I'm a big fan of the Sonubaits Competition Soft Hooker pellets, which are ready to use, straight out of the tub.

But you can make them even more appealing to the fish on iffy days by taking a  few and simply leaving them to soak in a small bait tub with an inch of water in the bottom of it.
The pellets change colour slightly and go a lighter shade. The water also softens them a little, but they do no start to break down and retain all of their angly-friendly 'stay on the hook' characteristics.
I used them recently to win a match on Westerleigh Lake at Yate, in Bristol, with 27lb of tench, skimmers and carp. I fished the pole and targeted the fish by feeding 4mm Fin perfect feed pellets in a Cad Pot, with a 4mm Soft Hooker Pellet, the preferred choice of the fish.
Later in the match I stepped it up to a 6mm pellet and had three bonus carp late on to seal the victory.
I was simply hooking the pellets on a size 16 PR32 hook as you would any expander pellet, and it worked a treat.
Softening the pellets does help on days when the fish aren't going bonkers, but I think the Sonubaits Soft Hooker Pellets are worth their weight in gold, especially on days when it is windy and you are constantly lifting at little dinks and dips on the pole float tip.
A conventional expander would simply fall off the hook, but you can keep lifting and dropping with these Sonubaits Soft Hooker Pellets until you get the result you want - a hooked fish!