Does Licorice Scent Attract Fish? Anise on Lures

"Fish love licorice" is one of those lines that gets repeated at tackle benches until it sounds like physics. It might even be true for some fish on some days. What is certain is that the case for anise on a lure rests on angler habit and a sensible hunch, not a controlled test, and that is a perfectly fine place to start if you treat it as your own small experiment.

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What science says draws fish to food

Fish nutrition research keeps pointing at the same family of triggers: free amino acids. A Global Aquaculture Advocate overview calls them the single most important group of feed attractants, adds that what works varies from species to species, and describes smell as the sense that alerts a fish from a distance while taste decides whether it keeps the mouthful (Yacoob and Suresh, 2003). Anethole, the big aroma molecule in anise, is not one of those. So anise is not working through the best-documented route, though that is not the same as not working.

Why anglers still swear by it

There are some sensible reasons it could earn its reputation without being a food signal at all. A strong, unusual smell can cover odours you do not want on a lure, like sunscreen or fuel from your hands. Scent also gives the angler confidence, and a confident angler fishes the bait longer and more carefully. And fishing is noisy: a handful of casts cannot separate scent from weather, light or where you stood. All of that is our reasoning, not a measurement, but it is a good guide to what to expect.

A fair way to try it

If you would like to find out for yourself, make the comparison fair:

Use two matching lures or baits from the same box, one scented and one plain.
Alternate them cast by cast over the same water in the same session.
Pick one thing to count, such as bites or landed fish, and note it as you go.
Remember that a difference of a couple of fish is within normal variation, so treat it as a hint, not a verdict.

Keep a tackle-bench notebook

The fair test only works if you remember it. Write down the date, the water, the weather, the lure, whether it was scented or plain, and what happened. After a season, that page will tell you something no article can. It also keeps the experiment honest, because a good day you remember fondly looks different on paper.

A workbench prepared for mixing lure scent: hands in nitrile gloves measuring golden carrier oil in a small glass graduated

A little goes a very long way

One small dab on a lure is plenty. Anethole is oily and does not mix with water, so extra oil on a lure mostly ends up on your fingers. The one study that put anise oil in water with fish, on small common carp in tanks, found deep anaesthesia at 100 mg per litre after around 20 minutes, about 10% mortality above that, and gill and skin lesions at 500 mg per litre (Metin and colleagues, 2024). By our arithmetic, at about 20 drops per millilitre, 100 mg per litre is roughly two drops stirred through a whole litre. So keep the oil on the lure, not in a livewell, bucket or the water.

Also check the fishing regulations for your water, since some waters and tournaments restrict added scents. That is a question for your local fish and wildlife agency.

The smell is half the fun

Open the bottle and smell it before it goes anywhere near the tackle box. Sweet, warm, licorice-like, with a faint spiced edge: it is a friendly, nostalgic smell, and for many anglers the fun of trying it is as much about the ritual as the result. Keep scented lures in their own sealed bag or tin, because anise travels and will perfume the rest of your gear. Treat it as a playful experiment and you will enjoy it whatever the fish say.

Our bottle and the tackle box

We sell Anise Essential Oil, steam-distilled and sold undiluted, as an aromatic and cosmetic oil; it is not made or sold as a bait. We do not sell lures, scented baits or gels, so those come from a tackle shop. If you want to try the dab test, our guide to bottle sizes will help you pick a small one, since a half-ounce lasts a long time at this dose. For species stories, we have trout, carp and catfish, and a side-by-side of anise, garlic and krill. Handle the oil as you would any concentrated one: capped, away from eyes, children and pets (safety basics).

So give it a go if it makes you smile, run the test honestly, and keep whatever the fish tell you.