Q I often hear the term ‘critically-balanced’ when talking about hookbaits. What are they?

SCOTT LLOYD: A critically-balanced bait is one that sinks very slowly. It should gently nestle on top of any bottom debris and the lack of weight in the hookbait cancels out the weight of the hook. It is designed to behave like a natural freebie would do on the bottom. If the carp are eating boilies, the idea is to have a critically-balanced bait to make it easier for the carp to suck it in. If they are exerting a certain amount of effort to suck the freebies in, the weight of a straight bottom bait with a rig attached to it would be slightly different and they could detect danger. To make one of these, you can either add a pop-up to a bottom bait or you could use a straight pop-up and trim it until it sinks really slowly. I, however, prefer to use out-the-pot wafters, which do the job I want straight from the tub.

A wafter is already critically-balanced straight from the tub

Check the rig in the edge and make sure it goes down okay