Bait attractor?

I was out for a days fishing last Sunday from the shore near Port na blagh in Donegal.

When I was buying tackle on Friday, the fella in the shop gave me a wee bottle of stuff that looked like whisky. He told me to cut a very small square off a sponge, soak it in the attractor liquid and thread it up the hook length/snood before putting on the bait.

So I threaded the sponge square up the snood, threaded a sandeel onto the hook and whipped it in place, and tipped it off with a small strip of mackerel.

Absolutely no joy. I managed to get a few mackerel on the hokkai rigs but nothing on the bait.

Is the attractor stuff any good, or was I using it wrong or what's the cráic?

Cheers.

Hi Shamrock

I guess it depends on what was in the bottle! Some people swear by / at Ultrabite and WD40, both of which are used on a routine basis as attractors. It works better on fish that hunt by scent rather than eyesight so it is best used fishing on or near the bottom. This said it can work well on persuading a lazy pollack at slack water to go chase your lure...

You can buy 500 ml bottles of processed pilchard oil which is economical. I would soak it in cotton wool, not sponge, as it will leach out over a longer period of time and generate a longer / better scent trail. You can use the cotton wool in a coarse anglers swim feeder in light currents or at slack water and it certainly helps, although usually with doggies! Some people marinate baits in the oils for 24 hours beforehand, but I think fresh mackerel at this stage will beat all else...

Hope this helps...

I've had some success with WD40 for doggies alright, but wouldn't use an attractant normally.

That said, I believe that one of the best ways to fish for mullet is to add a tin of pilchard oil into your groundbait....it may stink but if it's effective thats all that counts!