In winter, when targeting F1s, to my mind there are a couple of key pointers for success.

Getting the feeding right is crucial, and scaling down your tackle is of almost equal importance.
Currently I have been devoting a lot of time to fishing Monk Lakes in Kent, scene of Dorking’s upcoming Angling Times Team Championships semi-final. In fact, I’ve been on the place every weekend now for two months, and F1s are the name of the game, along with some mirror carp.
There are four lakes and a couple respond best to maggot and the others to pellets and maggots.

The pellets I use on the hook are the Sonubaits original Ton Up 6mm expanders and the standard 4mm Fin Perfect expanders. I use the 4mm Fin Perfect feed pellets, dampened down, and the Sonu 2mm micro pellets for feeding, dripping them in little by little using a cad pot.

It really is a case of feeling your way into matches at the moment if you draw pegs in the middle areas of the lakes. The end pegs tend to look after themselves and you will catch on the flyers, whatever bait you use.

The venue is on top of a hill and open to the elements so if it is windy it is hard to present pellets and you have to fish with maggot as hookbait.
As far as F1s go, the best advice I can offer is to fish for them as you would for roach, which means that finesse and careful feeding are the main requirements.

When I set out I choose a swim at either 11, 13 or 14.5 metres and I usually start off feeding 20 to 25 4mm pellets. These are prepared by simply soaking them for two minutes in a bait tub on the bank. I then replace the lid and drain off the water, giving them a good shake to separate them. I will always start by going in with a 6mm Ton Up expander and if I don’t get a bite on that I’ll immediately switch to a 4mm pellet.

If bites are hard to come by I will then start to feed 2mm micro pellets and just include one or two 4mm pellets in with them. It’s a case of playing it by ear and seeing what is feeding and what the anglers are doing around you.

When it comes to expander pellet preparation, everybody has different ideas but I simply pump them two or three times and then leave them for 15 minutes before draining the water off and keeping them in a plastic bag.
If I want to feed expanders via the pole pot I will add a little fine olive oil and this ensures that every single one sinks.

Finally, a word about elastics and rigs. Down here in the Surrey area everybody fishes for F1s by threading the top three kits with elastic. My choice is the Preston Slip original elastic in grade six, which is yellow coloured.
The top two kits on my Preston Innovations Genis 2G12 pole fit perfectly on to the bottom section of the Genis Pulla Top kit system, and I usually set a couple of these top threes up. I find with the aid of the Pulla Kit  that if I hook a better fish I have some element of control over it when playing it.

My favourite floats for F1s are the Preston Classic 10s. These are the right shape for lifting and dropping, which is the name of the game in making F1s take the hookbait. Once settled in the water they don’t don’t alter too much in the way they sit.

I prefer the Preston PR 30 hooks in size 18s and 20s as they are quite strong but light. Here at Monk Lakes I am not fishing for massive weights – 25lb is a good net at the moment – so these fine hooks are more than up to the task.
My main line on my rigs is 0.10mm Preston Powerline and I use 0.08 and 0.09 Powerline for my hooklengths.

Remember that F1s are notorious for being shy feeders and this is because of the crucian genes in their make-up. Go easy, feed lightly, take care with presentation and if you follow my tips you should soon be catching your fair share.