I’m still coming to terms with missing out on the chance to win a cool £25,000 on the winner-takes-all Parkdean Masters – but a method that worked, which involves slapping a hard pellet on the surface, is one that blog readers can try using Sonubaits’ 6mm Fin Perfect hard feed pellets.

I won the prestigious Parkdean match two years ago and was hoping to get my name on the trophy once again after finishing 21st on the previous week’s Preston Festival, which sees the top 24 go through to the Parkdean final.
This time I drew an end peg, no 1, but it looked lifeless as I tackled up. Everybody seemed to think you needed to draw near the aerators, and my peg seemed pretty much dead.
I started off on a Method feeder using the Sonubaits Method Mix, and managed to catch a couple of F1s in the first hour.
I had been loose-feeding a few casters and pellets regularly on the long pole line and after an hour decided to have a look. I was using a dibber with two number nine shots pinched on the line at half-depth and I was only fishing a foot deep.
I was slapping the rig on the surface to make a small amount of noise, to try to attract cruisers near the surface.
I had only been fishing for a minute or two in this way when I saw a dink on the float tip, struck and found myself attached to a proper carp of around 10lb. I had hooked it in the mouth but alas, after three seconds or so the hook pulled out.
I did not know at that stage how costly that lost fish would prove to be, but ten minutes later I hooked another one, which I landed, and it was a carp of around 12lb.
And from that point on I kept plugging away, cutting back to just two or three pellets fed regularly by catapult, ‘kidnapping’ the odd carp that was prepared to feed.
I ended up weighing 67lb 8 oz while Grant Albutt took the first prize with 78lb 6oz.
I also lost another decent carp which I had foul-hooked on the feeder, so it definitely wasn’t meant to be my year.
But I’ll be back!