PAUL GARNER
Five essential bait additives you’ve got to have in your bag right now
“Many of the best additives are universally appealing to fish”
THE array of flavours, additives and other ‘bait boosters’ that are available now can be quite mind-boggling.
Which ones to use will depend on the time of year, the species being targeted and even the nature of the venue, but over the years I’ve found some to stand head and shoulders above the rest. Five, in particular, have made it on to my all-time favourites list. They are all readily available and easy to use, so if you’re new making your own baits, or just looking for an edge, why not give them a try?
HEMP OIL
Most species love hemp, and the attraction contained in these magic little seeds is distilled into the cold-pressed oil that you can buy in tackle shops and supermarkets. Unlike some oils, hemp stays liquid even in the cold, and it’s a worthy addition to paste and boiled baits.
Another great use of hemp oil is to dip hookbait pellets in it for barbel fishing. You can store pellet hookbaits in it for months, during which time the pellets gradually harden as the liquid is taken up.
Alternatively, dip maggots in hemp oil when roach fishing to give them a boost. The oil disperses quickly, giving instant extra attraction.
KRILL POWDER
Many of the best additives are universally appealing to coarse fish and, while roach, carp, barbel and tench might have slightly different natural diets, there’s a lot more that they have in common than what separates them.
Krill powder, made from the super-abundant crustacean of the same name, is so effective for such a wide range of species because it mimics the amino acids and other natural attractors produced by the natural food of fish.
It’s a fabulous addition to groundbait mixes at a ratio of between 10 and 20 per cent, or it can be added to homemade pastes and boilies to give them a boost. I’ll add it to both sweet and savoury mixes, especially in summer.
LIQUID MOLASSES
If I need to give any bait a sweet boost then I turn to molasses. Not only is this cheap, but the
liquid isn’t concentrated, so there’s no fear of using too much. I particularly like to use this dark and sticky liquid in my fishmeal groundbait mixes, because these can be quite bitter-tasting without an added sweetener. The same applies to paste baits, where a teaspoonful of molasses will give the bait a subtle, sweet tang. It’s particularly effective for bream.
SEA SALT
Freshwater fish need a small amount of salt in their diet, so are attracted to even tiny amounts. Half-a-teaspoonful in a kilo of groundbait is enough. I’ve been experimenting with types of salt and have found sea salt crystals to be much more soluble than rock salt, so I’ll be using these from now on.
Many groundbaits and boilies, especially those that contain fishmeal, already contain salt too, so there’s no need to add any more. When I’m making my own baits I’ll add a pinch to give them a boost, especially when preparing particles like hemp and maize, where adding salt to the bait after it has been cooked can make a real difference.
PELLET POWDER
Coarse fish are quite omnivorous, eating a range of plant and animal foods. The bulk of the diet of fish like roach, carp and barbel is made up of invertebrates, and this goes some way to explaining why fishmeal is such an effective bait additive. I remember watching a shoal of chalk stream roach ripping up the bottom to get to every last pellet, such was their enthusiasm for the protein.
One of the easiest ways of using fishmeal is to incorporate some crushed pellet powder. It can be added to a range of baits to give them a boost – even liquidised bread will benefit.