[Guest]

BigTex and I discussed if salt is a scent or not. I say that it is not a scent. BigTex says that it is a scent.

I e-mailed Jim about this, cause I know that he will have great information, but what do you all think about this? Is salt a scent?

Also, do the scents that are on the market have ANY salt additives added to them?

 

[Ouachita]

Salt is mostly added to improve sinking rate, speeding it up. They use NaCl, regular rock salt, which has no scent. However, bass like salt's taste, holding onto a bait longer.

Jim

 

[Guest]

Thank you kindly sir. I appreciate the information.

 

[Guest]

"Salt is mostly added to improve sinking rate, speeding it up." Salt is an additive in a lot of scents, spray or dip. I thought a basses sence of smell and taste were somewhat combined???? Is this not true??

 

[Mike McKay]

well im not a bass so i dont know if they can smell it or not.. maybe they can, maybe not... but hey, it works - and then your fishing for thousands and thousands of dollars.. or more importantly pride with your freinds, ill LOAD that thing with salt

IM not the one eating it, why do i care??

 

[Guest]

Now Mike.........you should care about the bass' cholesterol. High salt can lead to higher blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart attacks! ;D You should care more! ;D

 

[Mike McKay]

i hear my livewell is a good cure for things like that, so ill help them out

 

[Ouachita]

Huh! Maybe the salt does raise their blood pressure > Make em madder?

Bass have an excellent sense of taste, no doubt the last sense they use to decide whether to keep a bite or not. They have an acute sense of smell, and have inner ears like out, just no outer ear. We can appeal to all or any senses in any combination. I always try to appeal to all sense in cold muddy water and at night. But hey are mostly sight feeders, so getting the visual right in well lit water is vital.

Jim

 

[Marc]

I agree with Ouachita that salt appeals to a bass' taste, rather than sense of smell. One thought is that blood is comprised of salts and the salt taste therefor is somewhat naturally appealling to most animals, bass included. I never had a bass tell me this was true, but they sure don't like to spit out a Yamamoto Senko when they eat one, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

ciao,
Marc

 

[Bass1]

I agree with Jim!

 

[oldschool]

Sea salt and amino acid and blood have similar crystalline structure, odor and taste which help to trigger strikes from bass. Salt isn't a scent that will mask stronger odors, but it will give off a positive odor as it dissolves in water.
I would say salt isn't a strong attractant, but it could be called a scent in regards to bass fishing. Pork rind is salt brine cured and some soft plastics are salt brine injected, which helps float both pork and plastic. Salt crystals are heavy and will add weight to soft plastics.
Just a few thoughts to consider.
Tom

 

[irDominic]

I believe oldschool said it very well. If we smell our salt shaker we might not smell much or anything at all other than that natural earth smell. But putting salt in water is a different story. I can boil water w/salt and I can smell the salt in the vapors. It does give off something in water. I bet a bass can smell that difference. Although, would it in a way taste too? I would say it has a smell as a complete unscientific guess.

 

[oldschool]

Traditional scent or attractants use oil to create a scent trail in the water. Dissolved salt dissipates quickly in water and doesn't leave the traditional scent trail. However I believe the bass can detect the smell of salt when very close before they taste it after biting the soft plastic or pork. The bass taste the salt when it's in their mouth and the combined positive feedbacks, plus the live action, that can cause the bass to continue to eat the lure.
Roboworms uses injected salt brine in their worms so they float better and give off salt taste. Grains of solid salt are heavy and cause the worms or Senko's to sink.
Catfish have barbels that are used primarily for scent detection, however also have taste buds. Catfish have several scent and taste senses in addition to barbels and rely primarily on those inputs. whereas bass use all their senses; sight, sound, vibration, taste and smell.
Tom