It’s a debate that has been raging in the recreational fishing world for years: do scents attract fish? Although the jury is still out, anglers still spend much time trying to figure out the best scent to attract their target fish – all the more so if they are targeting a hard-to-catch fish such as the walleye, one of the most popular freshwater game fish in North America.
Scents that attract walleye include shrimp, eel, leech, nightcrawler, and shad. Anecdotal evidence suggests that walleyes are attracted by scents that naturally occur in their underwater habitat. However, proprietary scents from products like BaitCloud are also excellent walleye attractants.
In the rest of this article, I’ll examine this topic in detail, including the science behind fishing scents, whether and how scents attract walleyes, and the different kinds of scent products available in the market.
The Science Behind Fishing Scents
It’s scientifically proven that fish have an acute sense of smell. An often cited example is how sharks can smell blood a mile away. So, theoretically, applying a touch of blood to our jigs and lures should see sharks making a beeline for them, right?
Fishing scents are based on the same principle. The general idea is to make your jigs and lures smell so good that your target fish cannot resist the urge to go for the bait and keep it in its mouth long enough for you to set the hook and pull in the catch.
The idea makes sense, but the challenge lies in determining what scents attract a particular fish.
Do Scents Attract Walleye?
There’s ample anecdotal evidence on the internet and social media on the efficacy of fishing scents, including walleye attractants. There are countless stories about how a particular scent helped anglers reel in a good catch on a day when many others went fishless.
Many seasoned anglers, although not great believers in fishing scents, recommend using them. Their reasoning? Scents do no harm and may even give you that little extra edge when targeting a fish that’s challenging to catch.
When walleye is the fish you’re targeting, you need all the little extra edges you can get. Targeting walleye can be challenging, which is why the zombie-eyed fish inspires hundreds of thousands of warm-water and ice-fishing enthusiasts to load their gear and head to lakes, rivers, and reservoirs in the Great Lakes region every year.
So do scents help to attract walleye? “Yes” is the answer you will get from most walleye enthusiasts, although it may come with several caveats. Hardly anyone will give you a definite “no.”
How Scents Attract Walleye
Scents can make a big difference when targeting walleyes, especially in low-visibility cold-weather conditions. Scents work in two ways: they attract walleyes with a smell they love and mask odors repugnant to the fish.
Attracting Walleye With a Pleasant Scent
Walleyes are bottom feeders and are often found at depths of 20 feet to 30 feet below the water surface.
They are sensitive to light and can see very well in low-light conditions. For this reason, they often come to the shallows only before dawn or after dusk and in choppy weather.
Getting your jig or lure directly in front of a walleye can be challenging, and a pleasing scent may be just what’s needed to draw in the fish.
Apart from an acute sense of smell, the walleye has a powerful sense of taste. There are taste buds on its lips and face, enabling the fish to taste the bait even before biting it. Again, a good scent can make the bait more palatable so that the walleye will keep it in its mouth long enough for you to set the hook.
Attracting Walleye by Masking Repugnant Odors
With its keen senses of smell and taste, the walleye is unlikely to bite anything with a repelling smell. Even if it does bite, it will spit it out immediately.
Odors that repel walleyes, as well as other fish, are mostly related to humans, such as the smell of:
- Tobacco
- Sunscreen lotion
- Insect repellent
- Certain medications
- Grease
- Gasoline
Scents help to mask these odors and attract the fish.
The Different Kinds of Fishing Scents
Drop in at your local tackle shop, and you will find plenty of scents promising to attract different kinds of fish. Some are made with natural ingredients, while others are partly or fully synthetic.
Natural Oil-Based Scents Come From Plants or Fish
Natural oils from plants or fish like anise, garlic, cod liver oil, shrimp oil, and tuna oil have been used for years as fishing scents. Fishermen used them mainly to mask human-related smells on their fishing gear.
These oils are used commonly with live bait, a popular option for walleye fishing. However, do note that live baits are banned in some states.
Another way these oils are used is to mix or cure with tuna or other diced fish meat. Place a small amount of the fish in a container or ziplock bag and add your desired scent the day before. You can then add the meat mixture by wrapping your lure or stuffing it, if possible.
Synthetic Scent Products May Contain Natural Oils
Many fishing scents were created in the lab, with oils like anise or olive oil forming the base. They are available in bottles or as a super gel or glue stick. You can also buy soft plastic baits and lures infused with a natural or synthetic scent.
For walleye fishing, a scented soft plastic bait I recommend is the Berkley Gulp! Extruded Nightcrawler from Amazon.com. The bait is biodegradable, looks and feels like a live nightcrawler, and spreads a fish-attracting scent over a wide area.
Innovative Scent Products Include BaitCloud
An innovative fish attractant made from natural ingredients is BaitCloud, which comes in the form of small balls (1.6 inches or 40.64 mm in diameter) that you toss into the water or your ice fishing hole.
As it sinks to the bottom, the ball dissolves, releasing a proprietary scent, bubbles, and visual attractants to draw in the fish. Rig your rod, cast it into the area, and wait for the fish to come and bite.
There’s a highly effective BaitCloud Walleye Formula, which you can order from Amazon.com. This one comes in many different colors and has a built-in hole to make hooking super easy.
Another relatively new development is the creation of scents from real bait fish and other creatures that game fish routinely feed on. These scents mimic the smell and taste of the fish’s natural feed and are becoming increasingly popular among anglers.
If you want to try this out, I recommend the Pro-Cure Trophy Walleye Super Gel from Amazon.com. The label says it’s “made from everything a big walleye eats,” including bait fish, nightcrawlers, and ribbon leeches. Amino acids and bite stimulants are also in the mix.
The only downside of the Pro-Cure Super Gels is they are difficult to remove from your lures. There are a number of ways to clean your lures, I start with WD-40 immediately after fishing.
Final Thoughts
There are many scents and attractants specially designed to attract walleyes. When setting out on a fishing trip with walleye as your target, it’s advisable to include a scent in your tackle box whether you believe in the power of fishing scents or not.
If the elements conspire to keep walleyes in the depths far away from you, the scent could be your only hope of drawing them out and making it a “fish-full” day.
