Does that make scents? by Peter Jung

I have recently come to the conclusion that I have an infatuation when it comes to fishing scents and the use of them. I have a growing collection of different brands, styles and smells and I would rarely fish a soft plastic or a lure without some scent applied. After thinking about this, I have come up with the following conclusions for developing this obsession.
Tracing my interest in scents took me a lot further back in my angling experiences than I expected. I remember anglers in the know, coming into the tackle shop I frequented in Canberra, swearing that the use of Aniseed on their baits improved their catch rates for natives and trout. At the time I listened, but ignored this friendly tip.
A move to Queensland and being introduced to the ABT Bass, Bream and Barra tournaments was my next exposure to the use of scents or in the case of the bass events, scented dyes. I spent a bit of time around people like John Schofield, Craig Simmons and Steve Kanowski and quickly realised that very rarely did a fly or soft plastic hit the water without being submersed or dipped in a garlic scent or garlic dye.
Simmo was also responsible for my introduction to stimulant/pheromone-based scents in a Gold Coast bream event. We had come across schools of bream free-swimming in the canals and although they showed interest in our soft plastic lures, they would not eat them. That was until he put Squidgy S-Factor on his lure and then they just smashed it. A solid bag of fish later and it wasn't hard to understand that the S-Factor had made a difference.
The success of scents on bream can be further highlighted when Berkley Gulp was introduced to anglers. Bream couldn't resist them (still can't) and their natural smell and flavour has been the undoing of many bream, whether it is in a tournament or a social fishing situation.
I also found impoundment barra were not immune to the allure of scent. Squidgy Slick Rigs or Berkley Hollowbellys covered in garlic scent or in the case of the Hollowbelly, inserted into it, resulted in them being hammered by barra when you slow rolled them around the weed beds of the barra impoundments.
The seed had been sown and my collection had begun to take shape. Recently my use of scents and their value was questioned. This inspired me to look at the latest inclusions and the pros and cons they have.
DIPS AND DYES
There are plenty of dips and dyes available from the original Spike It, to a plethora of colours and smells through U-Make-Em Soft Plastics (JJ's Magic Dips). Dye pens are also available for you to pimp your favorite plastic or lure.
Most are used to dip the tail of your plastic in it to change the colour of the tail and to add a garlic scent to it. Garlic scent and our freshwater species go hand in hand. People like Carl Jocumson swear by this process and recommend doing it every 3-4 casts.
Something to be aware of in this day and age of super stretchy and durable plastics (Z-Man and Zerek, to name a couple), all dips will completely dissolve or turn these plastics to mush. They are NOT dip friendly.
GELS AND PASTES
The first scented gels I remember seeing in a retail outlet were the Halco Freshwater and Saltwater Scents. The storeowner wasn't overly convincing trying to explain it to me, but he did explain that a little of the freshwater version on your lures on tough days got you more bites. I came across it again while I was running a retail store in Darwin. The locals swore by the saltwater version on their soft plastics for barra. My first purchase of a scented gel was made and my obsession had started.
The range of scented gels and pastes now available is quite significant. S-Factor from Squidgy started the ball rolling and then overseas products like Pro-Cure, MegaStrike and YUM provided more options in taste, smell, hormones, stimulants and pheromones to entice fish the eat your offering.