This year I have been experimenting with pre-softened Sonubaits Fin Perfect Feed Pellets on the hook, instead of pumping expander pellets. And in the freezing winter we have been experiencing, I have caught a lot more F1s than the anglers either side of me.

I’ve been targeting Monk Lakes in Kent, scene of the upcoming Winter League semi-final that I will be involved in with my team, Preston Innovations Delcac.
Instead of using micro pellets to feed, I have been just feeding what I have used on the hook, namely Sonubaits Fin Perfect 4mm Feed Pellets.
What I have discovered is that these pellets don’t crumble when softened, they are soft but firm, and when you need a pellet to stay on for a while, so that you can constantly lift and drop until you get a bite, these get my vote.
So how do I prepare my pellets to feed and use on the hook?
Follow these steps and success is guaranteed.
Step 1. Fill a two-pint Preston bait tub two thirds full of 4mm pellets.
Step 2. Now fill the tub to the brim with water, covering those pellets.
Step 3. Leave the pellets soaking in the water for between six and 10 minutes.
Step 4. Now drain off the water.
Step 5. Now transfer the pellets to a sandwich bag with a sealable top, and leave a little air in the bag.
Step 6. Now put the bag in your bait fridge overnight, but make sure the bag is laid flat, so that all the pellets absorb all the moisture left in the bag.
Step 7. Next morning you will have perfect, soft pellets that can be hooked on properly, and fed. This means the F1s are eating exactly what you are using on the hook, and I am convinced it’s a ploy that has caught me extra fish. In five practice matches at Monk Lakes I have never been worse than second in my section, and that includes draws in poor areas.
Just out of interest for readers, I use a PR32 hook in a size 20, with a .10mm Powerline hook-length, six inches long, and a .11mm Powerline main line. The floats are a PB Inter pole float, designed by Dorking and England's Preston Innovations and Sonu-backed star Des Shipp, and I string out a bulk of number 10s and fish with one number 11 dropper, pinched on just above the hook-length.