Whenever I go fishing on commercials I will have two types of Sonubaits Fin Perfect Expanders in my bait bag - standard and jelly pellets.

To prepare jelly pellets is a simple process and the Sonubaits Fin Perfect expander pellets in 4mm and 6mm sizes are perfect for creating them, because they have all the right levels of ash, fibre and fishmeal.

You will find gelatine on sale in supermarkets. Just head for the aisles containing baking ingredients and you will see that you can purchase unflavoured or flavoured gelatine. I always use unflavoured so that the fishmeal in my Sonubaits pellets can get to work in the water.

The big plus about a gelatine pellet is that it will not fall off your hook, even if, when you lift the pole to set the hook, you miss a bite. Simply lower the rig back down and it will go under again.

Now that I’ve got you interested, let’s go through pellet preparation.

The first step is to pump the desired  quantity of expander pellets and remove them immediately from the pump once they have sunk. Then, I will pour boiling water into a mug, half filling it. To this hot water I then add a sachet of gelatine and give it a vigorous stir with a spoon.
I will then add the pumped expanders and give them a stir to make sure they are all coated. I then leave the gelatine pellets in the mug for around half an hour.

By this time the liquid in the mug is starting to cool down and at this point I will drain the gelatine off  and spread the pellets out on some kitchen roll. I leave them for a few minutes then bag them up, removing all excess air, and the tightly knotted bag can go either into the fridge, for next day use, or the freezer. When the fishing is hard I like to hook on the pellet  through the top, rather than through the barrel, which works better on days when fish are going really mad, as it pulls through the grain of the pellet more easily.

The key to success with pellet fishing is learning not to strike. I never strike when the float goes under. All I do is execute a very slow lift of the pole tip by two to three inches and this in essence pricks the hook against the flesh in the fish’s mouth and it panics and hooks itself. If F1s rather than skimmers are the target, and they are being extra finicky I will lift the float out, but not so much that the float comes entirely out of the water, and lower it back down, to induce more bites.

My favourite pellet hook is the Preston PR32 and for skimmers and F1s in winter, the 9H Hollo elastic is spot on. I think PB20s are one of the best pellet floats as it’s sensibly proportioned cane bristle can be dotted right down, and the pear-shaped body affords excellent stability.

Just remember that you only want a maximum of 12 inches of line from the pole tip to the float when pellet fishing, so that you can lift to set the hook. Zorro-type striking is definitely out!