I have been fishing Monk Lakes in Kent, in readiness for Preston Innovations Delcac’s Angling Times Winter League semi-final on March 6, and I have been using Sonubaits Superscent pineapple-flavoured sweetcorn to outwit the venue's crafty F1s!

Last Sunday I managed fifth overall and a section win with 47lb of F1s, but it was a frustrating match becaue I caught well for the first 90 minutes then caught nothing until the last 45 minutes, when the F1s decided to feed again.
I am sure that a cold wind in my face, which strengthened then decreased later in the day, probably had a lot to do with my not getting bites in the middle part of the match.
But the rig I used was not a super-sexy light rig with a tiny hook, which is what a lot of anglers do when targeting F1s.
My hook, for a start, was a size 18 PR28, tied direct to .13mm Powerline. The peg was six feet deep so I used a 4 x 14 PB20, with a bulk of No 8 Stotz and one number 12 shot, fixed eight inches above the hook.
I was feeding three pieces opf corn at a time and using a hard piece on the hook. The rig was set three inches overdepth and the float was dotted.
When bites came the float would simply bury out of sight and my Preston 11H Hollo, with a Pullakit was more than a match for the fish.
I know that some of my team-mates have been having success with the pellet for these fish but I have found that if you are in a not so good area with few F1s, a lot of one ounce skimmers and roach are ragging pellet hookbaits, making it difficult to put any kind of a weight together.
So I decided to opt for corn, which is a selective bait, and the ploy worked well enough to net me a £50 section win last Sunday. My travelling partner and Preston Innovations Delcac team-mate Robbie Taylor, who I share my winnings with, won the match with 71lb of carp, so it was a decent pay day all-round!