# Fishing Tip # 911. Velcro Makes Scents.



## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

VELCRO MAKES GOOD SCENTS

Many years ago I found that plastic worms that had caught several fish and had tears and tooth scratches held scent far better than new, out of the package worms. A brain storm led me to pre-scratching new worms with a tiny stainless steel brush. These scratched up worms were a heck of a lot more effective when scented than new worms. Evidently they smelled good to Bass a lot longer.

Much later, I found that I could add a piece of “Self adhesive” VELCRO to my Texas Rigging hooks and keep a strong scent trail going for a mighty long time. 

Unfortunately, even the stickiest scent gels, creams and pastes do not stick well to hard plastics but a simple, cheap and quick addition to hard baits allows scents to stick tightly and disperse for a long time. Stick a small strip of VELCRO behind the lip of your crank bait. Smear scent paste into the VELCRO and you have a scented hard plastic lure that emits scent for a long time. 

My saltwater fly-fishing clients score a lot easier with scented flies than without scent so I designed a fly that uses a small piece of “Self adhesive” VELCRO for its body. This is a super simple fly to tie. Tide water Largemouths key on Shrimp. Using Shrimp scent Smelly Jelly on these flies increases our catch by a great margin.

The secret, if it can be called a secret, to using VELCRO to hold scents is to use only the “Loop” portion of the VELCRO. While the “Hook” side of the VELCRO holds scent just fine, it also grabs every bit of slime and algae it comes into contact with.

The adhesive on “Self adhesive” VELCRO is advertised as “Water resistant” rather than water proof. I have found that, if it is applied to a clean, dry surface, it stays on extremely well. When attaching it to hooks, I cut the strip long enough to where I can glue the two ends of the VELCRO together, making an extremely tight bond. 

There are many colors of VELCRO available but I always use black or white. VELCRO can also be colored with an indelible laundry marker or custom colored with colored pens marked by fly shops. 

A small package of VELCRO costs less than $3. There is enough material in the smallest package to outfit dozens of lures.


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## specktackler57 (May 15, 2011)

Excellent info. I'm going to try it


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## snakeeater (Oct 25, 2016)

I'm a tyer myself, Capt. Any way you could post a short video showing how you do it? Thanks in advance...


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Video*

I sure wish I could. Unfortunately, I am technologically challenged. I have a camera that works fine. Great video quality and wonderful sound too. (Kodak)
I can get it to my computer but that is about as far as I can get.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Here is a tip I had in SWS on the subject.*



My tip is #1


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## snakeeater (Oct 25, 2016)

OK, thanks.


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