What Is Smelly Jelly? How Scent Helps Catch More Fish!

When the bite slows down and nothing seems to work, a small dab of Smelly Jelly can make all the difference. It might not look like much, but it sure does smell! The gooey, Smelly Jelly paste or liquid sends a powerful signal that your bait is worth eating. Whether you're targeting finicky smallmouth in clear water or chasing big largemouth in heavy cover, Smelly Jelly can give your presentation the extra edge it needs.

Adding scent to your bait can be the key difference in catching a few extra fish. Often, you're not always attracting fish with the scent, but when they do bite, they're holding on longer, allowing for a proper hookset and optimal hook placement.

What Is Smelly Jelly?

Smelly Jelly is a concentrated fish attractant made from real baitfish oils, scent enhancers, and sticky paste that clings to lures. Available in both liquid and paste formulas. Unlike spray-on scents that wash off after a few casts, Smelly Jelly stays on longer, even through aggressive retrieves and repeated casts. It's available in a variety of scents like Crawfish, Garlic, Shad, Anise, Shrimp, Nightcrawler, and much more, so you can match your scent to the species you're targeting and the conditions you're fishing in.

Why Scent Makes a Difference

Whether you're fishing in murky water, low light, or high-pressure situations, smell becomes one of the most important senses. Bass, trout, walleye, and other species can detect scent trails. As predators like bass are curious fish, they often follow a lure to investigate what they're sensing. Adding a natural, familiar scent can be the key to converting followers into bites.

Smelly Jelly helps mask unpleasant odors (such as sunscreen, gas, or plastic) while simultaneously attracting fish with scents they're accustomed to hunting. For bass anglers, for example, the Crawfish and Garlic formulas are some favorites, whether you're fishing a pond in Ohio, flippin' mats in Florida, or catching smallmouth in New York.

How to Use Smelly Jelly

Smelly Jelly is incredibly easy to apply in both liquid and paste form.

Smelly Jelly Original Scent

• Use your fingers or a cotton swab to apply a small amount directly to soft plastics, jigs, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, or spoons.
• Reapply every 20–30 casts, or after landing a fish, to maintain a strong scent.
• For soft plastics, a small coating in the tail or body section works best.
• Store the jar in a resealable plastic bag or small container to keep your tackle bag clean.

Smelly Jelly Sticky Liquid

• Squeeze a few drops into your favorite pack of soft plastics
• Mix the bag up, and you're bait is coated
• Reapply the liquid when more baits are added to the pack

Pro Tip: During the warmer months of the year, store your Smelly Jelly in a cooler or on ice to ensure that both the liquid and paste maintain the smoothest consistency, allowing them to adhere to your baits.

Conclusion
There are many scents and gimmicks on the market today, but none come close to the potent scent of Smelly Jelly. For a product that costs less than a few bucks, Smelly Jelly delivers outsized results. It's a no-brainer addition to any serious angler's tackle box, especially when bites are tough to come by. Whether you're fishing pressured water or want to increase your hookup ratio, scent is a proven tactic—and Smelly Jelly makes it simple.

Pick up a few different scents from Fishing Online and experiment with them. You might be surprised how quickly the bites come back.