The hardest thing i found to understand when i first started it, is the application of it. You have to drum it into your brain that you are not trying to attract a fish to your bait with flavor or scent like we all have done for many many years and still do.
If you’re going to do that, which does catch, then you may aswell buy pandemic.
The way I think of it is you are replacing the snail or worm or slug etc hopefully with something better.
Fish don’t need these natural food items to smell strong, in order to know they must find them. They are actively looking for them all day because they hold everything they need in their diet to be able to survive and I’d imagine they taste good too.
You can’t compete by giving them something they are not looking for but happen to find
Your playing god a little bit with HNV baits because they equally hold the correct proportions of goodness fish need and if flavoured correctly they’ll equally taste good.
If it’s established regularly and the fish like to eat it and recognize it as a food source, you’ve achieved something that others haven’t because they will be looking for your bait as a viable natural food source that they like to eat and that gives them the nutrients they need to survive. They’ll be ticking it off as part of the shopping list.
Snails
Worms
Tastef2
Slugs
Insects
And as Richard importantly pointed out, very small amounts to be introduced if a campaign is being fished. On less well stocked waters I've seen some horrendous angling behaviour... So much so, that on one venue, I decided to fish with single hookbaits only. Which worked a dream!