A couple of my favourite things in the Sonubaits range are the red and black liquid dye colours, and I like to make a cloud in the surface layers of the water with them, used in conjunction with chopped worm and caster, when targeting F1s.

I will usually chop half a pint of worm at a time, and mix it with a pint of casters, so there is a 2:1 ratio in favour of the casters. Then I will add a generous squirt of sonubaits black and red dye and mix the lot up. To be honest, it looks awful, but cup it in, then slowly lower your rig in directly over it.

Often, before you are halfway down with the rig, the elastic will be out and a fish is hooked as it swims through the cloud and snaffles your hookbait.

The rig is pretty simple, I usually use a PB2 fished direct on either 0.13mm Preston Powerline or 0.15mm Powerline. The float will usually only require a couple of number 10 shots to cock it and, depending on the day, these can be positioned directly underneath the float or at two-thirds depth. Hookwise, I like the PR32s for F1s but if bigger carp start to muscle in I will switch to a PR28, which has all the power that I need.

Give the liquid dye a go in the way I have just described now that the weather is warming up and fish are coming under the surface. It will definitely attract more fish into your peg and you'll catch extra fish.

On the pole elastication front, I usually find that the Preston 13H hollo is spot-on, and used in conjunction with a Pulla Kit, I am always in control of the fish.