This big fella provided the stink when a hard- bodied lure was changed for a spinnerbait.

In sporting terms to have the stink in fishing is the equivalent to having the ball on a string, where no matter what choice you make it seems to be the right one. The stink is a powerful friend and co provider of full on fishing action. So, a logical question might be from an angling perspective: Where can one obtain this stink and is it hard to come by? My loving wife will tell you that it resides in all fishing attire and is hard to remove even with the toughest of detergents. But this is a different stink that is absorbed into your fishing clobber from having the stink in the first place. The trick to obtaining the stink begins with the ability to grasp the subtleties or the one- percent factors that are so important in any sport. Once you become attune to these, you are well on the way to attaining the stink.  A perfect example of the stink relates to a story told me a while back. Two anglers, father and son fishing Lake Mulwala, side by side using exactly the same style of lure right down to the very same colour. One is of the old school where things were far less complicated so he has connected the lure to the come here line using a heavy ball bearing swivel. The other looking flashier than Michael Jackson has all the gear and intricate knots to match. Six fish later and dad has the stink with the young bloke yet to raise a strike. They swap rods and the stink too it seems as the son quickly pulls two nice cod in succession. Satisfied with his catch he decides to go back to his own rod as it’s a lot easier to use, but he will take the lucky lure just in case. Lures swapped, dad bags two more cod in the next hour while junior and the lucky lure go fishless. It’s not until he decides to emulate his fathers rig that he once again begins to catch fish. The stink in this case came down to the different sink rate and action of the lure that was caused simply enough by an oversized ball bearing swivel and some heavy nylon fishing line. How something so small can make all the difference is what the stink is all about.I have seen this sort of situation repeatedly in fishing where for seemingly no reason at all one angler will have a red-hot run while those around him or her go almost fishless.  Other times the stink is a lot more obvious.

The Stink Provides A Bag Of Five.

Just one of five giant cod Gus landed in a single session.

Fishing the Murray River with good mate Gus Storer and he is rife with it as he bags his fifth cod over a meter for the session. This is an incredible run of fish the likes of which I will possibly never see again. And while I was happy to be of witness to this event, I was even keener to be a part of it. With each capture, it became more obvious these giant cod were hot to trot. Whether it was an aggressive response or a desperate bid to feed was irrelevant, as it was all too apparent the fish were smashing the first lure delivered to each fresh snag. As the nose of the boat glided past the end of the next giant log, Gus cocked the rod and took aim down along the main trunk towards the buttress. With a bead on the stink, I sent a cast to the exact spot before he had a chance to fire his lure, my line crossing the main body of the snag. Rod held high and pushing the boat past with an extra spurt of power the line cleared the snag as the spinnerbait sunk into the depths. A little rude perhaps, but then again not sharing at least one giant cod with your fishing partner could be deemed on a par.  Gus chuckled as he knew the stink that day was first in, best dressed and as the rod loaded up under the weight of what was to be my biggest cod to date he was happy to share a little on this occasion. While attention to detail makes up the majority of the stink, it doesn’t hurt to have a little luck either. If you take the time to study things a little closer, you may just find that with a few subtle adjustments, the stink is well within arms reach. If that doesn’t work, a simple congratulatory handshake or pat on the back to the holder of the stink can often see it change hands. The mind is a powerful thing and when combined with a little confidence the stink is never far away. Perhaps there’s some truth in the line that old anglers never die they just smell that way. Until such a time, the stink is a part of fishing that I will constantly pursue and put to good use when I have it. Now stay down your end of the boat and don’t touch me.