Bait flavours and colouring

[Ron Clay]

Some time ago a traditional angler told me that being traditional, he didn't use bait flavours or colouring materials, and whilst he was doing this he was shooting out red maggots from his catapult!

The next thing I noticed was Chris Yates using various curry spices to flavour his maggots and sweetcorn.

So it seems that the use of bait flavours is fine even if you are a traditionalist, and let's face it, even the Victorians used flavours from time to time.

But a little while ago I attempted to draw anglers attention to a new concept in bait flavours. These flavours are sourced in South Africa and are based on the additives that the South African carp match team have used to achieve 4 consecutive wins in the world carp angling championships.

The basics of these additives are now available in the form of a product called "Goo" which is marketed by Korda. The ingredients in these attractants are nothing more than food products that can be obtained from your supermarket, not dangerous chemicals that can affect fish life. Yet an outcry from various uninformed sources has resulted in bans.

Silly people.

And yet they don't worry about the many tonnes of PVA that gets chucked into our waters every day. And as far as I can see, PVA is certainly not totally benign.

So go and try Goo. You will not be disappointed, even though it is a little expensive in my opinion.

And I don't work for Korda or any company or individual connected to them. I'm just a guy who has lived in South Africa for 27 years, have visited that country recently and have fished on quite a few occasions with a few of their best anglers.

[The Hapless Angler]

They have been doing it since the 17th centaury.

And the barbel will bite also at gentles, which (not being too much scoured, but green) are a choice bait for him; and so is cheese, which is not to be too hard, but kept a day or two in a wet linen cloth to make it tough: with this you may also bait the water a day or two before you fish for barbel, and be much likelier to catch store; and if the cheese were laid in clarified honey a short time before (namely, an hour or two) you are still likelier to catch fish; some have directed to cut the cheese into thin pieces, and toast it, and then tie it on the hook with fine silk: and some advice to fish for the barbel with sheep’s tallow and soft cheese beaten or worked into a paste, and that it is choicely good in August, and I believe it.

If it good enough for Izaak it is good enough for me!

[GloucesterOldSpot]

If a 'traditional' angler told me it wasn't the done thing to use colourings or flavours I'd suggest he go away and read up on the subject before making erroneous pronouncements. If anything the use of such things became less popular after the war, and remained so (save a few individualists like Archie Braddock) until the early eighties. Since then it has increased in popularity, though I venture to suggest more anglers use plain baits than flavoured even today.

I haven't tried Goo - or even heard of it until you mentioned it the other day - but I have flavoured particle baits for years; turmeric on maggots in winter for roach, clove oil on black-eyed beans, maple on peanuts etc. A recent discovery which works very well on all sweet particles is Thaumatin-B, a concentrated sweetener made from a plant extract. It's particularly good on tiger nuts and maize, both of which seem to get better with age.

[St.John]

some have directed to cut the cheese into thin pieces, and toast it, and then tie it on the hook with fine silk: [/i]

If that cheese wasn't whipped on then that'll be the hair rig there! (think it was whipped on!) .... There that method for sturgeon from the 1800 involving a POP up though!..

[Bumble]

Jelly beans soaked molasses has caught me a few Barbel in my time, Cheese paste with Garlic,Vodka and Black pepper oil is a killer for Chub and of course good old Bread flavoured with Yeast has accounted probably for more fish than any other bait.
Bumble

[JerryC]

Yes, flavouring baits go well back in time. In more recent times (well compared to Izaak) the two I remember most from personal use were Golden syrup paste in the 50's for slabs and Angel delight (strawberry flavour) paste for tincas in the late 60's

[Ron Clay]

Isn't it nice to get intelligent responses to a thread rather than a whole tirade of Whoo Aah and barracking!

Golden syrup is one of the ingredients of Goo by the way. Carp love it, as they loved honey years ago.

[Bob Brookes]

In the 50's we used to flavour/colour our bread paste with custard powder. Paste was wrapped & squeezed in some of Mum's muslin or cotton & taken for a day's fishing on the river Leam, happy days.
Traditional enough for me.
Bob.

[StalkingLuke]

I always used to put a bit of custard powder into my groundbait for tench fishing and experimented with pretty much anything I could find in the kitchen cupboard when a kid. Sweetcorn soaked in maple syrup was good for tench and breadpaste with marmite has caught me a few carp.

[TonyPrior]

I have always seemed to remember (i.e. am not sure whether I was told it or dreamed it up) that aniseed is a very good flavouring for fishing baits. Anyone tried it or know the souurce?