The best liquids, additives & bait boosters

Adding flavourings and colourings to baits has gone on for decades and is still one of the most debated topics amongst fishermen and women, with many questioning their effectiveness and whether these "boosters" catch more fish or just more anglers. One thing that does seem to be agreed up on, however, is that adding flavour to a bait doesn't seem to decrease catch rates and as better angling is generally confidence based, if you think it makes you catch more fish, that's enough evidence for you.

Liquids and additives come in almost every flavour and colour you could think of, from Banoffee to Krill and everything in between. It's generally considered that more fish based flavours are better for carp, with sweeter flavours more favoured by species like bream and tench.

Here is some of our favourites (In no particular order):

1. Mainline Match Sticky Syrup

Mainline Match Sticky Syrup is a collection of PVA-friendly, highly attractive additives, in six flavours to complement the Mainline ground bait range. Highly active in water, the viscous liquid creates a huge cloud to disperse along the bottom and a highly attractive plume to the surface. Supplied in 250ml ‘flip and pour’ capped bottles.They can be added to pellets to allow them to soak in the flavour and colour, squirted on top of a method for an extra boost of attraction or used on boilies, it's a very versatile liquid indeed.

2. Korda Goo

Probably the most infamous bait additive of modern times. Korda Kiana Goo, is a soak, glug and spod mix additive all rolled into one, and available in nearing 40 colour and flavour combinations. Power Smokes are incredibly powerful and can transform sessions after just a few spods or additions to your PVA bag. Bait Smokes are softer in colour and natural smelling, so they cannot be overdone.

Their applications are never ending, you can add them to hookbaits over long periods, apply to a feeder before casting out, use to cloud the water in a spod mix or add to the water before mixing your groundbait. The most popular versions seem to be the Squid, Almond, Isotonic and Pineapple, but they all work and the majority smell fantastic. The likes of Steve Ringer and Tom Dove being great advocates of its use, if it's good enough for them, it is surely good enough for the rest of us.

3. Dynamite Baits XL Liquid Additives

Some of the original flavours of the Dynamite Baits XL Liquid Additives, like the Predator Liquid and Liquid Worm will have been used at some point by most people in their angling lives, with the former's, distinct deep red colour being used to colour meat hookbaits when it was popular to do so. These liquids have been firm favourites of many anglers and all of them are solid, proven fish catching flavours. The handy bottle cap top allows you to apply exactly how much you want making them very user friendly.

As well as colouring baits, they are particularly good at flavouring baits when added to the water prior to soaking or mixing, ensuring they are infused into the bait, enhancing them with a wonderful aroma. The Dynamite XL range also benefits from the addition of liquid betaine, to further enhance the appeal and help stimulate fish to feed.

4. Sticky Baits Pure Liquids

The Sticky Baits Pure Liquids range are incredible quality and are exactly what they say, blended fish or liver hydrolysates, meaning all the natural goodness, attraction and oils are contained in a user friendly liquid. When you lift the lid, depending on your disposition, you will either be repulsed or enjoy the smell, but one thing is for sure, it screams fish attraction.

The range has expanded recently with the addition of Sardine and Squid Hydros, but the firm favourites of many anglers such as the Shrimp, Liquid Liver and Calanus Liquids are still in the range. As the name suggests these liquids are entirely natural and rely on triggering the carp's natural senses of locating amino acids to attract them to the area. They can be added to water to mix into groundbaits, cover pellets and boilies, and due to their high salt levels, they can help preserve baits prone to going bad for a while too.

5. Mainline Smart Liquid

Unlike anything else on the market, the innovative Mainline Smart Liquid has an endless use of applications whatever your favoured angling discipline. A very thick, viscous liquid, it can be used to coat baits, added to pellets and groundbaits or to dip your feeder or hook baits into, it really is that versatile. It is also 100% PVA friendly, so it can be used inside solid bags or added to mesh bags.

This liquid might look the same as many others but once it's introduced to water, it is totally unique. It disperses in so many different ways, some of the liquid lingers and clouds the lakebed, whilst other items in the liquid rise and shoot off in different directions, helping to pull fish down to feed. This ensures that all the columns of water are saturated with attraction, helping to draw fish into your swim and keep them feeding for prolonged periods, increasing your chances of a bite. It is ideal for using for any coarse fish in any situation, from carp fishing to barbel fishing, this liquid will help you catch more fish.

6. CC Moore Pacific Tuna Liquid Additive 500ml

A personal favourite of mine. This is the liquid additive used by CC Moore & Co Ltd in the production of our Pacific Tuna Shelf Life Baits and Paste. It is a dark brown liquid compound with a deep, strong shellfish profile and contains high quality marine protein, fermentation liquids and appetite stimulants.

It is highly attractive, very soluble and PVA friendly making it ideal for making or boosting Pacific Tuna boilies and other savoury bait products.

Pacific Tuna is a deep red, naturally attractive boilie that combines soluble fish, milk and vegetable proteins with powerful natural appetite stimulants to create a superb year-round big fish bait that fish simply can’t resist.

This is the complete liquid attractor pack that is combined with Pacific Tuna Base Mix to make Pacific Tuna Freezer Baits, Shelf Life Baits or Paste.

7. Mainline Response Flavours

Mainline Baits is the biggest name in carp bait, a position it has proudly held since it was established in 1990. The Essex based brand has become synonymous with carp capture worldwide, and consistently produces the highest quality carp bait on the market.

The Mainline Response Flavour Liquids are a comprehensive range of bait additives that host a multitude of flavours to suit everybody's needs. From fish to fruit to spice or savoury there is an attractor for every situation, come summer or winter.

To use of solvents and flavour bases from Mainline, you generally use a small amount of the liquid flavour on a high level of solvent base such as Ethyl Alcohol or Glycerol.

These bulk solvents are the base of most flavours, but carp, such is their awareness, can easily recognise the commonly used bases. Having a variety of both flavour and a base of options such as in the Response Range gives the angler two variables to prevent using common combinations and spooking wary carp from getting hooked on the other end of your line.