JELLY PELLETS OR EXPANDERS?

QI have a lot of success with jelly pellets that I make myself in the summer but they’re nowhere near as good in the winter. Would I be better off changing to normal expander pellets prepared with a pump? John Vincent, Spilsby

Steve says: I have to admit that I have always found a pumped expander will outfish a jelly pellet.

That said, when bagging up a jelly pellet is more robust and rubbery and will stay on the hook better, so for high summer, a jelly pellet is fine.

I think the main reason a pumped expander is better in the cold is down to its weight and consistency

QWhen I use maggots for F1s I get plagued by little roach. How can I get rid of them without overfeeding or ruining the swim? Wally Armstrong, Battle

Steve says: Having spent many winters fishing for F1s at Tunnel Barn Farm I found that switching lines seldom worked. Most times I had to try and feed small fish off.

If that didn’t work, either maggots were the wrong bait or there weren’t enough F1s in the peg to push the silvers out.

Quite often, on mild days, I would feed three or four pints of maggots to feed the little fish off.

The best maggot days, I always found, were when it was bitterly cold and the roach had shut up shop. Under those conditions I could tap three or four maggots in and know that 99 per cent of the time I was going to catch F1s.

– a jelly pellet is relatively heavy by comparison and I’m totally convinced this makes a huge difference. A pumped expander is a very light hookbait and when sucked up it flies into the mouth of a fish with little resistance.

I also believe softer baits bring more bites in the cold, and a pumped pellet is much softer than the jellied version.

QI’m told I should fish as light a pole float as possible. But in 6ft of water, surely a 4x12 float won’t present a bait properly? Phillip Fry, Guiseley

Steve says: In the cold, carp feed a lot by sight and spend a lot of their time off bottom.

A bait falling slowly through the water under a light float will lead to more bites. In 5ft of water, if conditions allow, I’ll think nothing of using a 4x10 float, but it’s no good fishing a light float if you can’t present your hookbait properly.

The light float theory works better for carp than silver fish, which demand a more positive approach. If in doubt, next time you are on a few fish, set up a light and a heavy rig and see which one works better. Nine times out of 10, it will be the lighter of the two.