How to perfect your expander pellets

As winter starts to bite, commercial water carp and F1s become harder to tempt.

Gone are the heady days of summer when a banded hard pellet was the way to catch them.

Now, you’ll have much more success by using a prepared expander pellet.

These air-filled pellets are hard straight from the bag, but with just a little effort you can produce the perfect, hookable winter pellet. Here’s how to do it…

 

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1) Fill a pellet pump between one-third and half full of water and add a handful of your chosen expanders. Note that these will initially float. 

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2) Pop the lid on and pump away until all the pellets sink. This happens when the vacuum you create sucks the air out of the pellets, replacing it with water.

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3) Leave the pellets in the water for a minute, then release the pressure by squeezing the valve or unscrewing the pump lid and pour the pellets on to a sieve.

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4) Tip the pellets, plus a little water, into the corner of a soft plastic bag and secure with a knot. Put the bag in the fridge overnight. Your bait will be perfect by the morning.