It's that time of the year when F1s - the genetically-engineered eating machine that's a cross between a crucian and a common carp - are worth their weight in gold in terms of sport in cold weather.

But a lot of anglers struggle to put a few together whether pleasure fishing or match fishing, and with a trick or two involving baits from the Sonubaits stable, including Sonu Fin Perfect Feed Pellets, I'd like to try to put you right.
First of all, F1s are weird feeders when it is cold. If you put too many feed pellets into a swim, you can end up with too many fish in front of you, and this can lead to a lot of foul-hooked fish, which invariably come off and spook the rest of the shoal.
So my first golden rule, where F1s are concerned, is not to pre-feed a spot for them. It's easier to pick a line, plumb up, set the float at dead depth and then feed and go straight in.
Golden rule number two is not to overdo it. When we are coming out of a cold spell like the one we have endured for several weeks at the end of 2009 and into 2010, it is better to go very easy.
I like to feed the Sonu 2mm Fin Perfect feed pellets, and these are simply soaked in enough water to cover them for a couple of minutes, and then drained off. If you like, you can add a couple of drops of the Sonubaits F1 liquid additive to the water, to give the pellets a lovely brasemy aroma and flavour.
When you start to feed, limit the number of 2mm micros to between six and 10 per put-in. If you overfeed, you start getting funny bites and if you start to foul-hook fish, plumb a new line elsewhere, go there and start all over again.
As far as hook pellets go, I use the Sonubaits 4mm Fin Perfect Expanders. I usually prepare these once at my peg, but it is the first thing that I do, to allow them time to expand to the size I want. I just keep an eye on them in the pump while tackling up and once they have reached the size I want, I drain off the water and put them in a tub with just a little water.