Bait According To... Nick Helleur
From fishmeals to fermented herring, and Peperami to pop-ups… Nick reveals (almost) all about his bait preferences
The bait that changed everything for me was fishmeals! I began making my own bait at a young age, in the mid-’80s, and I very quickly learned the power and effectiveness of good-quality fishmeal ingredients. I was super fortunate in that I grew up in the heart of the Colne Valley during its halcyon days. I fished alongside the very best and most knowledgeable bait minds of the time, of any time, in fact. Any, and all information, I soaked up like a sponge. My learning curve where bait was concerned was beyond steep. I listened to everything I heard whisper of, was shown or was told about, bait-wise. I explored all avenues before I began messing about with fishmeals, which changed everything for me.
It was very different then. Pre-EU, fishmeals were at their very best, as they were not heat-treated to conform to the union’s rules; or were simply fished out and became unavailable as this happened more and more. Capelin fishmeal was my favourite. Rich, dark and almost bitter, it was so strong, and of course, the fish loved any bait I included it in. Sadly, capelin were fished out like many species, and the meals disappeared over the next few years.
Without doubt, where straight fishmeal baits are concerned, modern equivalents are a shadow of their former selves. This has meant that companies and anglers have started to look elsewhere in their quest to produce great baits.
The game-changing moment which altered everything for me was when I started using groundbait in my approach. Specifically, I used tiny amounts of groundbait around my hookbait, as opposed to paste. Paste would have been much easier to use, but less effective, in my opinion. Following much experimentation, I started compressing little pellets of fishy, oily groundbait. This caught me literally thousands of fish from pressured lakes and evolved, eventually, to become the Stick method. It changed carp fishing at the time, after I’d let the cat out of the bag, and it still plays a big role today, more than twenty years after I first came up with it, as it allows tangle-free presentation, and protects and hides the hook and hooklink. It’s unbeatable.
The last bait-related item I bought was Swedish surströmming, which is salted and fermented Baltic Sea herring. I use it in my Stick mixes, among other things; it’s epic. I can’t say I love it, personally, as it’s putridly strong and will make you sick when you open the can, but God, the carp do!
On my list for a future bait-related item is the return of a particular ingredient I obtained a sample of whilst working at Solar in the late nineties. No, I’m not telling you what it is. We all need our secret edges, and these days, more than ever!
Now that we have left the EU, I’m hoping to see a resurgence of several old favourites ruined by its directives. Liver powder is a prime example. It had to be pasteurised to make it safe, but the process destroyed its attractiveness.
Baits I long to use again form a very long list! I’d definitely love to see certain flavours made once more, those made the old way, shall we say, when they were super effective. In recent years, I’ve been looking well outside the EU, searching for flavours made more traditionally, and I’ve found some real gems.
I try to take bait influences from no one! Those days are long gone. Obviously, as an angler, I still look at anything that comes to light, and I consider how it could benefit my fishing or my bait, but it’s been a long time since anything supposedly new has had a direct impact on my approach, let’s just say that.
When it comes to hookbait preference I always carry my tried-and-tested favourites, no matter where I’m fishing in the UK. Regardless of the time of year, these include a selection of pop-ups and particle baits, as well as Peperami, plastics, etc. Some I use more than others, but all have earned their place in my bait bucket because they are super effective in the right situation—carp fishing is about more than just boilies. When it comes to hookbaits, colour is still very important to me, and I always ensure that I have all bases covered for different light levels, depths and water clarity.
My preferred free food size is a mixture. I use different-sized baits in a boilie baiting situation, although this is site- and situation-specific. If I’m using small particles, I like a similar-sized hookbait. It’s all pretty obvious, really, for the most part.
