02-11-2010, 01:51 PM
[quote fishguru73]I'm certain you're right on the money about the best ways to preserve redsides and such. I've never really considered preserving minnows since I moved here because, with all the regulations, I prefer safe alternatives that don't require extra effort. In Oklahoma we went to places we could net enough shad in a throw net to keep us in trot line bait through summer and fall. If I wanted, I could get dozens of live shiners, rosies, or black shiners for a few bucks. They were awesome for night fishing in muddy water when the fish were homing in with their lateral lines with limited visibility. I prefer artificial and fly fishing because I like staying busy and covering the water as much as possible but there are many times when fresh bait is the better option. I have tried some of the preserved minnows in scented and salted variations a few times to see if I could get to the lake faster without having to make a pit stop and wasn't impressed with the results. It could be that anything that you can present dead here that resembles the bottom of the food chain is likely to work when live bait isn't constantly available on a hook. Your innovation is certainly useful and I appreciate the great advice as always.[
] I think I might try some TD technique with dead bait this year and see if that will get the bite when the fishing is tough. The extra effort might pay off. Though, thank God for mealies, waxies, night crawlers, and white bass and perch chunks. Do you think that scenting minnows with stuff like kool-aid, anise oil, etc. tends to work better for certain fish or is it fishing lore in your experience?[/quote]
Honestly, I've done a lot of reading on scents and many swear they attract fish.... Sometimes it can be sell gimic to attract fisherman and not fish....After I hit the lottery I'm going to buy a big aquarium and do research on my own to determine whether color and scent attracts fish....
What I have found through my years of experience is Vanilla seems to attract carp when put into dough balls or wheatie balls... Red food dye placed into cut bait, shrimp or beef will attract catfish during the day.... For bass, I've used crawdad attractants, garlic, crawlers, banana and just about everything else on the market.... Do they work, what I've noticed they don't help me catch anymore fish than without it... I not going to say it dosen't work, maybe it was the time I went fishing....Only way to get accurate results would be able to do scientific testing yourself and I know that is almost impossible....
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] I think I might try some TD technique with dead bait this year and see if that will get the bite when the fishing is tough. The extra effort might pay off. Though, thank God for mealies, waxies, night crawlers, and white bass and perch chunks. Do you think that scenting minnows with stuff like kool-aid, anise oil, etc. tends to work better for certain fish or is it fishing lore in your experience?[/quote]Honestly, I've done a lot of reading on scents and many swear they attract fish.... Sometimes it can be sell gimic to attract fisherman and not fish....After I hit the lottery I'm going to buy a big aquarium and do research on my own to determine whether color and scent attracts fish....
What I have found through my years of experience is Vanilla seems to attract carp when put into dough balls or wheatie balls... Red food dye placed into cut bait, shrimp or beef will attract catfish during the day.... For bass, I've used crawdad attractants, garlic, crawlers, banana and just about everything else on the market.... Do they work, what I've noticed they don't help me catch anymore fish than without it... I not going to say it dosen't work, maybe it was the time I went fishing....Only way to get accurate results would be able to do scientific testing yourself and I know that is almost impossible....
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