How to make anise scents?

[Fish On]

I forgot how to make anise scents.....  I was told once at a tackle shop and forgot.

Any other scents would be appreciated!

[Mike Cork]

Fish On, got to your local grocery store and pick up some mineral oil and then to the cooking section and get you some Anise Flavoring. Mix to the strength you like. There are several other flavors there you can play with. It's really very cheap and fun to experiment

[Ouachita]

Barely melt 1/4 cup of shortening or better, lard, if you can find that, and stir in one teaspoon of anise oil. Pour into a small bottle and chill. Smear a dab on catfish hook and leader, or bass lures. Smeared on fishing line makes the line float better for topwater baits.

Jim

[Kal-Kevin]

hmmmm now that is good to know Jim Thanks

[Ouachita]

It's an old recipe. Be sure not to get the shortening too hot or it'll boil the scent out. You want it cool enough to put your finger in it before adding the anise. I prefer a lightly scented mix, but you can put as much anise in there as desired. Fish love the fat alone, so it doesn't take much, and one teaspoon is inexpensive. A quarter cup supply will last a long time.

Jim

[Ouachita]

While at Wal Mart tonight looking for more sandpaper I trotted over to the grocery side and found LARD!  That works much better than veg. shortening, making a creamy smooth hard paste that holds up better.

Jim

[Mike Cork]

Great idea Ouachita, does lard have much of a scent that needs to be covered up?

[Fishaholic]

hey...and don't forget to make a garlic scent too

[Pferox]

Great idea Ouachita, does lard have much of a scent that needs to be covered up?

ON the contrary, Mike, lard has a meat smell, it works great all by itself, especially for foraging species.
My grandfather used to make a dough ball mixture with lard, or rendered hog fat (home made lard) that was a killer catfish bait. Wish I could remember the recipe.

Ya have to remember to use oil soluble or oil based scents, extracts usually don't work as well unless they are oily. Water based scents will not mix with the lard as well.

A small amount of Menhaiden oil mixed in is a great fish scent, and will cover up human scents extremely well. Just be careful doin it in the house, that stuff stinks.

[Ouachita]

I agree, lard is almost odorless, a slight fat or meat odor fish really like. Folks used to make cakes with it before veg shortening came along, so it doesn't have much odor. It's true the extract oil is better than imitation extract, because imitation flavors make the grease crumble, won't stay on a bait. True oil of anise is hard to find here. You can make the same attractant using Ivory or Zote soap, which alone is a great catfish bait.

Jim

[Swede]

Appreciate all the comments on scents.  Will have to try the recipes folks have mentioned.  Mom would cook beef or pig fat - the outcome being lard.  Used to feed the birds suet - this again is animal fat which gets them through the coldest of times in MN winters.  My grandmother would make donuts - frying them in boiling lard.  Man - no wonder my cholesteral is zinging on up there

[Team KaRu]

Used to mix anise oil with some glycerin and added glitter sometimes too. Put in a small jar with a sponge  to keep it from sloshing around. just had to push the lure down on the wet sponge...

[LoonyToon]

  A little Garlic will go along way too

[Ouachita]

Pig's feet would be a good source of lard, but maybe it would be easier to just boil some donuts.    SO bad for ya but SO good. We're working on 2 dozen at the office this morning.

Jim

[macon123]

Take two cups hot tapwater....hot but not scalding or boiling, add two heaping tablespoons garlic powder and one teaspoon sea salt......stir and pour some of this mix into each baggie of soft plastics.....mush about the baggie to cover the baits and re-seal.  When all the baggies are treated, float them on a bucket of hot tapwater for a half hour.  Now, drain the excess liquid out of each baggie and re-seal again.  The little bits of garlic in the bags won't hurt.  The floating on hot water makes the water penetrate the baits and also carries in the scent.  Will last for a long time.

Good Fishing, Mac

[Mike Cork]

Macon, sounds like a great idea thanks for sharing    Does soaking them in water ever dull the color of the plastic?  I guess if you don't leave them that long it shouldn't.

BTW you need to put this post in the Tips Section of the site, might win you a fantastic prize pack when the Summer Season Tips Contest rolls around

[fishinfranklin]

WOW!!! I was just telling my brother this morning that I would like to know how to make my own scents,, And bam here it is!!! Macon how you you go about making scent with a fish odor?

[bassindude]

WOW!!! I was just telling my brother this morning that I would like to know how to make my own scents,, And bam here it is!!! Macon how you you go about making scent with a fish odor?

Maybe put some shad or minnows in a blender 

[Pferox]

WOW!!! I was just telling my brother this morning that I would like to know how to make my own scents,, And bam here it is!!! Macon how you you go about making scent with a fish odor?

Menhaden oil is a great, strong fish scent, cod liver oil works well also.

[Pferox]

Maybe put some shad or minnows in a blender 

That is done, sort of.

You process, (usually grind) a large quantity of an oily fish, mullet or makerel are a couple that come to mind, put the "Paste" in a few layers of cheese cloth and squeeze out the oil. Won't get much, but it is usually pretty concentrated. The solids are then frozen and used as chum.

Warning: this is a garage project, it can get messy AND smelly.

[tsmith35]

I found some anise oil for $7/oz with free shipping on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Anise-Oil-1-oz-EssOil/dp/B000MGSJUK

[jesse1378]

7 bucks for 4oz....  http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Anise-Extract-4-oz/dp/B000FCI6KO


also just go to the extract section of the spice isle. they have it there cheaper and smaller so you can test if you like your own scent. then you can buy the 4 oz jars.

[Bountiful Waters]

Be very, very careful if you are buying the imitation extract and add it too anything boiling or at 300 plus degrees as it contains water and will do some serious popping and cracking. Use oil based when possible.

[catt]

I've make my own worm juice for years and I can tell you of only 2 places to buy 100% pure anise oil either online or from a pharmacy. What you buy on the spice isle will do absolutely nothing nether will anise essence.

I use Fish Formula II or Baitmate (clear) with a ½ oz of 100% pure anise oil added

[tsmith35]

The $7 for 1 oz. anise oil on Amazon is pure anise oil. It's intended for aromatherapy (for fish! lol). The Now Foods site has this to say about it:

Ingredients:  100% pure star anise oil.
Extraction Method:  Steam Distilled from ripened seed of plant.