When the fishing becomes really hard in winter and bites are at a premium, a great idea that produces time after time is fishing tiny PVA bags of Sonu Baits S Pellets or Sonu Fin Perfect Feed Pellets, on the tip.

This is a great way to tempt a bite when the water is really cold, as you are presenting your hook-bait on top of a small pile of pellets, and it is an idea that we matchmen have taken from the carp anglers and tweaked for devastating results.

I use the Korum Rapid Melt PVA for making my bags, and I usually make them up at home in advance of a match. I tend to use 4mm pellets if I am fishing for F1s, but you can use bigger pellets, 6mm or 8mm pellets, if you are targeting bigger carp.

It is very important to keep the PVA bags, or 'tea bags' as some anglers call them, dry, because once the PVA stocking comes into contact with moisture it will dissolve. Obviously, if you try to make the bags up on the bank it is a recipe for disaster, because your hands will be damp, if not wet, most of the time.

I tend to use the Preston Sentient 10' Carp Mini rod for my tip work on commercials, and this rod will do the job with PVA bags. I normally use a free-running bomb and attach either 0.11mm Powerline or 0.13mm Powerline as the hook-length, depending whether it is F1s or bigger carp I am expecting to hook. Generally in winter the hook will be a PR36 size 18, with a hair-rigged band, for hard pellets as the hook-bait, or tied off on a hair with a Korum Quick Stop if presenting a single grain of corn, which is generally the best winter bait, even when fished over the pellets.

All you need to do is nick the PVA bag to your hook, going through the mesh with the hook point then twisting the bag a couple of times, before nicking the hook through once again. That's all there is to it, but bear in mind that sometimes you will need to incorporate a larger bomb in your set-up to cast the bag accurately.

Give this method a go now we are in the middle of winter. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the results.