Rip bought what he thought was a bad batch of clams the other day. Without naming the tackle shop, I told him maybe the clams would be more productive. The water was colder then and the fish were sluggish.
(to me, these didn't smell that bad. I guess smell is subjective. G has been fishin with me, and the clams we sometimes use would burn the paint off your car...)
I don't think there have been scientific studies to see the "smell vs hit ratio" of clams. I could be wrong.
Fresh or stinky doesn't matter to me, clams is clams is what I say...
What say you??