Are scent products legal and worth using for trout?
Two separate questions. Effectiveness: on slow presentations for stocked rainbows and for bait-caught fish, added scent plausibly helps and rarely hurts; on flies and fast lures the contact time is too short to matter much. Legality is the bigger issue: many jurisdictions restrict scent in specific waters — Ontario, for instance, has fly-fishing-only and artificial-lure-only waters where scented soft baits can be treated as bait, and several US states ban scents on gear-restricted trout streams. The regulation is per-water, not per-province, so read the exceptions for your specific stream before you squeeze anything onto a lure.
The full story
This answer is one piece of a longer lesson — setups, diagrams and the reasoning behind it.
More questions about Smell & Taste
- How good is a trout's sense of smell?
- Can sunscreen, bug spray, or gas on my hands ruin the bite?
- What is the best sunscreen for trout fishing that won't put trout off — scent-free, mineral or spray?
- Does DEET bug spray damage fly line and scare trout — what insect repellent should trout anglers use?
- Which glue is safe for repairing trout lures, soft beads and trout worms — will super glue smell scare trout?
Same topic, other species
- What sunscreen is best for crappie fishing — does sunscreen on my hands hurt the crappie bite? — Crappie
- Which bug spray is safe for largemouth bass fishing — does DEET really repel bass and melt soft plastics? — Largemouth Bass
- Does sunscreen matter when muskie fishing — what sunscreen do muskie anglers actually need? — Muskellunge (Muskie)
- Do scent products help for perch? — Yellow Perch
- Can pike smell danger — does handling scent on bait matter? — Northern Pike
- How do I repair smallmouth bass tubes, ned rig baits and jerkbaits — which glue works on which lure? — Smallmouth Bass
- Does sunscreen ruin the walleye bite when I'm baiting leeches and minnows — and which sunscreen is safest? — Walleye