Power To The Pellet

He is affectionately known as Dave the Flave due to his love affair with baits and flavours and is a self-confessed flavour junky.

POWER TO THE PELLET

Can anyone else remember when all we anglers had to choose fromwas the simple trout pellet?

As with most things in modern fishing, whenever we find a certainproduct that is useful to us, companies are quick to recognise theirpotential and all of a sudden we are offered a multitude ofvariations along the same theme.

This is most certainly the case with the humble trout pellet. Weare now offered carp pellets, salmon pellets, micro’s, Breakdownpellets, Response pellets, Ball pellets, Soft Hooker pellets,Expander pellets and the latest additions now include Halibut and HiBetaine pellets. The sizes available are also quite considerable,starting at micro (around 2mm) right up to 22mm.

We are spoilt for choice in the flavour stakes too, no more troutor salmon flavour only. Now we can choose from old favourites such asStrawberry, Nutty and Tutti Frutti, and ranging through out and outnaturals such as Monster Crab, Bigfish, Squid & Octopus, CornSteep Liquor and finishing with the new generation of flavours suchas Activ-8 and Assasin-8 to name just a few.

But just what does this mean to the anglers wishing to fish thepellet? The answer is quite simple – things just keep getting better!Now we have an endless variety to choose from, which is why I thoughtit was a good idea to base this month’s ‘Baits And Flavours’column around the various types available. I shall put them intogroups depending on their make-up and what they’re used for, and thenfinish with a couple of ways to prepare them for fishing.

One major step forward regarding pellets is the breakdown rate.The standard trout pellet has a slow breakdown rate, which is okay,but we really needed an alternative that would signal it’s feedpresence within a minute of settling. Which is where all the hardwork and research from the major bait companies paid off for theangler, bringing along the next generation of pellet; thebreakdown.

These get to work as soon as they hit water; some have totalbreakdown rates of under two minutes, a far cry from the old pelletswith a breakdown rate of around an hour! This gives us the perfectpartnership if used together, the instant attraction of the breakdownand the slow release of the trout pellet.

It also allows us to fish perfect attractor and hookbaitcombinations, the most common I suppose is the Activ-8 and Assasin-8boilies fished in conjunction with either Crumball orBreakdown pellets.

Take a look at the shelves in your local tackle shop and you willbe faced with an array of pellets all with varying names anddescriptions but in reality there is only a small range in their makeup its only the names that are endless. The three main groups thatall these pellets can be placed in is pellet, breakdowns andhookers.

So what do these groups mean to the angler in terms of use? Let’shave a look.

PELLETS

These include the trout, salmon and carp pellet, designed as afeed package rather than an attractor they are meant to be eatenhence the slow breakdown.

But being rich in oils and vitamins, etc, any that are left startto swell and breakdown so these are often more effective to theangler after they have been in the water a while.

The introduction of the carp pellet gave us another option withthe hard feed pellet, the ability to flavour them. As the carp pelletcontains a lower oil level it is much more susceptible to taking aflavour.

There are two ways of doing this, the first being to add somepellets to a bait box then add a water and flavour mix (make sure youfollow recommended doses of flavour) and stir it round. Soaking themin water for a short while not only ensures that your offerings sink(due to their make up they all contain air pockets that can actuallymake them float for a short while, especially the small sizes) but itcan also allow you to use them on the hook. The water breaks down thehard outer shell and absorbs the water, swelling and opening thepellet slightly. The longer you soak them the softer they get. Toolong and you get a mash, so take care.

If you intend to use the larger sizes on a hair-rig then the bestway to flavour these is to add your neat flavouring to a plastic bag,rub the bag together well to coat the inside. Put in a few handfulsof pellets, blow up the bag and shake well. Then just let the air outand give the pellets a rub to coat evenly, seal the bag and freezethem. The thawing process will also draw the flavour deeper into thepellet giving a longer leak-off time.

Another pellet that benefits from a brief soaking is theExpander pellet, sold as a hard floating pellet and as thename suggests, as they take in water they can expand in size quite alot. I have used them on many an occasion to tempt cruising fish inthe warmer months fished as floaters. They can also be used as bottomhook baits with a little preparation; in fact I should say that thisis their most popular usage. I have described the preparation forthese in the Hooker pellets section later.

The advantage of Expander pellets as hook baits, are that beingnaturally very buoyant you can actually change their sink rate bygiving them a gentle squeeze to release the air.

Breakdowns

Offered primarily to compliment various ready-made boilie ranges,these pellets are heavily flavoured and breakdown at various ratesdepending on their make-up giving off a strong scent trail for thefish to home in on. Other names that fall into this group includeResponse Pellets and Crumballs as they are all verysimilar in operation.

Again these are available in a wide range of flavours making themeven more effective, a few popular examples are corn steep liquor,Activ-8, Assasin-8, Monster Crab and so on.

Their make up means that as soon as they enter the water they willstart to breakdown giving an instant area of attraction to place yourbaits in.

Hooker Pellets

Although most pellets can be used for hookbaits after a littletreatment with boiling water, there are now pellets designedespecially for the job. The advantage of these is fairly obvious, nopreparation and they can be kept in the fishing box with littleworries on storage conditions as long as they are kept in theirairtight tubs.

Like the other pellets now available the soft hooker type pelletscome in a wide range of flavours and sizes.

Due to their make a lot of hooker pellets are naturally quitebuoyant but their sink rate can be adjusted by a quick dip in waterand a gentle squeeze to remove the air.

I suppose the most popular hard pellet that is also used as a softhook bait must be the Expander Pellet. Below is the quick andeasy preparation method for using these.

1/ Place the Expander pellets in a large bait box and just coverwith boiling water for around three minutes.

2/ Tip them into a sieve to drain the water off but be careful, asit will still be very hot.

3/ Give the pellets a quick rinse with cold water, which will stopthe softening process.

4/ Make sure they are thoroughly drained or they will turn topaste, and then gently squeeze any excess water off.

5/ Then just seal the pellets in a plastic bag and place in thefridge overnight. There you have it, perfect hookable pellets.

The soak time above is obviously for the bigger size Expanderpellets, on the smaller sizes you may find that as little as 30seconds is all that is required.

Well, hopefully the article so far has helped to put the widerange of pellets now available into smaller groups regarding theiruse and make up.

I think to finish it would be a good idea to include what mustsurely be the most common way of changing the properties of the hardpellet and its use and that’s the Scalded Pellet Method.

My belief when making baits is make them a little bit different tothe ones already being used successfully on your chosen water. Thiscan often extend the lifespan of the bait and make sure it keeps itsappeal when the similar ones are losing favour.

This can really be used to maximum effect with pellets, especiallyif you fish the method using scalded pellets.

So let’s take a look at this method first and go through thestages for making scalded pellets and what we can do to make it thatlittle bit different.

1/ First you need a small bowl or bucket and your selectedpellets. My tip here is to use both different pellets and differentsizes, I tend to use 4 or 5mm and Micros (2mm) and use both trout orcarp pellet and response pellet, normally either Activ-8 orAssasin-8. If you wish to you can also add some breakdown pellets togive even more flavour and contrast to the finished bait, if you arefeeling really generous add some form of trigger liquid such as theAssasin-8 or Activ-8 dip.

2/ Place the pellets into the bowl and just cover with boilingwater and leave for about a minute, now is the time to add any otherliquids you have decided on. After a minute the pellets will havetaken on a lot of the water and started to break down. Anotheraddition a lot of anglers use when fishing this way is finely brokenboilies, these will also start to break down with the hot water andas the mix is so sticky it can hold a fair amount of solid offeringsthat all go to making a brilliant bait better.

3/ I normally start to stir the mix around with a fork to startthe pellets binding. This is also the time that I add a couple ofhandfuls (depending on the size of the mix) of Micro pellets to givethat all important crunch factor (described below).

4/ If the mix still seems a bit sloppy you can add some groundpellet to act as a binder, but don’t overdo it, you can always addmore later.

5/ Now it’s just a case of kneading the mix together into a balland place in a plastic bag in the fridge.

If you look at the photo you can just make out the differentcolours and consistencies of the various pellets used.

And there it is, a devastating way of using scalded pellets, ofcourse you can also use the mix as a paste moulded round a cork ballor similar to offer a tried and tested bait with pure crunchappeal.

The Crunch Factor

Those of you who read my last bait article will remember mymentioning the idea of putting crushed eggshells into the boiliemixes to give the carp that much loved crunch factor.

Well I use the same idea when fishing pellets but with a muchtastier offering that can really turn the fish on once they get thetaste for it.

When using scalded pellets on the method feeder I often roll thefeeder and pellet in a bowl containing a combination of Micro troutpellets and response pellets, I then mould these into the outer layerof pellet. This effectively coats the ball in an uneven layer of hardpellet that offers the ultimate in crunch appeal.

The smaller sizes of breakdown pellets can even be used to enhanceyour particle mixes so that you are fishing the ultimate three-waycombination of attractors (particles and pellets) and hookbaits, allof the same flavour.

Particles

A lot of particle preparation recipes now advise the angler to addthe various trigger liquids to the still warm seeds. Although this isextremely effective it can often deem too costly for some anglers tobe done on a regular basis. Why not buy a bag of Corn SteepLiquor breakdowns or Response pellets, I would certainlyrecommend the Activ-8 or Assasin-8 although there are many othersuccessful brands available and throw in a healthy portion. Thiswould lower the outlay from around £ 9.99 for a bottle of the dipto between £ 2.50 and £ 3.00 for the pellets and as theparticle mix cools and the pellets break down they greatly increasethe richness of the mix and it also soaks into the seeds.

Final Tip

When using small pellets for loose feeding always put them in atub or bait box and cover them with lake water for a little while asquite a high proportion of the small pellets are actually quitebuoyant due to their production process. This will help to make themsink straight away. Obviously pellets intended for PVA bags should bekept dry.

And that’s about it for this month and I hope it helps to put afew more fish on the bank, remember the only limit to bait making isyour own imagination. Don’t be afraid to try that ‘somethingdifferent’ as these are often the baits that will put the elusiveones on your mat.

A prime example is an article in a recent copy of Match Fishingwhere one angler scalds his pellets for hook baits in the usual waybut adds a shop bought jelly mix. Not only does this heavily flavourthe pellets but it also gives them a rubbery consistency, perfect forthe hook.