“Try double dipping on the pellet cone,” says bait expert Paul Garner.

Try my ‘minimal feed, maximum flavour’ edges

FISH location has to be your top priority at this time of the year.

Most venues will have some winter form, and the go-to pegs will be well known, but the fish won’t necessarily stay put around obvious features for long.g.

Often you can catch a couple of fish early on before bites dry up. Now can be the time to start searching around the swim a little until you find the fish again.

Often, I will fish a little way away from any features or cover to give the fish some room to move.

Now, when bites dry up, I have a pretty good idea where they will be hiding, and can drop a bait tighter to the feature.

Moving hookbaits around the swim can bring more bites, but

it can also mean that you are leaving bait all over the shop, which can be the kiss of death. I prefer to cast around with just a hookbait, keeping any feed (and there won’t be much) tight to my ‘banker’ spot. I will keep returning to this area every so often on the lookout for any fish that might have sneaked back over the bait while the swim has been rested.

ON THE HOOK

I carry a few different hookbaits, tending to think more about colour and buoyancy than flavour. The hookbait will be dipped anyway, so its flavour will be masked. Bright colours are the way to go. A fishery pellet is quite a light sandy colour anyway, and in water it soon takes on an off-white appearance.

Pink and white boilies tend to bring more bites, simply because they stand out well and are easy for the carp to locate.

The senses of the fish will be quite sluggish as the water is so cold, so a hookbait that really screams ‘eat me’ works best of all.

Using a slow-sinking or wafter hookbait is all about improving the efficiency of your rig. A bait that only just sinks is much easier for the carp to suck in and will end up further back in the mouth, giving much better hookholds and fewer fish that frustratingly drop off during the fight.

If you cannot get hold of any wafters, a useful alternative is to use a 10mm pop-up with a small shot pinched on to the hair just below the bait to turn it into a slow-sinker.