Can crappie smell? The answer is yes. Crappie can smell, but does it make a difference in the number of crappie that are going to bite your lure?
Crappie can smell by passing water into the forward opening allowing it to flow past a crappie’s sensory cells than exits out through the back opening. These 4 nostrils are two nostrils in and two nostrils out. As the water passes through the nostril crappie sniff to investigate for possible mates, avoid predators or smell for food.
The majority of artificial lures for crappie fishing typically don’t have scent infused into them. Anglers add scent to cover up or incite crappie to bite an artificial lure normally made from plastic, tinsel, feathers, hair or other materials.
Scents are available in numerous flavors from garlic, shad or minnows. Some also include holographic glitter. Scents come in a liquid or solid form, but all have to be applied or hooked on to the lure’s hook. None of the scents are for human consumption.
One of the most popular scents in crappie fishing is SlabSauce. Unlike most scents, SlabSauce is oil based.
“It’s taken a number of years of testing to develop the perfect formula to attract crappie and get it to adhere to a soft plastic lure or hard body lure,” said Ed Moes creator and founder of Slab Sauce www.slabsauce.com and www.crappie.com website. Moes ended up with an oil based secret formula and currently offers it in original or garlic formula.
“Slab Sauce holds on longer to a lure plus leaves a scent trail to incite crappie to strike the lure. Two of my favorite lures to apply Slab Sauce to are PICO Lures Bunny Butts and Skipper Jigs. Both of these jigs are perfect for applying Slab Sauce to and hold the oil based scent for a long, long time,” said Moes.
“PICO Lures Bunny Butts are hot sellers during the winter months. A Bunny Butt excels because its rabbit hare fur makes it look alive with little or no action imparted by the angler. In fact, Bunny Butts work best when the angler just holds the jig still. However, Bunny Butts will catch even more crappie if you apply Slab Sauce to the jighead’s fur,” said PICO Lures owner Mitch Glenn.
