only for catfish

Yea, only for cats.

I smash my flies into the muddy river bottom to remove all strange scents and give it natural smell. I also dip my carp flies in vanilla so the carp suck them up readily. I have to admit the vanilla trick has felt like cheating but they are after all, only carp.

I am new to fly fishing, but the people I know who are teaching me are purists and they would not use any scent attractives.

I am an avid cat man and i use attractants all the time, but that is with baitcasting and spinning tackle.

I would say I would not, even though I am new to fly fishing,

I do lots of different kinds of fishing, including fly fishing. When I fly fish, I am casting to get a hit on the visual presentation. If you are going to scent it up, then you might as well tie on a treble hook with power bait.

I'm just getting ready to start chasing sturgeon on the fly in some Oregon estuaries. And from what I've heard, it's impossible to get one of these guys to take a fly w/out scent. What's your take on that?

It's illegal in flies only areas around here. Will a trout pick up the scent of a dry or wet fly moving downstream with the current and chase it down? Perhaps the fish might hold onto it a bit longer, but not sure it would matter anyway when it is soaked with Ginks or Xinks. Perhaps it helps with streamers. There are some WD-40 fanatics out there.

To me there is no taste or odor from a real bug until you bite into it. You notice the texture more ... actually it is pretty close to the texture of a dry fly ... until it starts moving. What? You've never inhaled a caddis or mayfly? As my dad used to say, "Free protein."

I don't see the need while stream flyfishing. If someone is concerned about human and other odors then just spray down waders, hands, and flies with scent killer, and ditch the Polo and deodorant. Actually, just ditch the Polo and do humans a favor, too.

If you're going to fly fish, then fly fish and do it without any "extras." If you can't catch fish with a fly, then switch methods all together, don't mix them. In Colorado it would be illegal to use scents or the like on waters that are designated "artificial fly and lure only" streams or lakes.

Don't know if it's cheating but it's not fly fishing.

i'm fairly new to fly fishing and never heard of scent on flies. i'd say i'm doing fairly well without it. i do use it on cats but that's all. can a fish really smell a fly it hasn't inhaled or is it just some people giving themselves that false confidence?

Your opinion is backed up by law in Alaska. Scent is prohibited in all areas that are restricted to artificial lures only. Reason? Certain scents are too effective.

Shortly after the original laws were passed that restricted certain Alaska waters to artificial lures only, people started showing up with yarn or cut sponges that were heavily soaked in fresh salmon egg oil. The trout didn't take the gear *quite* as well (or as deeply and consequently as deadly) as with fresh eggs, but nearly so.

There was a debate a while ago on another blog that was discussing the ethics of using WD4D as a fish attractant.
Anyone else hear about WD4D as an attractant?

There have been some fascinating studies done over the last 20 years or so on the effects of L-Serine on fish. For those who do not know L-Serine is an amino acid that humans produce that fish find offensive. Why do they find it offensive? No one knows the fish aren't talking.

The really interesting thing about L-Serine is that some people produce more of it than others and some people are deficient in L-Serine and need to take supplemental vitamins. Maybe someones lack of success could be linked to their production level of L-Serine? Studies have even shown that direct contact with water is enough to drive fish away.

As a fly angler if you want to wash your hands while you fish then fine, but adding scent is contrary to the process of fly fishing. The flytying/fishing process allows you the angler to use tying materials to create a fly that has certain elements that hopefully trigger a strike. If adding scent is an important part to the equation of fishing for you then just get some minnows or worms or sucker minnows or whatever and go bait fish. I have no problem with responsible bait fishing. Just make sure you wash your hands while fishing with bait!?

if you really want to catch a fish that bad then so be it , however the point of fly fishing for most people is the added challenge and the sense of accomplishment after catching a difficult fish. using scent would diminish this feeling , but again if you want to there is nothing wrong with using scent , its just less of an accomplishment which is fine with many people. and anyway who gives a rats ass what other people do as long as its not affecting you. You guys here must be getting desperate for storys if this is what ur sinking to, an irelavant pointless debate about personal opion, really.

I've heard of guys "seeding" a steelhead run with fresh roe then drifting egg flies through it. They do REEAAALL well. You can fool the fish, but you can't fool yourself....you are cheating. Not bell sinker, treble hook dragging cheating, but the deck is stacked. Do what you like (within regs) but if you are using scent then you are "performance enhancing".