Bread

Bread is a fantastic bait when the water temperature plummets, and starts to clear. It is a very light bait and its white colour means it is easily picked out in clear water.

I usually start a winter session by fishing 6 inches off the bottom and dobbing against far bank cover, I fishy looking areas. If I’m fishing on a snake lake my number one winter dobbing float is a 4×10 Chianti.

Although if I tackled an open water venue I’d chuck a bomb with a few 8mm punches of bread, hair rigged using a Rapid Stop, mounted to a size 16 PR27.

Maggots

Maggots are one of my favourite winter baits, there deadly and can catch a lot of fish. My favourite way of fishing maggots is to use a Small Cad pot.

This pole-mounted pot allows me to drip feed maggots into the swim and control how much bait I feed without overdoing it.

It also maintains accuracy and allows me to feed right over my float so my rig is in the killing zone every chuck!

Corn

Fish can pick a grain of corn out very easily in the clear water due to its bright yellow colour.

I’ve been using Sonubaits F1 Corn for a while now, it just adds that extra boost to this awesome winter bait.

On hard days, try squeezing the middle out of the kernel will get you an extra bite, or two. Squeezing the kernel makes the corn lighter, and flutters through the water.

It’s a lot easier for the fish to suck in too!

Pellets

Pellets are a bait you’ll find on every anglers side tray, be it summer or winter.

But expanders can be unbeatable at this time of the year. Their soft buoyant nature makes them irresistible to wary carp and F1s.

I use the Sonubaits Super Expanders for all of my soft pellet fishing. They pump very easily and give me a perfect soft pellet, every time .

Groundbait

Groundbait is a great way of attracting fish without over feeding the swim.

Supercrush Expander works perfectly during the winter months. This groundbait is very light and fluffy, I can feed it lose or in little balls, again through a cad pot.

I use a wide variety of hook bait with it too. Maggots, pellets, corn and even bread work brilliantly. Which gives you options at this tricky time of year.

So, make sure you give these baits a try this winter, they certainly work wonders for me, and I’m sure they’ll work for you too.

Tight lines,

John