I’ve just had a fantastic day’s match fishing on a day when the water was cold and clear – and it’s all thanks to Sonubaits’ Supercrush Dark, which helped colour the peg and give the fish some much needed confidence.

Now that it’s gone cold and the colour has dropped out of the water, the fishing is harder and fish take some tempting. Last Sunday I fished a rover match on West Lake at Blundells and arriving late for the draw, took peg 21 which is in a corner.The combination of cold rain, a couple of cold nights and the onset of November meant the water had lost some vital colour and this signaled a careful approach. I based it around cupping in 10 red maggots with a tiny plug of Sonu Supercrush Dark in the cad pot. The Supercrush Dark put a scent trail in the water and the dark colour provided a fine cloud which gave the fish confidence to feed.

The swim was five feet deep and I rigged up my ‘The One’ pole by Preston Innovations with a tip kit containing a single strand of Preston Slip latex in size 10 grade.The float was a slim Preston Innovations Inter 1 with a carbon stem as there was no wind or ripple and this was a 4 x 14 float, fished in five feet of water. Main line was 0.13mm diameter Preston power Line with a .10mm Powerline hooklength, finished off with a size 20 PR32 hook. Double red maggot was the hookbait and as the match wore on the feeding regime I employed meant the peg got stronger and stronger.I had ide to 14oz, F1s to the same weight and a couple of carp around 8lb apiece, plus small barbel. At the weigh-in I tipped 56lb on to the scales to win the lake and finish fifth overall on the day.I had a cracking day’s sport, never knowing what I would hook next when the float tip buried.Try Sonu Supercrush Dark when the water goes clear. It could help to transform a lifeless peg into a potential winter winner.