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Anglers are a conscientious bunch. We change our fishing line religiously, sharpen hooks frequently and make sure that our tackle boxes are crammed full of all the latest gear and gadgets. But how many turn their noses up at the fish attractants that line the tackle store shelves, believing that they are nothing more than a money-grabbing fish gimmick?

Skepticism reigns supreme in the land we call fishing, although the addition of scent to your arsenal can bring about bigger and better fish, and for those tempted enough to try it, the proof is definitely in the pudding. Read on to find out how using BaitCloud can bring about sure-fire success.

The Rules of Attraction

There are many different kinds of fish attractants on the market. From spray bottles to squeeze tubes and jars to jellies and of course, BaitCloud, the Multi-Sensory Fish Attractant, the tackle store shelves are literally soaking with a wide-range of product. It can be mind-boggling to say the least, but before you buy, you need to uncover the reason for using the stuff in the first place.

Losing The Negativity

Although most people believe that the sole use of scent is to attract fish to their lures, the most useful property scent exhibits is the ability to mask negative smells and tastes.

Never really thought of it that way, did you? Well, here's how it works.

Much like the strong, pungent smell of a skunk will find us pinching our noses, the same odor threshold can be said for all species of gamefish. (Mind you, fish may have a hard time detecting a skunk below the water, and they sure haven't adapted to covering their nose with their fins!)

When you think about it, we offer the fish many different reasons not to take a taste test of our lures. We unknowingly toss baits all day long that have come into contact with such fish-negative smells as sun lotion, bug spray, gasoline, cigarettes and worst of all, our own human scent. This can cause a fish to turn up their nose and refuse to bite. Even if you think your hands are clean, L-Serine (a tasteless, odorless chemical found in the skin oils of humans) will always be present on every worm, jig, or crankbait you come into contact with. 

Using BaitCloud, for example, will mask or eliminate these undesirable smells, leaving your bait free from repellents and smelling attractive to any fish that happens upon it.

In this case, it's not so much an attractant as it is a cover-up for scents we unknowingly cast to the depths below.

Help With Holding On 

Studies have shown that fish can spit out a lure in the blink of an eye. If the bait they are trying to ingest feels unnatural, or has a negative taste or odor, the chances of you driving the hooks home is a very low-percentage game. This is where fish attractant really shines.

The use of attractants will make your offering feel and taste alive, convincing a fish to hold on to the bait for a much longer time, ultimately allowing an angler to "feel" the fish first and then set the hook. 

Much of the game of fishing has to do with feeling a fish strike (the subtle mouthing of a jig or the faint pick-up of a jerk worm), which in turn allows us to strike with a hookset. Without sensing the take of your bait, you'll never know that a fish was there.

Fish attractant can "trick" a fish into holding your bait for 5, 10 or even 30 seconds — this can be downright impossible when throwing a lure that hasn't been juiced up.

If you don't believe the validity of this scenario, try this little test the next time you hit the water. Tie two identical jigs on, one smothered with fish scent and the other coated with sunscreen. Find a shallow, clear area of the lake that is holding panfish and take turns casting each of the lures. You'll soon see for yourself how important the addition of a positive scent can be.

The Smelling Game

As you can see from the above examples, the use of fish attractant goes far beyond the notion of actually attracting fish to your bait through the use of smell. This however can very well happen, depending on the fish you are targeting.

For the most part, motion, shape, noise and water displacement are the primary stimuli that cause fish to strike a lure which is why BaitCloud developed a multi-sensory fish attractant. In layman's terms, a fish senses and is attracted to your lure long before smell or taste figures in the picture. Once they get close enough to your bait and commit to striking, taste and smell certainly have an important impact on the final decision.

Fish are a weird bunch. Some have a finely tuned sense of smell, while others seem to have a bad case of sinus congestion. The initial scent of a lure can attract a fish in from a distance, but that all depends on what you are targeting. On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the most sensitive sense of smell) here are some examples of common gamefish:

As you can see, the addition of scent can attract a fish (such as a catfish or carp) to your bait long before they ever see it or sense it's movement. When dealing with pike or muskie, however, scent is only useful when they have already made visual contact and are just about to strike.

Although bass are in the middle of the pack when it comes to olfactory capabilities, keep this little tidbit in mind: the freshwater black bass can sense 1/200th of a drop of a substance in 100 gallons of water! Not bad for a creature that possesses a brain the size of a pea.

The Different Kinds of Fish Attractants

Fish attractant is available in many different varieties. From crayfish to shad and garlic to blood, the combinations are limitless.

When choosing a scent, my logic is to decide the species that you will be targeting, then figuring out their most-sought after prey. For example, when chasing after smallies, I will usually try BaitCloud Bass, a garlic-crayfish scent. Crayfish is a typical forage and although there certainly isn't any garlic growing in the water, for some reason, smallies go bonkers over it.  If largemouth are the intended target, a switch over to a shad scent, BaitCloud Multi Species, can be highly effective. We use natural flavored scents, that are made with real ingredients. Real crayfish or shad parts will be just as convincing as the genuine thing.

My advice is to select a few different varieties and begin to experiment when out on the water. Try to figure out what specie prefers which, while also uncovering the baits they seems to work best with. Once this information is extrapolated, you will undoubtedly see your success rates rise.

Try or Not to Try — That is the Question

Fish attractants are coming into the forefront of the angling world. With the new advances scientists are making, duplicating attractive smells and tastes equals more fish for the angler that chooses to use them.

At BaitCloud, we use biomimicry to trick the fish into believing that their favorite meal is nearby. There is NO food or chum in these balls making them safe to use in lakes and water systems where chumming is illegal. They are made with all natural, biodegradable products and do not contain any plastics!

Take a look at BaitCloud next time you troll the tackle aisles — you'll be more than glad you did!

BaitCloud. Bring the fish to YOU!

In North America, we’re blessed with millions of acres of fishable water. From pristine mountain streams and massive reservoirs, to natural lakes beyond count – there’s almost certain to be a fishable body of water within 10 miles of where you are sitting reading this.

Because of the diversity of available waterways, anglers are blessed with the ability to choose (for the most part) which species we intend to target on any given fishing trip. Seasonal factors can add even more flavour to that choice, as certain species bite better during certain times of the year.

Don’t let all the options overwhelm you!

Here’s a guide to which species bite the best for summertime fishing, and how to catch them.

1. Largemouth Bass

One of the most common and sought-after species in the USA, largemouth bass are the most popular gamefish in the country, and can be found in just about every waterbody from San Diego to the Atlantic Coast. They put up a great fight, and are aggressive enough to keep you setting the hook throughout the day. Excellent summertime largemouth patterns include flipping and pitching to laydowns, cranking or swimming a jig down a grass line, or skipping docks with soft plastics.

2. Smallmouth Bass

Like their green cousins, smallmouth bass are also abundant across the majority of the country, and bite extremely well all summer long. They can be found in streams, rivers, and lakes – and they are one of the hardest fighting fish you can tackle in fresh water. Search for a summertime smallmouth bite by combing rocky shorelines, current seams, and offshore structure with crank baits , football jigs, and spinnerbaits. Smallmouth also destroy topwater baits, and seeing one explode on a walk-the-dog style plug is the highlight of many anglers summer season.

3. Crappie

If you’re looking for the perfect crossroads between abundance, willingness to bite, and taste on the table – look no further than crappie. These frisky fighters have a serious following among anglers across the country. Summertime crappies hang out around deep brush, sunken logs, and laydowns that have good (6-12 feet) depth to them. There are also several lakes nationwide that are top notch places to go crappie fishing for slabs. Good bets for summer crappie are small plastics like tubes and grubs fished on jig heads, tiny crankbaits, and live bait rigs with minnows.

4. Bluegill

Although overlooked by many anglers, more bluegills are caught each year than any other species of freshwater fish. They are super aggressive, can be caught on any presentation imaginable, and they are one of the finest eating fish you can catch. They can also be a “day saver” when you’re fishing for something else and it’s just not working. Don’t be afraid to pull out the ultralight and get your string stretched by these aggressive critters. Bluegills hang around almost any shallow cover they can find, including docks, laydowns, and grass beds.

5. Catfish

Despite their reputation as bottom feeders, catfish are and excellent species to target during the summer months. They are hard fighters, and often bite best during times when other species shut down, like cold fronts or after storms have muddied the water. Channel cats are also excellent on the table, an added bonus for those who like to eat fish. Look for catfish in deep holes on river systems, and relating to creek channels in reservoirs. Set up on them with bottom rigs baited with stink bait or chicken livers – and hold on.

6. White Bass

If you’re just looking to get your string stretched, there’s no species more willing than the white bass. Common across most of the country, white bass roam lakes and river systems in massive schools – looking to chase down anything resembling a baitfish. Once you locate one, it’s common to catch countless others as they whip into a feeding frenzy. The best choices for white bass are anything that looks like a minnow – and can be unhooked quickly so you can catch another one. Topwaters, spinners, and small crankbaits are deadly.

7. Northern Pike

In the upper Midwest and northeast, the northern pike is one of the top predators in many lakes and rivers. Shaped like barracuda, the pike is the perfect ambush predator – hiding in shallow cover waiting to dart out and inhale a passing prey fish. They remain extremely active all summer, and targeting them can be a blast as their aggression is unmatched. Pike are commonly found in shallow, weedy bays, along grass lines, and in backwaters out of current. Try minnow imitators like spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and even swim jigs to entice strikes from nearby pike – don’t lip them though, as they’ve got a mouthful of sharp teeth.

At BaitCloud, we have manufactured a unique fish attractant to attract all of these species. Our multi-sensory fishing attractants dissolve on contact with water, creating bubbles and releasing millions of scent  molecules into the water column, triggering the feeding instinct of the targeted species. Drop. Wait. Fish!

You may have recently discovered just how much fun freshwater fishing can be, or maybe some recent fishing excitement has got you hooked on the sport, but no matter how and where you fish there are some basic fishing tips for beginners that all anglers need to know.

Are you ready to catch more fish while you’re casting, and have a blast while bottom fishing? Of course you are—and keeping these 10 tips in mind will help make it happen. For more fun, try one of our BaitCloud Fish Attractants - as simple as toss, wait, FISH!

1. Fishing Lure Colors

Match your lure color to the water color. You never know exactly what color lures the fish will prefer on any given day so you should always try changing color when you’re not catching, but as a general rule of thumb, start out by choosing lures that match the water’s color.

• In green water, lime or chartreuse is usually a top pick.
• In clear water, reach for white or pearl.
• And in tannic-stained water, root-beer is often going to prove productive.

2. Fishing Lure Shapes & Sizes

Choose lure shapes and sizes that let you “match the hatch.” When predators are feeding on a school of small, thin fish like anchovies, a small, thin spoon that’s the same shape and size as those baitfish will often prove deadly — but a five-inch lure with a wide body may well go untouched.

Profile and length are usually the key features in this regard, because your quarry may well be focused on the shape and size of the prevailing bait and ignore other offerings.

3. The Right Size Fishing Gear

Get fishing gear that’s sized appropriately to the fish you’re pursuing, and don’t try to get one-size-fits-all rods and reels. The 12-pound-class casting reel you love using for bass is simply too heavy for tossing the tiny jigs and spinners that black crappie like to hit, and the four-pound-class ultralight that’s ideal for casting micro-jigs to those crappie can’t handle a big largemouth bass. Middle-of-the-road gear won’t be ideal for either task. Rather than trying to make do, get gear that’s sized for the species you’re targeting.

4. Trolling

If you try trolling (motoring along slowly while you tow lures behind the boat), before deploying the lines hold your lures next to the boat and watch them to be sure they’re swimming in a lifelike manner. If they look lethargic, try speeding up a bit.

Conversely, if they seem spastic pull the throttle back a notch. This will help you set the most effective boat speed, while also ensuring that you don’t accidentally set out a lure that’s fouled, damaged, or not swimming properly.

5. Fishing Line

There are countless types and brands of fishing line on the market, so be careful to choose wisely. 

As a general rule of thumb, remember that braid lines have very high sensitivity and great hook-setting power so they’re ideal for fishing with lures, while monofilament line has less sensitivity and stretches a bit so it’s ideal for when fish are nibbling on baits.

6. Best Time of the Day for Fishing

Fish early, and fish late. Many species of fish bite best right at dawn and dusk, in ambient sunlight. During the mid-day hours cloud cover can make for better fishing, and in direct sunlight (especially during the heat of summer) look for areas with shade. Fish often seek out shade when it’s hot and sunny and become more active during the cool hours of the day, just as you or I might.

7. Sharp Hooks

Always use new hooks and/or sharpen your old hooks. It sounds like simple common sense— because it is—but countless people go fishing every day with old, dull hooks. Will they catch a few fish? Maybe. But there’s no doubt they’d catch a whole lot more if they made sure each and every hook they’re using was as sharp as the day it was made.

8. Reel Drag

Use a scale to set your reel’s drag. The drag allows a fish to take line instead of pulling against it until it breaks, and having it set properly is critical. Truth be told most people just give a tug on the line until it “feels right.” That’s a poor substitute for tying your line to a hand scale and setting the drag to one third of the line’s rated breaking strength, which is generally considered the ideal.

9. Do Your Research

Do your pre-fishing research. Different methods of fishing all have their own subtleties and there are countless tips and tricks specific to one species of fish or method of fishing, as opposed to another. 

10. BaitCloud Fish Attractant

Toss. Catch. Repeat. Our fish attractant balls bring the fish to you. Toss one in the water. Follow the tips above. Catch fish like a pro.