Dave Dowding
A column in which Dave Dowding writes about the volatile, often confusing, but nevertheless intriguing world of baits and flavours.

Dave heads the Suffolk based Mr Wriggles bait company where he constantly strives to devise effective new baits and flavours and improve on the well known ones.

He is affectionately known as Dave the Flave due to his love affair with baits and flavours and is a self-confessed flavour junky.

SPICE UP THAT BAIT!
It’s a well known fact that most species will readily take spiced baits at most times of the year but for some species they can make all the difference during the winter months when you can really be searching for bites.

I thought this month’s article would be a good time to look at various natural spices readily available from food and health shops and some of the artificial mixes and flavours specifically made for angling and some of their uses.

Although most UK anglers generally seem to turn to spicy mixes for general fishing (apart from boilie mixes) during the colder months, and only to spice up their hookbaits, it would be good to take note how the French anglers use various spices and ground herbs in their groundbaits all year round with excellent results.

It seems only in recent years that UK based bait companies have turned to producing groundbait mixes containing spicy ingredients, the most obvious being Anisse (pure aniseed) and the famous Robin Red. I must admit to having used certain spices and herbs in my groundbait mixes for a few years now but even I have had my eyes opened to just how many the French use and how they blend them.

We only have to look back at how many times we were stuffed by the French and Belgium teams in various angling championships until our anglers adopted the same kind of approach to their mixes. Now just take a look along the shelves of your local tackle shop and the results stare back in the shape of a multitude of brightly coloured European bags.

My company Mr Wriggles recently signed a wholesale deal with one of the first major independent French bait companies La Sirene, makers of the famous Amorce X21 ranges, this has allowed me a lot more insight into the various mixes they use and for what species.

It has certainly been an education and it just serves to remind me that there will never be a time when any one angler will know the lot as I still find angling a long and slow but very enjoyable learning curve and look upon other anglers hints and tips as new chapters of an ever increasing book of knowledge.

Once I have become more knowledgeable on this subject I hope to be able to include it in a future article but for now I will return back to the main subject, flavouring and spicing up hookbaits.

TURMERIC
I think there are very few anglers who have not tried this as a maggot additive in the colder months. I remember hearing and reading about this method on a regular basis as far back as my young teens and as it was always readily available (mum always had it in the rack or cupboard and if you didn’t get caught it was free too!). Everybody seemed to use it and I don’t think much has changed.

A good sprinkling in the bait box does wonders for the maggots, not only does it give them more attraction but turmeric also acts as a perfect degreaser. River match anglers love this additive due to this fact as they feel that the maggots fall through the water easier.
Dave and a beautiful fully scaled mirror
Another way I tend to use this spice is to flavour my hemp. When cooking and bagging I tend to sprinkle two to three tablespoons (depending on strength requirements) of turmeric onto the still warm seeds and stir it in well. As the seeds cool they pull the flavour and colour deep into the hemp and within minutes the shoots take on a rich light brown colour. I then seal the bags and put them into the freezer for later use. I also tend to use the spiced hemp ground down and find it an excellent groundbait additive.

ROBIN RED
Most people who know me will already be aware how highly I rate the seemingly almost magical properties of this versatile spice mix. A mix that seems to work all year round in one form or another, but I wonder how many anglers actually use its pulling power through the winter months apart from the obvious addition to winter boilie mixes.

For instance, how about turbo charging maggots? I add a couple of tablespoons of Robin Red to a pint of maggots and, apart from them taking on the natural deep red colour, they also take in the spice through their skins. This has two advantages, the obvious one being that they are now a lot more tasty to the fish, the second being that this action sends them into hyper drive, making them far more active in the lower temperatures.

One thing I wanted to try this year but as yet haven’t been able to is coating my luncheon meat in the Robin Red and freezing it to pull the colour and flavour right into the meat. Surely as this spice blend is so readily accepted by most species it must work.

FLAVOURING YOUR BAITS
I think the most commonly spiced bait we use must be luncheon meat, although meatballs and even cat and dog food (after you have removed the majority of the jelly, the spice really sticks to the meat) can be enhanced in the same way to give it an extra edge.

Flavoured luncheon meat
The most common method of spicing the meats is to use the coating and freezing method but even here, as in most things in fishing, there are variations that have come about purely by personal preference alone.

I tend to use a shallow Tupperware type container with a tight fitting lid and liberally coat the bottom of the container with my chosen spice, place the chopped or torn meat into it, sprinkle some more spice on top of the meat, fit the lid, put something with a Latino beat on the CD player and go for it!

Shake well to coat the meat evenly. The music doesn’t increase the effectiveness of the baits but it gives the missus something to laugh at and helps calm her down when she realises I’ve nicked all the spices again! This gives the meat a thorough coating and then you can either place it in the fridge or freezer. Some say freezing pulls the flavour right in, some say that the fridge is best, again personal preference prevails.

There is another method I sometimes use when I’m using spice blends designed for cooking and am going to use big pieces on the hair. I do the same as above regarding the flavouring, put it in a shallow container, shake and place in the fridge for a few hours. Then, making sure that the surface of the meat is covered in the spice blend, I gently fry the meat in a pan with a little fat, I normally use Lard or Butter, especially if I’m targeting carp, as they love it. I have found that around 1/2 oz of fat per standard (300g) tin is about right, allow the fat to melt slowly, keeping it on a low heat or you will burn the outer coating of spice. You can also add a bit more spice by sprinkling it over the meat as it cooks. Whatever you fancy, it’s totally up to you. I find frying the meat serves two purposes. First it allows the natural juices to activate and to open up the meat, allowing the spice to get right in, and second, it seals the surface making it tougher on the hook. The first part to me is the most important as I believe the cooling of the meat pulls the flavour in yet again, ideal for those days when bites are few as the spice is not just washed off by the water but oozes from the bait.

It is then just a matter of removing the meat from the pan and putting it into a baitbox or similar, if you want to increase the flavour level you can sprinkle a bit more spice on the meat and gently move it around in the container. Don’t shake it as before as hot meat is a lot more fragile and will break up.
A variety of spices
Other well known spices certainly worth a try are Garam Masala and Tikka Spice, as Graham will no doubt agree with as he has had excellent results with both. A good curry powder and quite a few of the sandwich seasonings contain a blend of the commonly used spices plus a few specials. The one I tend to use contains crushed poppy seeds which is a well known continental attractor for big roach and other species and can be very effective. This year I aim to try two new ones I came across quite recently. They come in the sprinkle type pots (the large ones in the photo) and are a blend of herbs and spices designed for meat or poultry prior to cooking and once coated onto luncheon meat and put in the fridge they really start to get to work.

Once again my advice is, if you like it – try it! Chances are the fish will love it too, that’s how we get to hear about these ‘magical’ additives that get mentioned amongst anglers year after year, by someone giving it a go. Last year I had a lot of success in winter and spring by using red sweetcorn flavoured with Chinese 5 Spice.

SPICE ADDITIVES AND FLAVOURS SPECIFIC TO ANGLING
If you don’t fancy dabbling yourself there is a wide range of spice additives available which have been made up specifically for angling. Not having used many of them myself I would not do them justice to try and describe them or their effectiveness, so I will leave it there.

I will however mention a couple that I have used for a good while now with excellent results, although I do sell them it is not intended as a plug merely as a helpful hint to fellow anglers.The first being two dips from Hale’s Baits, a fruity one that smells and tastes gorgeous and a spice one that can really get the fish going. Both are extremely thick, clingy and potent and are excellent for that instant attraction factor and seem to work equally well in the warm and colder months.

The others are from a man whose name will be well known amongst most anglers, Archie Braddock. His range of flavours are unique in their make up and consist of both liquids and powders that can be used on their own or combined for more effect.

The most common for winter use being Supaspice, Xotic Spice and Red Hot Spice, all these are powdered additives and come with full instructions for use, as a rough guide Archie recommends about 15 heaped teaspoons for general winter use in groundbaits but in extreme conditions you can actually make solid balls of pure additive by adding a little water. This is ideal for instant attraction when temperatures are too low to get results from groundbaits.

The others are liquids and are from the Surprise range and consist of Red Surprise, a very spicy smell to this one this and apparently it works even in the lowest of temperatures. The next is Floral Surprise, which smells lovely and works all year round for just about everything with fins.

Well I hope my article has given an insight on my preferences of spicing up winter baits and will prove useful in putting a few more fish on the bank at what can prove to be the most difficult time of year for anglers.

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