Sonubaits 2013 - Byron

Pumped ExpanderPellet PerfectionLee Edwards is well known for his commercial fishing and an importantfactor involved in this is his preparation of his favouriteFin Perfect Expander Pellets.Everyone prepares differently, butthis is how I do it. I see so manyanglers who simply take expanderpellets from a bag and pump themwith no preparation, then they seem tospend the whole match shipping in andout to re-bait after their pellet has comeoff on a lift and drop or striking at afish. This takes up valuable timein a match.Understanding the structure of apellet is the most important thing. FinPerfect Expanders have a honeycombstructure and the pockets of air withinthe pellet must have water in them, notair, for the pellet to sink. Pellet Pumpsare designed to suck the air out ofthe honeycomb structure and fill theair pockets with water. If you do thiswith a pellet straight from the bag itcan cause the structure of the pellet todevelop a fracture and therefore youget pellets which split when you aretrying to hook them or fall off the hookbecause the honeycomb structure hasbeen damaged.To get around this, I soften mypellets the night before a match. Todo this I take the required amount Ineed and dunk them under water forfive seconds. This gives them an evencoating of water, but not too much,otherwise they will go soggy. Removethem from the water and place in apolythene bag, seal the bag and put itin the fridge. Leaving them overnightallows them to absorb the smallamount of water which has coated themand they will soften slightly.“Fin PerfectExpandershave ahoneycombstructureand thepockets ofair within thepellet musthave waterin them, notair, for thepellet to sink.”I don’t touch them again until Iarrive at my peg. Then I will pump themand leave them for five minutes, releasethe valve and they should all sink.What has happened is that overnightthe moisture has soaked into the centreof the pellets, so when you pick oneup before pumping they have moreof a spongy consistency – this meansthat they won’t fracture when the air isremoved and replaced by water.Once they’re prepared I keep themon my side tray in a tub with a smallamount of water – just enough to keepthe bait moist. And that’s it. That’s theway that I prepare them! They stayfirmer and behave as you want them to,which means more time fishing and lesstime re-baiting.L.EdwardsLee EdwardsWelsh International36INGENIOUS, IRRESISTIBLE