Pellets may not be every angler’s first port of call at this time of year but with a bit of thought, you can really turn them into a great cold-water bait...

Used far more in summer, pellets remain one of the very best carp attractors and feeds at our disposal, but with their high oil content, they lose their effectiveness in colder conditions. Thick, heavy oils tend to congeal in the cold, so the attractors do not leak out for the carp to detect so easily and they also become more difficult for the carp to digest.

However, there is a huge range of low-oil pellets out there that can still be effective at this time of year. You can usually spot these even before reading the bag because they tend to be much paler due to the lack of oils within. The inside of the bags will also be much cleaner, again because there is less oil, which can often taint the bags themselves. Another excellent option is hemp pellets – often brilliant carp attractors in winter.

Look for something with a quick breakdown time because this will be important in cold conditions. Depending on your application, the size of the pellets doesn’t make too much difference in this case. If you’re filling a solid PVA bag, however, then still opt for small pellets as you would in summer, so as to pack the bag tightly for casting and immediate sinking.

Finally, if you want to spruce the pellets up, then give them a dose of winter-friendly dip or glug. L-Zero-30, hemp oil or that forgotten favourite CSL are just a few excellent options for this, but again avoid anything heavily oil based.

Try soaking a few pellets in your chosen liquid and then use them in tiny mesh PVA bags, nick one on the hook alongside a high attract hook bait and cast them into likely holding areas or at showing fish. Good luck!

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