Top Catfish Pro Discusses ‘Bait-Juicing’ Secrets
OutdoorHub 04.24.13
New Scent Trail feeding stimulant rejuvenates even the most bland baits
If there’s a singular concern shared by expert catfish anglers far and wide, it’s the need to keep hooks continually covered with fresh, ‘fragrant’ bait. Misguided notions about stinky stuff aside, catfish love their seafood fresh— as in, buy it right off the boat-fresh.
Where big blues and channel cats are concerned, newly caught fillets o’ fish—skipjack, sucker and shad—never leave the menu. Bloody, oil-oozing baitfish are as tantalizing and tasty to big cats as a juicy grape plucked from the vine. Likewise, the fellow who uses bait that’s releasing rich delicious scent and flavor always outfishes his buddies. Yet the mad catter who settles for stale stuff frequently goes home stymied and skunked.
It’s one reason among many why catfish fans have been so delighted to discover Scent Trail— a potent scent and flavor additive designed to rejuvenate baits and provoke bites. Brewed with that most powerful aquatic attractant, 100-percent natural omega-3 fish oils, as well as amino acids and other intense attractants, Rippin Lips’ next-generation bait-charging solution enhances and extends the effectiveness of all catfish presentations.
Tournament ace John Jamison, fresh off a 2nd place finish at a recent Cabela’s King Kat event, consistently uses Scent Trail to energize his offerings. “Spraying a shot or two of this stuff on my baits before each cast has made a dramatic difference in bites,” says the legendary catman. “It takes a good bait like fresh skipjack and makes it even better. Scent Trail also gives you the confidence of fishing a freshly cut bait, even after its original scent has washed off. A few squirts rejuvenate your bait, replenishing its natural oils. It calls out to any catfish in the neighborhood.”
Jamison adds that while Scent Trail is most easily applied with its spray-bottle applicator, he’s devised a few other tricks that make the elixir even more intoxicating to big cats. “If you’ve ever injected a turkey with those delicious juices and flavorings, you’ve seen how it just oozes out of the meat after it’s cooked.
“I’ll do the same thing with my catfish baits—take a small hypodermic needle and inject its flesh with Scent Trail. This allows the bait to hold and slowly disperse the scent and flavor into the water. Creates a strong scent trail that continues to flow and draw catfish.
“Few fish in freshwater have a more highly developed sense of taste or smell—and Scent Trail gives your baits a major advantage over other potential food items down there.
“If you talk to the best trappers,” says Jamison, “they’ll tell you that the key to attracting and capturing the most elusive furbearers is using a potent, pungent fish oil solution. Mink and catfish each have whiskers for a reason— they both detect and hone in on fish oil like no other aroma on earth. Spraying and soaking all of my catfish baits with Scent Trail has become a regular practice. It’s like setting up the ultimate trap line for big catfish.”
