| Everyone seems fixated by fishing flavours. The | | | | flavour for example, let alone which one would be |
| common question fishermen ask is “What | | | | the most successful bait flavour? Such is the |
| flavour bait are you using?” For most | | | | complex relationship of fishermen and their love |
| fishermen, what matters is that they like their | | | | affair with them! Would we even know the |
| smell of their flavour, which is an interesting point | | | | difference between methyl vanillin and ethyl |
| for discussion... The fact is among the diverse | | | | vanillin; it could make all the difference to your |
| multitude of flavours used in fishing baits are | | | | fish! (Ethyl vanillin has a much stronger |
| some which stand out as far more successful | | | | ‘note.’) Just to make things more |
| than others, but few fishermen know how or | | | | confusing for you, vanillin is found naturally |
| why this is the case... | | | | elsewhere. |
| It is easy to buy a cheap flavour at Wal-Mart or | | | | Could you detect the natural vanillin which is part |
| Tescos and us it in your bait. However, what you | | | | of the natural flavour of raspberries or lychees? |
| are buying is very often inferior to more | | | | This is just one example of an important volatile |
| expensive flavours. For example, vanilla flavour | | | | component used in many flavours today but |
| has a myriad of grades or levels of purity, | | | | it’s the tip of the ice-berg. Most of the most |
| freshness and various solvents may be added | | | | successful flavour combinations in fishing and in |
| (even water) and extraction methods will vary. | | | | the human food industry are closely guarded |
| Pure vanilla bean extract is extremely expensive. | | | | secrets. |
| The genuine extract depends on very many | | | | The addition of amino acid products, palatants, |
| volatile components which help explain part of its | | | | and oils of savoury and fruit extraction in |
| success. But natural extracts also contain other | | | | combination with natural fruit extracts, with new |
| very stimulatory compounds which are vital to a | | | | generation flavour enhancers and sweeteners in |
| top quality flavour and are easily detected by | | | | combination make many modern flavours a |
| humans and fish! | | | | different class to most from the food industry. |
| It is common practice for flavour producers to | | | | Combining different fruit esters to produce |
| ‘cut’ pure extracts and natural flavours, | | | | attractive flavours is a common practice, these |
| using a solvent or solvents like propylene glycol, | | | | days other solvents and substances are often |
| glycerol or ethanol alcohol for instance. Many | | | | added. |
| things can happen to a flavour! Indeed the | | | | Among other ingredients, various acids, nature |
| ‘aroma profile’ of a flavour and its taste | | | | identical and synthetically produced flavour |
| can be altered many times in many ways before | | | | components identical to natural ones are combined |
| it is bottled and eventually unleashed upon your | | | | with synthetic flavour components to produce a |
| fish as part of your bait. One aspect that might | | | | preferable profile and taste. The funny thing is |
| surprise you is just how bitter tasting many | | | | that many flavours may be initially synthetically |
| ‘sweet’ or ‘fruit’ flavours truly | | | | produced with synthetic and nature identical |
| are. (Many flavours produced for fishing baits | | | | flavour components and then have the natural |
| include an intense sweetener like Talin, or | | | | extract added to give it a more natural smell or |
| concentrated lactose or fructose.) | | | | taste. The cost of natural flavors can be extreme |
| Flavours for the food industry are not all ideal for | | | | compared to synthetic and natural combinations. |
| use in baits; their molecules often behave | | | | Volatiles like aldehydes and benzoates and |
| dramatically differently in water than in air so their | | | | hexanoates are included in many flavours. Some |
| effects on the fish will differ. Can you imagine | | | | ‘volatiles’ you’d normally not dream |
| sniffing in natural garlic extract in water? For a | | | | of putting into foods of any kind except poisons! |
| start you would not smell that distinctive garlic | | | | Many of the so-called harmful |
| aroma as you would in air, as this is the result of | | | | ‘E-numbers’ may be included and many |
| a reaction with the air, not water. This also points | | | | are linked to mood changes in children with |
| to a deeper level of how many flavours or natural | | | | hyperactivity and so on. (But is this hyperactivity |
| extracts work. They may also have hidden | | | | a desirable effect with fish?) |
| properties that you may not have realised. They | | | | Fishing flavours are all about your own personal |
| sometimes have metabolism and circulatory | | | | confidence and real bait testing. If you think you |
| stimulation properties, significant antimicrobial | | | | are already using the very best of a type of |
| properties, preservative properties (low pH and | | | | flavour, you never know, there might be one that |
| alcohol for example), immunity stimulation, or | | | | will catch you even more fish. Commercially |
| even simulate or closely resemble nervous | | | | available fishing flavours are evolving at an |
| system or brain chemicals. (Even betaine HCL has | | | | incredible rate. Even the ubiquitous “Tutti |
| antioxidant properties and citric acid has been | | | | Fruitti” or “Scopex” or Strawberry |
| used in many baits for years as a preservative | | | | boilie flavour variations are challenged by the |
| and ‘pH regulator.’) | | | | popularity of flavours like cranberry and pineapple |
| Yes, there’s so much more to flavours than | | | | today, but this just demonstrates the |
| meets the nose! Leading bait manufacturers have | | | | phenomenon of bait fashions in fishing and how |
| had to get increasingly innovative and technical to | | | | the majority of anglers are so easily influenced by |
| keep the effectiveness and standard of their | | | | sophisticated advertising and promotion methods. |
| products high against fast expanding competition | | | | So much about fishing baits really comes down to |
| for market share from smaller companies. | | | | confidence and the fact is that commercial |
| Flavorists and food nutritionists, even marine | | | | companies will exploit the ‘copy-cat’ |
| biologists and fish scientists are employed for their | | | | tendency of anglers to use the same bait as |
| skills. The use of fermenting sugars and esters is | | | | ‘big name’ anglers. The irony is that |
| common. Often the way the flavour and its | | | | many ‘name’ anglers would catch just as |
| components mix with water or not is a major | | | | many fish on virtually any bait such is their angling |
| element in its success and this is far more | | | | skill level and opportunity to fish big fish waters |
| complex than just how soluble a component is at | | | | with the support of big bait companies. |
| a certain temperature. | | | | Sometimes, the products used by ‘name’ |
| Many flavour components have special | | | | anglers are far more potent than baits of the |
| characteristics when mixed with different oils and | | | | same label released onto the market. |
| regarding how these combination act in water. | | | | Often the test products the field testers are |
| The way we smell flavours can be quite irrelevant | | | | using have elevated levels of expensive extracts |
| to the really key question of why a flavour is | | | | for instance, which are subsequently lowered in |
| successful in water and what the fish’s | | | | the commercial product for economical reasons. |
| experience of that substance might be in practice. | | | | Flavour component levels and concentrations in |
| A nice smell or one that smells recognizable to an | | | | test baits may also be very different from the |
| angler has much more to do with confidence | | | | bait released on general sale. Often the bait |
| rather than effectiveness. How would a carp | | | | extract or flavour components which work the |
| know what a ripe strawberry is supposed to | | | | most effectively are the most expensive. Those |
| smell or taste like! (Our own senses can be fooled | | | | bait companies which retain the very high levels |
| in many ways.) | | | | of these expensive ingredients in their bolies, |
| Vanilla is a very well known flavour component, | | | | pellets, ground baits, flavours and additives are to |
| originally derived from vanilla seeds. The cheap | | | | be praised! |
| super market vanilla flavours on a propylene glycol | | | | It is interesting to note that strawberry flavour |
| or alcohol base have been used in fishing for | | | | ingredients can be reproduced synthetically using |
| years, but the major component of vanilla called | | | | all the ‘volatile’ flavour components in |
| vanillin is used in many fishing flavours as a | | | | natural strawberry, but which now can be |
| component, for example in some maple syrup | | | | synthetically reproduced. However, the additional |
| flavours, strawberry flavours and even chocolate | | | | aspects of natural strawberry such as its healing |
| among many others. | | | | properties among others will be absent. |
| Vanillin is the major component from among at | | | | The flavour possibilities in fishing are endless. For |
| least 200 others which have been identified. Over | | | | example, when you investigate flavours that are |
| the decades various natural, semi-synthetic and | | | | used in combination with ‘liquid food’ |
| synthetic methods of production have been | | | | additives, to boost the nutritional value and |
| discovered. Vanillin can be produced from | | | | ‘food’ signals of pellets, boilies, ground |
| petrochemical guaiacol, as well as from | | | | baits and even meats and live baits like maggots |
| iso-eugenol, eugenol and lignin from wood pulp. | | | | and worms... These days even sweetcorn, hemp, |
| Vanillin is in massive demand so new | | | | bread, worm and bloodworm flavours are |
| environmentally friendly economical methods of | | | | available and used to even boost the taste and |
| production have evolved. So what has this got to | | | | attraction of the real thing and may include real |
| do with you and your choice of fishing bait | | | | extracts of that food too! |
| flavour? | | | | The author has many more fishing and bait |
| The question is, would you as a fisherman when | | | | ‘edges’ up his sleeve. Every single one |
| smelling or tasting smelling a range of vanilla | | | | can have a huge impact on catches. (Warning: |
| flavours, be able to discern which is the genuine | | | | This article is protected by copyright. |
| extract or semi-synthetic or nature-identical | | | | |