Can Crappie Smell?

[Slab]

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 Slab Sauce. Unlike most scents, Slab sauce 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.


Glenn noted the fur actually attaches and stays on PICO Lures (www.picolures.com) Bunny Butts for long periods of time once applied. He recommended reapplying every 15 minutes or so. Bunny Butts feature upgraded hook with Mustad black nickel skipjack hooks that won’t bend or break. They are available in several color patterns and come in 1/16-ounce.


“Anglers can fish a Bunny Butt under a bobber or they are great for vertical jigging in cold water or early spring. They replicate a minnow or shad that are moving really slow in cold water so less is more when it comes to imparting action to a lure like Bunny Butts,” said Glenn.



One issue that might hold an angler back from using scent like Slab Sauce on their lures is spilling it on the boat carpet or flooring. Moes found an answer to this happening in his boat. “I have formed a wire loop around the bottle of Slab Sauce that’s wrapped around the handle of the boat’s railing. This keeps the jar outside of the boat and even if it would spill the drops would fall into the lake,” said Moes.

Combining lifelike lures and a fish attractant like Slab Sauce increases the odds of getting strikes from crappie. What angler doesn’t want more bites and catching more fish?


by Brad Wiegmann

[BobC]

Very nice interview and article. I don’t have a boat but really like your idea of getting the scent well away from the boat.
Bob.

[hdhntr]

beauty idea of having that lil jar out over water and for dipping and not wasting a lot of SS and coating it properly. guess those hare or maribou jigs would take it the best and are especially effective in cold water anyway.

[Micanopy]

The STORE here has other things like really nice hats, too. I get comments about my hat all the time. Most notably folks ask why my crappie.com hat smells like garlic. Now that I see you got your’s wired over the side it all makes sense. Time to get me another of those camouflage hats and more sauce, only this time the no garlic style.

[NIMROD]

If it gives you confidence use it no matter what it is or how you fish .

[DockShootinJack]

Interesting read. Slabsauce has always worked for me

[Slab]

Use heavy gauge wire. It works great. The spray is fine too. Just spray down wind and off the side of the boat; and you’ll be good. The stuff works good because it’s sticky, but not so much so when it lands on the boat; especially when it’ sits there for a while. If you wipe it off right away you’re fine though too. But who’s gonna do that when you’re on fish! Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com

[Billbob]

Great read


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

[Mstr Dan]

Thanks for the lesson. It is always good to learn as much as possible about what you are doing.

[SuperDave336]

The Slab Sauce and G-Sauce work!!!! I prefer the little eye dropper bottles which let you precisely apply a drop where needed. The spray is sort of messy I think.