Mainline Articles
EXPANDER PELLETS
Pemb Wrighting tells you everything you need to know about Expander Pellets...
What are they?
“There’s three different types of expanders in the Mainline Match range; Activated, Cell and Neutral Expanders. All have been designed to cater for a wide range of species in loads of different situation. The pellets are available in 4mm and 6mm, which covers all of my expander work, whether I’m targeting an odd F1 in the middle of winter or big powerful carp in the heat of summer. The pellets are seriously durable and stay on the hook better than any other pellet I’ve tried in the past. This has loads of advantages to your fishing and gives you the confidence that your hookbait is performing perfectly”.
Why do you use Expanders?
“Expander pellets have become one of the most effective hookbaits on commercial fisheries for quite some time now. They lend themselves more towards pole fishing due to the soft nature of the hookbait, but when you use the right expander pellet, they can be a devasting hookbait on a Feeder also. A single 4mm or 6mm expander will catch pretty much everything that swims, from a small skimmer right through to a double figure carp. A couple of expanders fished on a Hair can be a deadly hookbait, especially when you’re targeting big F1’s and carp that are quite tricky to catch”.
How do you use them?
“The three different flavours of Expander Pellets in the range suit themselves to two different times of year in my opinion. The Cell expander has a really sweet smell, suiting the colder months when you’re looking for less bites and when you need your hookbaits to be less powerful in terms of smell and flavour. So, the Cell Expanders are my choice for the colder autumn/winter months when I’m targeting F1’s and silverfish. When the weather starts to warm up however, I will step up to the Activated Expanders which are perfect for bigger carp and F1’s. These have a meatier flavour that suits the warmer conditions when the fish are more active and eating more. Lastly the Neutral version can be flavoured to suit your personal needs at these times of year.”
Tip from the top!
“Expander pellets are a great hookbait, but one way of making them even more effective is to add some of the Sticky Syrup. This adds even more oil and attractants that fish love, it also makes the pellets a bit tougher too and improves their durability”.
HOW TO!
HOW TO PREPARE EXPANDER PELLETS!
