The action was slow, no hook-ups yet. Looking across Lynn Canal, the thought of a school of Silvers lurking somewhere close seemed likely. After all, millions of salmon must come through this major Inside Passage artery to connect to their native stream in northern Southeast Alaska.
Thinking about the expanse of water off the port beam, it occurred to me that it’s a big ocean, and my lure is microscopic. Attempting to add numbers to the fisherman’s challenge of catching fish, I begin thinking of the volume of water my bait occupies compared to the expanse of water abeam.
This part of Lynn Canal is 2.845 nautical miles across. My boat is a 21 footer. Researchers radio tagging King salmon record fish at more than 110 meters (361 feet), but most are above this depth. This means a school of Silvers might be lurking anywhere in 131,052,747 cubic feet of saltwater (17,287’x361’x21’) abeam. My lure is approximately 5/8” x 1” x 7”, taking up about 4.4 cubic inches of space. There are 1,728 cubic inches of water in one cubic foot. This means the lure takes up less than 1% of a cubic foot of water. With
numbers like these, it’s a wonder we catch any fish at all.
Fishing enthusiasts employ a sleeve full of tricks to grow a 4.4 cubic inch lure’s fish attraction quotient. At Appanage Fishing, we distill this mirid of bait set-up options into three fish-attracting elements: sight, smell, and sound. The Bait Set-up Triangle conveys the concept that each of these fish-attracting pillars should be present in all your layouts. All your riggings need sight, smell, and sound to extend the fish attracting qualities of a bait set-up. Ensuring your bait appeals to the three pillars of fish sensory reception mechanisms will significantly extend your fish-attracting reach well beyond 4.4 cubic inches.
Quickly adding smell into any lure line-up is what Scent Striker is all about. Whether you fish artificial or natural baits, sliding a Scent Striker or two onto your line or leader is easy to do. Once tied into your rigging, add your favorite scent oil or gel into Scent Striker fibers, and overboard she goes. Scent markers (ligands) enter the water column surrounding your bait and provide the third leg of fish-attracting power. The dinner bell smell every bait should have!
Oh, the catch? We ended up with five dusky rockfish, not precisely what we were looking for, but fish nonetheless. All were released.
Scent Striker – fill the fish box. Order yours today!