As an avid winter angler for all river species especially Chub, i am a great believer in adding flavours to my baits, It would seem that strong spicy flavours seem to have the edge in winter! Fruity sweet flavours in summer/autumn! Sometimes mixing the two gets results! Whats your views........??

Here is an easy flavour bait and works, its cheap too. Cube 300gsm luncheon meat to required size, put 3 tablespoons oil, olive or vegetable in pan add 3 teaspoons marmite, 2 crushed garlic cloves and heat until marmite is mixed with oil. Now put in the cubes of meat and turn off heat. I now get 2 or 3 freezer bags and put the coated meat in, pour in the liquid seal bags and freeze, then just thaw the day before you go fishing, you now have a super yeasty oily flavour oozing from the meat.

Inoticed in the angling press that oily baits are for summer and water based bait in winter.As I have never used eather,I usualy stick to red and white maggots or breead flake.How many anglers prefer oily baits in winter and how many don't.

In winter spicy additives really work...was it Archie Braddock...who had the little bottles of an additive named Winterspice....really good stuff! I use Pol-Vitamo a lot in Winter...either Dutch or Belgian in origin, it does pull bites from elusive fish oin the coldest days. I also put a little chilli in my chopped worm and caster...so definatly, spicey seems to work well. Saying that, i 've read of lots of good Roach being taken on Pineapple flavoured baits the past two winters, it could be the increased acidity...I dunno! Likewise, instead of adding a sweetener to groundbait or casters...i've added a little salt in winter instead, that seems to work very well for Roach in particular.