Fish can Smell?
Yes, fish can smell and taste the water to find prey. There are many scents that are used to attract fish such, as different prey, salt, and garlic. In addition to attracting fish, scents help to cover the smells of humans, along with the chemicals we use such as bug spray, sunscreen, reel oil, or even just the plastic smell of lures. In addition to just adding scent, many “scents” come with UV or bright color dyes. Scents are easy to use and relatively cheap, all the while can greatly impact your chance of convincing a fish to cite. Along with this, scents come in many forms such as gel, spray, and dip. This allows to easy application to lures, hooks, and even fishing line. Soft plastics are commonly used with scents. This is because they can absorb the scents better and have a stronger plastic smell to cover.
Courtesy of Wired2Fish