Baits from overheated plastic

[leeapin]

I have some overheated plastic baits. The smell is slight but you can feel it. Can I fish and will I catch? ))

[pjmcla]

A fishes ability to smell is more acute than a bloodhounds.  Petroleum smells, among many others,  are proven to repel fish.
In the old days ( 1980's ) if I overheated a cup of plastic ( for worms ) there appeared to me to be a noticeable difference in strikes; even with strong attractant use.  Gas on your hands was a big no no.  I carried a small bottle of my wife's strawberry smelling shampoo and washed my hands right before "blastoff".   

[leeapin]

Thank you very much!

[andrewlamberson]

I'm not sure if scents make a big difference or not to the fish...but if YOU think the burnt smell has a negative affect...then you will not fish them with confidence and therefore you will not catch as many fish.

[Lamar]

  I'm with Andrew. It's all in the fisherman's head. I use to think they would hold onto to bait a little longer if it had scent on it. Till I watched them feed in a tank. They'll take a live crawdad and pop him in and out a few times till they eat him. They're trying to kill them so they don't get pinched. Scent or no scent it's just how they feed.
  I think if you over heat some plastic just add black and make black plastics.

[Mick]

Scent is one of those things that some people swear by and others dont. I've always thought that it may play a part but at the same time not sure what scents attract fish and what dont for example I know older fisherman ( in their 70's) that swear that WD40 attarcts fish but never smelt bait fish etc that smells like WD40, same for aniseed know plenty of people that swear by it but for the life of me dont know of anything that swims around that smells of aniseed.

I recently got some plastisol here in Australia that stank to high heaven and was very reluctant to use it as I thought maybe the smell might put the fish off but after a couple of months of fishing with the stuff my catch rate hasnt decreased.

 I've also used burnt plastic and still caught fish but one of the biggest things in using any lure is having the confidence that it'll catch fish and if you dont have confidence that it'll work I'd say dont use the stuff.

regards mick

[pjmcla]

Same can be said for garlic. 

[Lamar]

  I will say. My dad when he was alive would chew tobacco and spit on his lures all the time. In due respect he always out fished me. Not to sure what Red Man smells like but years of riding in the back seat and him spitting out the drivers side window sure gives me a good idea. Trust me if a fish could smell that and eat it then they sure don't care about a little overheated plastic.

[ipt]

it depends on how superstitious you are. if you dont think it matters, then turn it into a dark color and use it.

i have no problem using overcooked baits, might not be my preference but i wouldnt shy awake. how over cooked are we talking about? haha