Someone recently told me that anise scent is added to fish pellets that hatchery fish eat and this is a/the reason fish like it.

Can anyone confirm this? If so, has anyone ever noticed a catch rate of hatchery:wild while using anise scented baits that differs from the hatchery:wild ratio of fish in front of you.

-AP

I've caught a ton of wild fish using anise. I always heard it was a tactic used by commercial fisherman for years.

Your source may be on to something, as I certainly can't think of any better explanation for why fish might be attracted to anise. But who knows? Maybe some guy who was out of bait one day looked at the stick of licorice he was snacking on, decided to give it a go, and inadvertently started a fishing sensation. After all, dumb luck and hunches are probably how most effective lures were discovered.

To answer your other question, I applied anise to a couple of lures last fall, and I hooked both hatchery (1) and wild (2) coho on them, which would suggest they both either liked the scent or simply liked the lures and weren't offended by the scent.

For what it's worth (probably not much, coming from someone who doesn't use a lot of scents), I have always thought that the reason non-baity scents like garlic and anise work is more due to their particular effectiveness in masking scents that fish don't associate with food (human smells, for example) than their likeness to anything fish eat on a regular basis.

Over the years I've come to the conclusion for myself that they're probably not attracted to anise, but it masks any bad smells that might otherwise be there, and that it really doesn't matter for steelhead either way, hatchery or wild.

Save your money and mess and for salmon season.

Fish on...

Todd

When I started curing my egg's with the anise oil it seemed like to hatchery fish were all over it and the nates not so much.After 10 plus years of using this anise cure it doesn't seem to matter if it's a brat or nate any more it works well for both.How ever I prefere to use the anise egg's more during brat season and sandshrimp more during nate season.Go figure.Good luck,
SZ


P.S. Never have heard of anise oil being in the fish food.

In my limited experience, the need for scent decreases as the number of salmon in the hole or area being fished increases. It seems to be more of a territorial bite when enough fish are around.

As Todd said, I am not sure scent maters as much with steelhead. I hooked and released 8 natives on the coast in one day last winter using unscented jigs and I wasn't particularly careful about what was on my hands while handling the jigs. That day confirmed the hunch I had and that more than one guide believed, that scent for steelhead is far less important than it is for salmon.

So, anise? I've caught plenty of salmon with anise, but also with a host of other scents too, I have wondered if it is the masking quality of the scent that is important and to a lessor degree what the scent actually is.

If we could just get a fish to talk...

No anise in the feed I chuck...

I like to pretend I know what a fish is thinking.

That's what I like.

Noshit...I can't even figure out what the hell I'm thinking most the time.

Fish on...

Todd

I have a complete different take than all the answers above...

It has everything to do with Omega 3's, 6's, etc with scents, I'll say that much.......

But when it comes to steelhead, many will say scent doesn't matter.. I beg to differ. They're just as much a whore as salmon are but steelhead tend to be more active feeders throughout their freshwater life whereas salmon become way more finicky especially as they reach spawning maturity...

Steelhead:
1. Presentation
2. Smell
3. Color

Salmon:
1. Smell
2. Presentation
3. Color

I've had all too many times in my life fishing where a seperate egg cure or scent will turn a steelhead bite back on after you've taken the over achiever's out of the hole... Persistence, patience and lot of wasted time in my life has helped me define those answers...

Keith

I might could side with most of that. There's assuredly a beeg difference between a great can of worms and a so-so version of same.

Tossing hardware after incessant drifts,will also routinely yield more victims and I'm a firm believer in mixin' it up,if I know victims to be present.

I prefer not to scent for Salmonids,but change my tune for Barn Doors.

I have heard they put anise in the pellets too, but can't verify it. In the salt these days anise is definitely in the smell rotation, among a bunch of others, but I have no firm proof that any of them work. I also get kings from the salt on unscented stuff,

fb

What does a Hatchery Fish look like?

Very similar to a Capitol Hill voter. Raised on the government's teet and still swimming around looking for a hand out.

For steelhead, I have actually seen steelhead react to the scent more than once. One time I had one that was circling in and out of an eddy. I finally baited up a jig with some pautzke eggs and shirmp oil and tossed it out there. The big hen came around, circled the bait a couple of times, approached backed of, and then finally just mouthed it. I have no doubt that the smell finally got to her. Another time I came across a bunch of summer runs stacked in a big pool. After a few tosses I doused a jig in shrimp oil and tossed it out. One drifted over and started bitting at the water. You could see him getting more and more excited, but when the jig finally came close he spooked and took of. It was really cool to see him tasting the water.

For springers, scent most certainly seems to be the most important, with fall fish coming in second for the scent factor, third summer runs, fourth winter runs.

I'd wager most Humpy "Fisherman" are Democrats.

I was in and around hatcheries for 30+ years. I never came across a feed formula that contained anise.

I'll take that bet.

Go look at the politics board and humpy threads on game..fishin.com and then tell me if you still think so.

That's a bet you'd take a shiner in...

Fish on...

Todd

I don't buy the cover or masking scent theory. We are talking about critters that recognize various scents in parts per BILLION.