It Makes Perfect Sense!

We, as anglers, are eternal optimists, whether we’re going open water fishing or ice fishing. We always seem to expect an epic “catching” day each time out. Unfortunately, it rarely works out that way. Now when the fish are on the feedbag, you just have to get your lure in front of those fish and they’ll strike. But on the days that they are not aggressive or in a negative mood, then sometimes it pays to appeal to some of their other senses.

Smell & taste can be easily added to any lure or artificial presentation. You can tip your lure with live bait or scent impregnated plastics such as the new HT Ice Scentz. The HT Ice Scentz are available in Mega Waxies, Freshwater Shrimps, Spikes or Fish Candy Capsules. I love tipping a HT Tungsten Marmooska Jig with one of these stinky (to the human nose anyway) scented plastics while presenting a “Donkey Rig” to Lake Simcoe’s famed “Jumbo Perch”!

I would also thread one of the HT Ice Scentz Freshwater shrimp onto the #6 Stringease Zero Twist Shot hook that would be rigged above the HT Tungsten Marmooska Jig. Sometimes they prefer the bait that’s off the bottom and you may even double up occasionally. Using one of these tungsten lures allows me to get my rig back down to those hungry perch as quickly as possible. Tungsten sinkers or lures are typically 40-50% smaller in size than a lead one of equivalent weight.

If you’re using unscented plastics or hard body lures by themselves, you can apply some Liquid Mayhem Fish Attractant to them. Liquid Mayhem is a gel scent that is made out of real bait. Being a gel, it adheres very well to any artificial lure and doesn’t require re-application as often as most other scents. This holds especially true in cold water! Liquid Mayhem is available in 6 different fish catching scents!

Sound is another sense that can help you catch fish on those tough days. The HT Chatter Spoon has a built-in rattle chamber that adds the sound element to your lure. They are available in 1/8 & 1/4 oz. models with an unique holographic finish and 3D eyes. They can also be tipped with a HT Ice Scentz plastic, minnow head, perch eye or other forms of live bait.

You can add the sound factor to other popular spoons like the Jig-A-Whopper Hawger by attaching a rattle to it with fishing glue. The same glass rattles that are commonly used in bass angling work really well but brass or aluminum rattles can be equally effective. Jig-A-Whopper Hawger Spoons can be found in 1/10, 1/8 & 1/4 oz. models and have a different design that gives it a subtle action. Sound can trigger a bite when fish are in a neutral or negative mood. It can also call fish over to your lure if they’re not already nearby.

Give these tips a try and you’ll see that it makes perfect sense to use scent & noise to help you catch more fish!