I've been bass fishing now for over
50 years and I've seen a lot of products over the years claim to be fish
attractants. Heck I'll admit I've tried almost all of them from time to
time with mixed results. What I have found is that bass as well as
most fish in general must be Italian. What......yes Italian and why I say
that is most of them love Garlic. A lot of old crusty bass fishermen will
tell you the same thing. However I've been thinking, do they really
love garlic or does the garlic masks the other smells and tastes we put on our
baits that fish don't like. I know for a fact if you put Sun Block
on and don't clean your hands really well then you are going to be in for a
tough day fishing. There are other things like gas, oil and foods that we
get on our hands on our way to the water that just plain turn bass off like a
big switch. Hunters have been trying to mask their smell for thousands of
years and it is about time fishermen learn to do the same thing. Once you
agree that masking our smells is necessary now comes the hard part, picking the
right fish attractant.
Now I have to admit that most of
the Garlic based attractants I've tried have had some level of success.
They range from dips to sprays of all kinds and yes they do cover up the bad
smells we put on our baits and some even cover the bad tastes. The
problem with most of these though is you have to reapply way too often. This
really makes their use not time effective and that especially goes when you are
tournament fishing. Every time you stop to put more attractant on your
bait is time your bait is out of the water. This can add up to a lot of
missed casts during the course of the day and we all know you can't catch fish
with your bait in the boat! So not only do you want a product that
removes your smell and tastes from your baits you want one that will stay on
your bait for a long time. Having to reapply every 5-10 casts is way too
often and will cost you 40-50 lost casts in the course of a day. You need
a product that stays on your bait long enough to be measured in minutes and not
casts. I want my attractant to stay there and be effective for at
least 30 minutes for each application. If it stays there and is working
for at least 30 minutes then I’m not wasting as much valuable time fishing.
The other thing about these so
called "Fish Attractants" is most don't really attract fish.
Like I said I believe some of them do a super job covering up smells and tastes
that might come off your hands onto your baits, but I don't believe they really
attract fish to hit. To attract a fish to your bait they would have to
leave some type of scent trail in the water. Sure there might be some
sort of trail, but how much of a trail could they leave if you have to reapply
them every few casts? Well the way I see it they can't be leaving
much of a trail if they wash off your bait that quickly. Of course some
may be better than others but in conditions where a fish needs to use their
sense of smell to find your bait I have never seen any real difference.
So even though they boast about attracting fish in their advertisements, they
really are only good for covering up bad smells but mostly bad tastes on your
bait.
That was my thinking about all of
these type of products for many years. I had some limited success with
them but never any success that would make me go out and tell other folks about
them. Well that is up until about a two years ago anyway. It was around
September of 2014 that I heard about a new attractant on the market called Liquid
Mayhem. Some of the guys on Twitter that I converse with mentioned this
product and I said what the heck I'll give it a try. Well let me tell you
I am extremely happy that I did. In this past two years I have come to
realize that Liquid Mayhem does everything that all the other so called fish attractants never did! First of all it is produced using all natural scents
that are made from real baits, enhanced with powerful amino acids with no gimmicks
and no artificial chemicals or scents. The Crawfish has real Crawfish in
the scent and the Shad has real Shad in the scent. It is made from what
fish like to eat, and not from stuff made in a test tube in some
lab. In other words folks this stuff is the “Real McCoy” of the
Fish Attractant world. When a fish hits your bait they don't taste what
some guy in a lab thinks a Crawfish tastes like, no the fish actually taste
real Crawfish and that makes an unbelievably huge difference. It will
110% cover up any bad tastes or smells you may get on your bait. Your
bait also doesn’t taste metallic or rubbery to the fish. The fish taste
something they want to eat and will really hold onto your bait. In fact
I've see where it will take you from a fish hitting and spitting your bait to
hits so hard the fish tries to rip your rod out of your hand after it has been
applied.
The other thing
about Liquid Mayhem that sets it apart from all the others is how long it will
stay on your bait. It is a very concentrated jell that is packed with
flavor but that jell holds onto your bait and lasts up to a full 30
minutes. Remember I said an attractant wasn't worth using if you had to
measure its use in casts and not in minutes, well with Liquid Mayhem the
measurement is in minutes and a lot of minutes. That saves you a lot of
time during the course of the day that you are not reapplying attractant.
Saved time equals more casts and more casts equal more chances of catching
fish!! In a tournament if I can get 10, 20 or even 30 more casts in, plus
I'm confident that when a Bass hits it will hold onto my bait, I am one very
happy fisherman. I have been very happy over the course of the past two years
using Liquid Mayhem. I know for a fact it has helped me in both my tournament
and pleasure fishing. I won't leave home without some Liquid Mayhem in my
tackle box. In fact I have started carrying extra tubes because when the
folks I'm fishing with see me tearing up the fish and they aren't catching as
many, I'm a nice guy and share some with them.
There is one other
thing about Liquid Mayhem that I need to point out; Liquid Mayhem is a fish
attractant. Because of the way it is made and how long it stays on your bait,
it does leave a trail in the water. Fishing in clear water I've actually
watched bass cross this scent trail and change directions to find my
bait. I've also been having a lot more success when fishing muddy water
than a lot of folks but seeing this happen in clear water made me realize that
finally there was a product that could truly call itself a "Fish
Attractant. Speaking of muddy water success in a tournament this past
January on a very muddy bayou, I was the only person using Liquid Mayhem and
the only person to weigh in bass. Everyone else were using the same types
of baits and techniques I was using during the tournament, but the big
difference in that muddy water was the Liquid Mayhem. It has helped put
more trophies on my shelf and more cash in my pockets. Liquid Mayhem has
become a very important tool in my tournament fishing arsenal, just as
important as my favorite rod, reel and lures. It is the only fish
attractant product that I've ever had complete faith in helping me catch more
and bigger fish.
As for the type of scents/flavors
offered up they have Shad, Crawfish, Leach, Garlic Minnow and Garlic Crawfish
(aka Crawlic). I have personally used all except the Leach, but I have a
tube of it to try really soon. Currently the Crawlic is my go to for
Jigs, Worms and Creatures with the Shad being my go to for Swim Jigs, Swim
Baits and Spinnerbaits. There are times when the plain Crawfish and
Garlic Minnow seem to work better so I keep tubes of them in the boat as
well. Just like I'm well stock with my favorite baits I want to be well
stocked with Liquid Mayhem. I'm sure by now you all know this, but I do
have to say that Liquid Mayhem is Derek Herring Fishing Approved before ending
this article. I truly believe in this product and recommend that each of
you give it a try!
Until next time Tight Lines and
Take a Kid Fishing!!!
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