HOW TO USE PEPERAMI

One thing that is vital at this time of year is your bait choice. In winters gone by one of my favourite baits for scratching time has always been a little sliver of Peperami, or as I refer to it - ‘Rami’.

I don’t know whether it’s the garlic, spice or oil content but it’s a superb winter bait and can often get you a bite when fish won’t look at a conventional bait.

1. Peperami comes in a few different guises. I always have a few of the mini packs tucked in my rucker, even through the summer, they are an ideal convenience hookbait for diffi cult times. Give the hot versions a go over some ‘chilli hemp’.

My chosen components - delicate hooklinks and size 10 hooks.

2. 10lb fluorocarbon is an ideal hooklink for such a small, delicate bait. This soft version is especially good.

3. I start by cutting a small sliver about half a centimetre thick off the sausage.

4. This is about the size of sliver I use, tiny!

5. Thread it on through the intact skin and fix with a boilie stop as normal.

6. A simple knotless knot is all that is required. Because I use such a small bait a light, simple presentation capitalizes on its subtlety. A bigger hook or a thick coated braid would defeat the object.

COMBI 'RAMI RIG

1. The second way I use Peperami is as a slightly larger combination bait. I use this when I want an extra little bit of visual appeal. A section about 1cm is used here.

2. Peperami is full of oil but if you leave the skin intact it can only escape through the ends. I roughly chop all the skin off to

leave a ragged piece of meat to increase the surface area.

3. To provide the visual hint to the hookbait I use one of the new tiny plastic corn pieces. I permanently leave a few grains of plastic in with my pop-ups so they absorb some of the smell too.

4. You’ve now got a lovely little hookbait that gives visual and food signals out.

5. Once again I use a small size 10 Wide Gape hook to make the set-up as discreet. A knotless knot is also used.

6. Small, smelly, oily and ideal for a winter bite or two.

HOW TO MAKE A 'RAMI PVA STICK

1. Use a food blender or coffee grinder to pulverise a Peperami stick, it is a superb PVA stick mix additive.

2. Korda’s new ‘Long Chuck’ funnel web is perfect for making tiny PVA sticks.

3. To give you a scale, this is my little finger!

4. Micro pellets and some Dynamite Meaty Marine mix completes the bait.

5. Barely bigger than my thumb, but a superb ‘one bite’ tactic for recasting regularly in the cold months. Trust me, it catches carp even in Arctic conditions.