AND FINALLY...

48 Many big bream fall to a sweetcorn ‘stack’, a combination of three or four grains of real and fake corn that will sit just off the bottom debris.

49 For a big perch, use a spod to introduce diced mini-prawns, chopped worms and red maggots both close in and at range.

50 For roach, few bait flavourings can beat pineapple. In liquid form, a few drops can be added to groundbait mixes, soaked into pellets or sprinkled on to maggots to give them a scent and taste that can make all the difference on hard-fished waters. Brilliant in spring!

51 Overlooked by many anglers, a grain of corn will pick out the biggest roach in a shoal. Nick a grain on to the hook and be prepared to wait a little longer than when fishing maggot.

52 To give your hookbaits more visual attraction tip them with an artificial bait such as yellow corn. Try experimenting with a fake maggot or a glow-in-the-dark piece of corn too.

53 Try fishing into dusk in spring by buying some Starlites. These plastic tubes a mix of chemicals slip easily on to the tip of any float and will stay bright for up to eight hours.

54 Keep an eye on the weather at all times, but especially in spring. If the wind changes direction, consider moving swims whether you’re catching or not. A change in direction from a cold to a warm wind can be highly productive.

55 Tench are most associated with late spring, but will start to feed as soon as the weather warms. Casters and maggots are the best two baits for them

in spring, but don’t ignore other options, just in case bites are proving hard to come by. Other baits tench relish are lobworms, 10mm boilies and even supermarket prawns and cockles.

56 Luncheon meat is fast becoming a top bait for big bream on commercials. A 4mm or 6mm piece on a size 18 or 16 hook on pole or waggler works well, and you can also feed meat, pushing it through a maggot riddle and mixing it with fishmeal groundbait to be fed regularly in small balls.

57 Mini boilies of 8mm and 10mm can produce a big stamp of roach. Colour and flavour play their part with yellow or orange sweet-flavoured baits proving best.

58 On big gravel pits, wind direction can prove the key to catching. Look to fish into prevailing winds, as the natural food will be pushed into this bank. Best winds are south, south-west or westerly. Cold east or northerly winds are usually less productive. Don’t be put off fishing a big pit if the wind is blowing hard. It will colour clear water, and can spark the fish into feeding.

59 The groundbait feeder is a tried and tested bream method but if you get a run of missed bites, try switching to a Method feeder, wrapping pellets or groundbait around it and using two or three dead red maggots on the hook. 60 Try small expander pellets on the pole for a springtime bag of skimmers. A 4mm expander will work on the hook when more traditional bream baits such as maggots and casters won’t. Feed micro pellets and fish an expander over the top.