“Why I believe in bait additives”
Why I’ve been boosting my baits since 1979
AQUESTION I get asked a lot is, do I believe flavours and additives work? Well, the simple answer to that is yes, I do… and in a big way!
I know there are anglers out there who think that when fish are really “having it” they’ll eat anything. They believe that mention of flavours and additives by a sponsored angler is simply a con to sell more products from his bait company. I don’t hold out much hope of changing the minds of people like that, but if you’re prepared to listen I can tell you that I’m 100 per cent confident that certain products do help me catch more fish of every species.
This isn’t something new to me – I was using additives back in 1979. I’d been talking to a chap called Henry Hansen, a specimen angler, about additives for eels – his favourite species – and he sent me some emulsion powder that I mixed with fish oil. When injected into my worms and deadbaits, instead of rising to the surface, as oils usually do, it remained on the lakebed around the baits.
I and a couple of other Worcestershire Specimen Group members started using this powder, and it was very noticeable that we had more takes from eels on the emulsified oil baits than on standard offerings. We’d use four rods when eeling, two on the “special” and two without, and on every water we fished the special would win hands down. Since those early days I’ve used all sorts of ingredients for different species – some have worked, some failed big-time!
A winner for me, and one I still use a lot, is freeze-dried corn steep liquor powder. Bait guru Tony Mills introduced me to it years ago, and ever since then it’s been my go-to additive.
It’s expensive, and I think one of the few suppliers is CC Moore, but it really is a super bait-booster that attracts most species and keeps them coming back. You only need a small amount, say a teaspoonful in a couple of kilos of bait, but if you accidentally put the whole lot in, don’t worry – it won’t kill the bait, only your wallet!
I’ve caught many big roach using it in my hemp, groundbait and pellets, and if I make a few special hookers from boilie paste I always knead a little into the mix.
I use it to this day in my carp baits too. I’ve been catching fish to over 20lb fishing over PVA bags of Nash Citruz mix, but always with a little of my freezedried CSL powder in there.
I also boost my lures for pike, zander, perch and even trout. Some of the most successful lure anglers today are keeping their special juices to themselves, but it’s my job to tell anglers about what I use. My favourite, which I developed with Evolved Baits, goes under the name of Zombie. Of course, I would have caught some fish without this additive but I feel more confident when using it. If I believe I’m going to catch I’m halfway to success before I even cast out.
Like all of you now, I’m constantly using hand sanitiser. I hate the smell of it, and far prefer the aroma of a good bait additive. I’m sure the fish love it too!