts, but by staying with the one type of lure, I was able to focus on what really matters: finding fish.
And here’s one final note about the trip…
Don’t make the same mistakes I did:
- Don’t reel and cast the fg knot through the guides (this was the first time this has ever happened to me with this knot)
- Always bring your tackle box fishing (or at least bring more than one or two lures, unlike I did)
Conclusion
This was an awesome fishing trip with Otis, the great equalizer.
I caught lots of snook and redfish, but what surprised me was that all of the snook were caught on the non-scented lure.
So now I’m wondering… are snook not attracted to scent? Do they not like Kishel’s fish scent? Or was this just random chance?
This was day two of the experiment, you can watch day one here, and day three will be coming soon.
I’ll also be doing more experiments with different scents in the future, so keep an eye out for those.
Are these results what you expected?
Have you used Kishel’s fish scent before?
What did you think?
Let me know in the comments below!
And if you know someone who needs to see this video, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Hello
My personnal observation is that roamers rely more on « scent » than ambush predators.
I never thought about it but it makes some sense that reds will follow scent better with their nostrils and being bottom “diggers”. It was quite surprising that snook seemed to have had no preference. Interesting.
As for the knot failing, this is worth making clear to everyone as I have had this happen to me a couple of times. In my case, it was due to 1.) casting with much too much force with a new high-performance rod; and 2.) reeling the know inside the guide at the tip. Learned my lesson after losing a couple of good lures.
This video almost looks like one I saw before? But anyways I dont know about bushels fish scent in fact I have never even heard of it but procure I use every time and have found that I have been fishing before without any action or some short strikers and as soon as I added a little more procure they seemed to hit it harder and hold on to it longer but you have to remember a lot of it is confidence like you talk about the slam shady zman I have found that that lure doesn’t work for me nearly as much as my new go to the new live target slow roll shiner it’s got eyes like a baitfish it’s more lifelike then any other paddletail I have ever used not quite as tough as the zman slam shady but all lures and fishing as well is not perfect because we as men and not god are doing it and only the Lord is perfect so everything we do is going to have some flaws but back to scents procure to me is awesome in a couple ways it lasts longer then most scents gulp scent is good but it washes off after only a few casts not procure it lasts for probably I would say at least 30 to 40 casts plus it’s like a gell so it’s sticks to your lure better and a guide sized bottle is about 20 bucks but 1 bottle lasts for a few years!!! Thats pretty cheap i would say and its available in any good tackle store i have a lot of there scents i have mullet that i use during the spring and fall mullet run the inshore for most applications the shrimp for my plastic shrimp baits the flounder pounder for well the obvious and blue crab for crab baits as well but like i said a few times before its what you have confidence in and what works for you besides why not use it if fish have scent glands then isnt it obvious that scent would attract them? I would think so and believe it does whatever I can do to be up on my game so to speak I do it thanks for the info and all you do????
“My man Otis the equalizer!” I love the videos you take him out with you. ????????????
Great test! I think I mentioned after the first test of Kishel’s scent that I know Kevin well. I won’t tell him his scent is #2 after the second test. The question I have is about when did you run this test. I have fished the East Wall with pretty good success up to last week, however I have heard that up where you were fishing there is a red tide and the fishing is nonexistent. One guy was telling me that there are a lot of dead fish. Have you heard the same?
Nice comparison on the scent experiment. I have done this as well, only using soft plastic vs a scented bait ( Gulp). I prefer the gulp or at least a small piece of gulp on a Pompano Jig vs plain jig. I get much better results. I fish a small scented piece on a jig and my skillful partner fishes plain soft plastic or plain pompano jig … I usually out-fish him for sure. Works on Reds, Snook, Pompano and Blues. Have not tried the spray on or dip scents… yet.
Hi Captain. Please explain “small piece of gulp”, “small scented piece”. You chop off pieces from partially chewed gulp? I never actually thought of cutting them up.
John: I cut up Gulp occasionally to catch whiting in the surf or other baitfish. Luke made a video a while back where he mentioned this was a good trick for kids to have fun and get live bait at the same time.
In addition, I’ve done a similar tactic to Captain Dave when we tip our snapper jigs with dead squid.
Thanks for making time to leave the helpful comment!
I always wondered if coating the fg knot with crazy glue or some lacquer. That should help with the guide problem, no?
Glue could be helpful, but just make sure it’s not a glue that leaves a hardened shell because it could leave sharp edges in the knot as the knot contracts when put under a heavy load.
I personally prefer to not worry with it because this is the first time I’ve had this issue happen after over 4.5 years of using the FG knot.
I’m a plug caster and don’t use scents. I catch many more snook than redfish. Snook anatomy lends itself to vision “ big eyes” and vibration “ lateral line” . Redfish have smaller eyes and seem to be more scent oriented. There are exceptions the old timers, and I’m 64, would tell me the best way to catch XL snook was with a crushed mullet head on the bottom. I like to stay active while I fish and watching a cork or waiting while a fish finds my chunk bait is not appealing to me. Always enjoy your videos . I have switched to a six turn surgeon knot , line to leader, and loop knot to plug from uni knots due to you advise not proficient at FG knot. Have castoff some of my favorite lures. Old fisherman can learn new tricks.
Being technologically challenged I fail to my picture when I post am I doing something wrong?
Amen, brother. Not a bait fisherman, like to travel light and lures allow that. I’ve had many guys come up to me on the beach and comment on my one surf bag over my shoulder. When wading the flats I ditch the bag and wear the fishing shirts with the large pockets to store my minimal gear. I fan-cast, then move. Keep doing that lil I find a bite. It’s like hunting instead of waiting for a fish to find you. Way more fun and satisfying.
One pole , one plug, gripper and a hook out . Going minimalist.
Thanks for making time to leave the helpful comment Sam!
cI believe that scent does work, but the challenge finding the right scent. one day it would be a scrimp scent, the next day anise, the next day a minnow scent, so I don’t believe that what you were using doesn’t work, it may have just been the wrong day for that sent.
Thanks for making time to leave the helpful comment Thomas!
Luke,
How close to the mangroves are you casting typically?
As close as I possibly can without getting stuck too often… especially when Otis is on the boat because it’s an extra pain to get lures out of the trees with Otis on the boat as seen in this funny video: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/fishing-fail-lure-stuck-in-mangroves/
Too funny.