What’s In A Bait?

	Dr  Bruno Broughton is a fisheries scientist by profession and for a decade worked as a fish biologist and fisheries officer with the Severn-Trent Water Authority.

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you more about the benefits of Marukyu baits to the well-being of fish and fisheries. It is important information because the use of poorly formulated and applied baits can have profound and negative impacts on fish health and water quality, leading to loss of condition to fish, increased stress, enhanced susceptibility to diseases and parasites and poor “catchability”. In the worst cases, fish mortalities can occur.

The Marukyu maxim is: good for fish, good for nature. This is not an empty, meaningless statement but one that is based on extensive research and careful formulation of baits to ensure that they provide fish with good nutrition, and, of course, prove highly effective for angling.

One of the biggest dangers with coarse fish occurs when they eat large quantities of oils or fats, usually known collectively as lipids. These nutrients are attractive to fish, as they are to humans, but a diet based on excessive consumption of lipids can lead to serious health problems. We are not fish, obviously, but there are parallels with the health status of humans who repeatedly consume this type of food at every meal. By restricting the concentrations of lipids in its baits to match the nutritional requirements of fish, Marukyu has been careful to avoid such potential problems.

Secondly, fish fed on food high in protein cannot actually use all of this food type. The net result is the excretion of waste products rich in nitrogen. So-called ammoniacal nitrogen is a potential toxin to fish, and bodies of water can become polluted and fish life jeopardised where it is present in large quantities. Toxicity also increases with the water alkalinity and temperature, hence one of the reasons for fish health problems during the height of summer.

This is why Marukyu has formulated its baits and groundbaits to ensure that they do not contain excess protein. Until now, the baits have been restricted to Japan and Far East, but it is worth noting that some of the main species which anglers catch in those parts of the world are the same as in the UK… notably carp and in developing the baits especially for the UK these same standards have been adopted.

Moreover, the success of these baits is influenced by the feeding triggers which are incorporated into them through the use of carefully-selected, natural ingredients. This is the key to their effectiveness – they are highly attractive to fish because of the inherent, water-soluble smell they emit, triggering the fish to home in on the bait. Those smells must dissolve in water for them to work properly. On its own, that would not make a complete bait because fish could reject – or not return to – bait which actually tasted unpleasant.

Again, through extensive research conducted in the sophisticated facilities in Japan, Marukyu baits have been formulated as the complete ‘package’… high attractiveness and palatability that brings the fish back for more as the feeding triggers do their work.

It might sound a very simple concept, but in reality each Marukyu bait contains a large number of ingredients, each serving a particular purpose. That complexity is also the reason why they retain their effectiveness, just as a complex perfume is so much more sophisticated and long-lasting than a simple ‘pong’.

In short, Marukyu baits have been formulated after extensive research, and they are designed to be great for fishing, good for fish and safe to the environment.


With best regards,



Dr Bruno Broughton
B.Sc.(Hons.), Ph.D., F.I.F.M., C.Env.

Fisheries Management Consultant