# spawn sack scents?



## big ugly stick (Nov 29, 2010)

I'm a rookie to this whole steelhead fishing and fly fishing thing and was wondering if there was a spray scent or something to enhance the fly spawn sacks. Everything I've been reading in my steelhead books says how lazy steelhead are now that the rivers all dropped below 36 degrees because there cold blooded fish and that people are still catching steelies regurly on real spawn sack and real minnows. Would a scent spray on my hand made sacks wor ik better possible? So far this year I've gotten skunked 6 times and my mind is really starting to run lol. Best of luck to all of you... hopefully ill catch up to you pros some day lol


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Trout are like carp! They will eat just abt.anything, including cigarette filters!(we used them on WVa trout streams!) You could go to the drugstore and pick up a bottle of anise.Put a drop on your bait(another hilljack secret trick!) Sounds like it sure couldn't hurt! Keep trying, you'll get it going yet.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Couldnt hurt to try if you are not catching anything. Im a newbie too but I have read about anise , some swear by it. Garlic oil is another , I cant vouch for how it works with trout but there have been times when it seemed my bass catches were better with garlic oil. A popular theory is that these strong scents leave a scent trail in the water for fish to find them better. Still , most of the guys on this website that catch stellies on a regular basis dont use any added scents except for what might be in the cure recipe for the eggs. From what I gather with all the reading I do on it , making sure you put the bait right in front of them is more important than scent. I dont apply scent to bait I just put anise on my hands before handling bait , I dont know if that serves any real purpose in the long run but I figure it probably dont hurt anything.


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

I knew a guy who was a machinist. He had embedded machine oil in his hands and couldn't catch a fish if his life depended on it. Are you perhaps a machinist? If so maybe get some latex gloves to wear when fishing! I know scents work. Most of the tournament bass anglers use something. I once watched two guys c&r maybe 60 rainbows through the ice when no one else was catching anything. Then I saw they were putting a drop of WD40. on their bait every time they refreshed it (maggots)! They said it had fish oil in it and used it all the time. I've used it on my rod eyelets to slow ice buildup but haven't used it on lures /bait myself.


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## reo (May 22, 2004)

What is a "fly spawn sack"?


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## Stickman (Dec 5, 2008)

It is a small bag of 3 or4 egg flys used to catch steelhead without the stink and mess of spawn ;-)

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## reo (May 22, 2004)

Ahhh, I see, but only 3 or 4 fly eggs?

Does the type of fly the eggs come from make a difference? For example, I would think that mayfly eggs would be more effective than horse fly eggs as mayflys make up a large part of the steelhead diet durignt the hatch in the open lake. Do you think that is sound logic? There a alot deer near most tribs so I am thinking deer fly eggs would be effective as well?

What type of mesh is used in the tying of fly spawn?


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## reo (May 22, 2004)

Stickman said:


> It is a small bag of 3 or4 egg flys used to catch steelhead without the stink and mess of spawn ;-)
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Wait, I just read this again. You are saying it is a sack of egg flies like sucker spawn, crystal meth, glow bugs and not fly eggs? Do the all 3 or 4 egg flys have hooks in them? Would that be legal? I could see where it would increase "hookups" when "fishing" the gravel in the spring! Although added scent in the swift ankle deep water would not be needed then, imho.


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## big ugly stick (Nov 29, 2010)

this is what i was refering to as a "spawn sack", like i said i'm a rookie and sorry if i'm wrong...










wow didnt realize that steelhead were like that, i always thought they were such picky eaters. I guess that makes sense now when i saw a cigarette butt fly in the one fly shop on the pere marquette river lol. lol I always thought that was just some good ole fly fisherman humor... lately i have been fishing the whole around the rocky river nature center. it is pretty shallow over there so like reo said. thanks for all the replies though, i greatly appreciate it.


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## big ugly stick (Nov 29, 2010)

oh yeah, forgot to put that i am an extreme rookie fly tyer also so this fly will probably still confuse people lol... sorry work in progress


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## reo (May 22, 2004)

Actually a nice looking fly. kinda like an estaz sucker spawn hybrid.


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

c. j. stone said:


> Trout are like carp! They will eat just abt.anything, including cigarette filters!(we used them on WVa trout streams!) .


They work here too my Aunt Josh saves his and we lay waste to chromed out steels on Pall Mall 1000' menthol butts.


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Fishman said:


> They work here too my Aunt Josh saves his and we lay waste to chromed out steels on Pall Mall 1000' menthol butts.


Not sure if you're serious or not but we found them in the stomachs of stocked stream rainbows and started using them. (We used new ones). Just rip them off the cigarette, tear off the paper half way up, fuzz up the unwrapped end, stick a hook thru the middle and fish them with or without a float. We would put a couple splitshot about a foot above the "filter fly " and fish them like a jig. Honest *****! They work!!


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## reo (May 22, 2004)

Aunt Josh saves his.......LMAO!!


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## selfproclaim (May 19, 2011)

Yes, steelhead basically eat everything that comes in front of them. Folks from a popular fly shop explained that if you cut one open you will find butts, styrofoam, debris, and everything in between. Getting the fly directly in the fishes face at the proper speed is the key to catching them. The bait must be flowing naturally with the river. Focus on mending the line and controlling the speed on the bait thru the zone where you expect the fish to be holding.


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