02-13-2023, 06:20 PM
So, it is pretty difficult to find safety data sheets on fish attractants.
The one I found was here for Lunker Lotion
https://www.englundmarine.com/SDS/ATS6502.pdf
80-90% Mineral Oil
1-20% Geletants
.5-15% Trade Secrets
.5-15% Colorants
There are a couple things I will disagree with in regards to oils and solubility.
The highest level of water solubility, the more you will have to apply the stuff.
Like is a product was very water soluble, then it would lose flavor as soon as it hit the water.
Making it effectively useless unless you are dead sticking.
So, you need a mechanism for slowly dispersing the chemical attractant.
Disperse too fast and you blow your scent load too quickly.
Which is where gelatin comes into play as well as the oils.
Gelatin generally will break away slowly and is soluble in water (Gelatin is generally made of amino acids from animal products)
Gelatin is generally sticky in nature and will adhere to your bait.
Mineral Oil is a good way to make the product less concentrated, so you get more uses out of the bottle and get more product.
It also provides lubrication and prevents the complete breakdown of the gelatin rapidly due to being insoluble in water.
Mineral Oil also is not harmful to fish and breaks down naturally.
Without the mineral oil, it would probably be 5x more costly to buy and would have to be applied more often due to the gelatin wanting to dissolve in water. Mineral Oil is very cheap to produce, which keeps the cost of the product down as well.
The other thing that oil can do combined with the gelatin and is carry the scent further due to not being soluble in water and carrying pieces of the gelatin along as they dissolve.
Now, this is just me thinking out loud. I could be right or I could be wrong, it is just the way I am wrapping my head around the topic.
The one I found was here for Lunker Lotion
https://www.englundmarine.com/SDS/ATS6502.pdf
80-90% Mineral Oil
1-20% Geletants
.5-15% Trade Secrets
.5-15% Colorants
There are a couple things I will disagree with in regards to oils and solubility.
The highest level of water solubility, the more you will have to apply the stuff.
Like is a product was very water soluble, then it would lose flavor as soon as it hit the water.
Making it effectively useless unless you are dead sticking.
So, you need a mechanism for slowly dispersing the chemical attractant.
Disperse too fast and you blow your scent load too quickly.
Which is where gelatin comes into play as well as the oils.
Gelatin generally will break away slowly and is soluble in water (Gelatin is generally made of amino acids from animal products)
Gelatin is generally sticky in nature and will adhere to your bait.
Mineral Oil is a good way to make the product less concentrated, so you get more uses out of the bottle and get more product.
It also provides lubrication and prevents the complete breakdown of the gelatin rapidly due to being insoluble in water.
Mineral Oil also is not harmful to fish and breaks down naturally.
Without the mineral oil, it would probably be 5x more costly to buy and would have to be applied more often due to the gelatin wanting to dissolve in water. Mineral Oil is very cheap to produce, which keeps the cost of the product down as well.
The other thing that oil can do combined with the gelatin and is carry the scent further due to not being soluble in water and carrying pieces of the gelatin along as they dissolve.
Now, this is just me thinking out loud. I could be right or I could be wrong, it is just the way I am wrapping my head around the topic.