Expander pellets.

In my usual quest for fishing on the cheap, I recently bought what I thought was a cheap bag of Swim Stim pellets.

On getting home, though, I discovered they were expanders. mg:

Thus they turned into the most expensive pellets I'd ever bought, after purchasing a pump.

My question is, what is the point of expander pellets apart from being a softer hook-bait?

Expanders are very slow sinking and waft about the swim enticingly, they are also hookable so can be used as feed and hookers... I find that soaked hard pellets as feed and expanders on the hook is a deadly method, especially for F1 and bream...

I never do too many expanders for a trip... 50-70 4mm is plenty for a session. To prepare soaked hard pellets (non expanders) as feed soak them for 1 minute per mm of size... eg 2mm pellets soak for 2 mins, drain off and break them up...

Use them on a size 16 on a top 2+2 pole setup with an .03grm rig feed about 10 soaked pellets via a pole cup and fish an expander on the hook....

one of the advantages with the expanders is you can add a bit of flavour to the water and as you pump the pellets it gets drawn in and leaks off in the water whilst on the hook for further attraction..... give em a go

You don't need a pump for expanders Slappy - just put what you need into a bowl and cover in boiling water. In a few minutes the expanders will have soaked up the water - leave to cool then place in a freezer bag, or similar and leave in the fridge overnight. In the morning the expanders are ready to go - not sure how you clean the pump up to get a refund though............

Thanks for the replies.

I guess that learning from my mistakes is becoming more frequent as I get older.

I just hope the kids understand why their inheritance has disappeared.

Up my fishing folly funnel. mg:

I use expander pellets for all my still water fishing. The preparation is easy, just pump them for 20 seconds, leave to soak in the same amount of water as you have pellets, until they are the size you require and away you go. Pellets from 4mm to 6mm can be fished on a 16 hook. By far the best pump available is Steve Ringer's . It works every time, all the time and believe me I have tried them all. Expander pellets are great for silver fish but unfortunately also attract carp. If you prepare the pellets before you set off it is advisable to re-pump them at the venue prior to beginning to fish to ensure they all sink. Expander pellets are primarily a bait for the pole, although they can be used with rod and line but it requires a very delicate cast, which is way beyond me. I always take a slack handful of pellets out of the bait box and leave them to dry off and harden a tad. These will be ideal for hook bait and are less likley to drop off when shipping out. Pete

Another vote for the Ringer pump from me. I only discovered how effective expanders can be this season and I realise now how much I'd been missing. I thought I had my soft hook pellet sorted but a 4mm expander is now my go to. Out fishing my old faithfuls easily....and I was doing alright anyway.