If I am running a splitter bar with a herring/hoochie (one of my go-to rigs) I like to add a bit of extra attractants to the setup.

1. I add inline scent chambers that I like to stuff full of Butt Juice Gel or a dough bait (e.g. Fire Bait)
2. I like to add some rattle by adding spoons that clip on with my lead and that will rattle against the lead underwater

Halibut and Scent Trails

When fishing for halibut a good scent trail is underwater is key. There are many different ways to put off a good scent trail.

Scent Chambers

One of the most basic ways to put off a scent trail on or around your bait is to use a scent chamber. This is a small device usually a tube that is installed in line with your fishing line or hooks or can be attached elsewhere on your halibut setup. Scent Chambers can be filled full of halibut nectar, Butt Juice, or even stuffed full of dough bait, which makes for a long lasting scent trail.

Chum Bags

If you are anchoring for halibut one of the best ways to set off a nice scent trail is to stuff a porous chum/bait bag or scent canister chamber full of bait or ground up bait, such as mackerel, herring, octopus, squid, salmon bellies, tuna bellies, etc. You can also pre-soak the bait in different mixtures of attractants (liquids or gels) to give the bait an extra punch.

Make Your Own Scent

Lots of folks like to make their own halibut scents and this can really pay off. For instance you can use a blender (one that your wife doesn’t also use, lol) and grind up all sorts of oily scent ingredients, e.g. salmon bellies, salmon eggs, etc to get a real good oily substance.

Another option is to add mineral oil to salmon eggs and cook down the salmon eggs (on very low heat) into an oily consistency. Then strain off the chunks.

Both these options are cheap and a good way to use up leftover baits and eggs from other fishing trips.