Never really had a problem with not getting bites over micro pellets. A lot of the time I think they attract and hold fish better in the swim.

I’ve tried 3 mill expanders on the hook and have found them to be no better than 4 mills. At times it has taken longer to get a bite on the smaller hookbait.

The thing is with pellets is that it all boils down to what you are trying to achieve. There are some basic guidelines but they are exactly that basic. Because pellets come in all shapes, sizes and consistencies it can be a bit mind blowing. On paper you can go on and on for ages but in reality you can never really be 100% sure of what pellets you will need, that’s why its always a good idea to take a selection, so you can match the type of pellets you need to any given situation. The more experienced you become on specific venues and even specific pegs, the more you can narrow down your requirements, but even then you have still got to start looking at alternatives or experiment in order to give you the edge. For example on my local there is a peg that at under certain conditions, the way to fish it is to kinder pot pinches of micros and lift and drop a banded or hair rigged 4/6mm pellet over the top. With a fair percentage of fish coming on the drop. But it isn’t always like this, its not a done deal, so you have got to be prepared to try something different until you work out how they want it.

I’ve always used micro’s all year round, you can’t beat them for attracting fish into your peg imo. For every pint of micro’s i add 2 handfuls of 4mm dynamite baits carp pellets roughly too. I then cover the pellets in your favourite groundbait which really gives the pellets that extra kick. Finally i cover with water and leave to soak, the end result is fantastic believe me. The groundbait colour is upto you but i favour a red colour as it stands out well on most lake bottoms.

The pellets expand slightly and go really spongy, along with that slight amount of groundbait covering them which makes them very appealing to fish. In addition to this, when they go into the water they release oils and a cloud.

It all started when i used to just fish micro’s dry but i always found some float because they are so light and from then on i always soaked them before use. After that you’ve just got to find an edge over any other micro pellets basically, hence the groundbait with 4mm’s mixed in. I believe fish prefer soft pellets too in most situations. As feed especially. Just my view though.