Originally Posted by
Spoonminnow
Maybe a better phrase would be: lures irritate the senses kinda like the instant irritation of a small ant unexpectedly crawling up my leg causing me to swat at it blinding. I look at it not from the need to feed as much as the need to stop that (i.e. lures) which don't belong in their space. A flashing blade with its strobe-like flashes does get attacked, but not because fish thinks: hors d oeuvre, YUM!.
As far as smell is concerned, air born odors are carried by breezes and air currents very fast especially in small spaces; not so sure how fast scent disperses in a water medium to fish even a foot away and especially if the lure is stationary for a minute. (I'm lucky to have my lure near a fish for even 15 sec. before casting it again.) As far as a fish striking a scented lure on the move, was it the scent or a simple reaction to something that moved the right way and at the right speed that caused fish to take interest and then strike? I'm for the latter explaination though, whatever floats your boat my friend.