Review of ' HEMP PELLET'.

Released last year after 12 months of intensive field-testing, with results that surpassed even Mainline’s expectations, came the next in the line of new products that have already become a top seller. No fancy gimmicks or wild claims about this product instead it is exactly what we have come to expect from Mainline Baits, an honest product that is exactly what it is claimed to be.

Hemp has always been a great fish attractor and hemp based products aimed at carp anglers have been about for some time now, so why has it taken so long for Mainline to release their version of hemp pellet? Well I am in a very fortunate position in that I am one of the anglers that get to try these new bits when Steve and Kev are looking at making something new, well before it is released on the general public.

I can remember being given several ‘hemp pellets’ to try some 3-4 years ago now and being asked, along with some very good, well known anglers, what we thought and how they behaved in various water temperatures etc. These so called ‘hemp pellets’ did not last long before being given the push. The one thing that everyone relayed back to Mainline was that the hemp content was quite sparse to say the least. When the pellets were put into water, all they did was to dissolve slowly into a still, idle pile of dust. The actual seed/particle content was next to nil so there was very little to actually invoke a feeding response from curious carp.

Now, when you lay down a challenge to Steve and Kev, you should retreat to a safe place as things really do happen and anything or anyone that gets in the way will soon regret it. They then set about the task of not finding an existing product that could be sold as the new Mainline Hemp Pellet, but instead getting one made to their own specifications. This was always going to be a tough job because as everyone knows, pure hemp is very oily and so would be very, very difficult to bind together to make into pellet format.

After many meetings and phone calls, many various prototypes were soon returned for trials. Some of these were rejected upon site and smell and others made the stage 2 of trials and it was these pellets that were given to some of the lads to try in a fishing situation. I was one of the lucky ones and I enjoyed some terrific fishing whilst testing them. The lake that I was fishing at the time had a ban on hemp but it did not take long to get a reaction to the new pellets and within three weeks, one particular pellet out-fished all the others 3 to 1. I had only banked 5 fish to low-twenties in twelve weeks before taking the pellets to try and by fishing small pva bags of the hemp pellet, I banked another 9 fish in 3 weeks up to mid-thirties. Confidence was sky high and reports from the other lads all told the same story. It looked like a winner was immerging from the rest and so it was back to the makers to discuss making the pellet in bulk.

This proved to be no problem and soon Mainline were in possession of 40x25kilo sacks for field-testing. This was shared out amongst some off the lads but it did not take too long to see that no more trials were required, it was exactly what mainline had asked for. The pellet contains actual hemp seeds, particles of hemp and other small pieces that are all proven fish catchers as well as being all bound together with another proven fish attractor in its own right.

Testing continued for the rest of that season and even during the winter months, the hemp pellet was still used and results were very encouraging, so at last it was decided that this was the one that would be released onto the market for others to enjoy.

During the warmer months the pellet, which is about 8mm round and 12mm long, started to soften within about 10 minutes. The one big difference to any other pellet that we had seen was as the pellet dissolved. Particles and pieces of the pellet could be seen floating up and away from the pile and a slick of oil was around the pellets within 20-30 minutes. The pile of pellets soon became an active, busy area that any curious fish would find very difficult to ignore. Any disturbance in the immediate area saw a furious explosion of oil and floating hemp particles for some distance around and it was this reaction that made this product stand out from any others.

During the colder months, the Hemp Pellet can still be used with total confidence and the reaction times are roughly twice that of the summer months, taking about 30-40 minutes to completely dissolve, but still with the oil showing around them. Totally remarkable and it was then that I stated several times in print that these would revolutionise Hemp Pellets as we knew them. I just could not fish without a few of them in the swim and was well and truly hooked.

Since their release, a lot has been spoken and written about this product but you cannot imagine what they are like until you actually see them in water for yourself. Crush a couple in the palm of your hand and you will see that they actually contain whole and crushed hemp seeds, quite a unique concept considering what was being sold under the same name else where.

Ideal for using in pva bags as well as loose feeding by pult to about 30 yards, spodding and even melting down with hot water to form a brilliant method mix especially when mixed 50/50 with Response Pellet done the same way.

A 5 kilo bucket sells at £18.99 in the shops and I can only suggest that you get hold of some as quick as you can, you will thank me one day. So many reports in the weekly press include these pellets and I am not the only one that truly believes that this is the nearest thing that you can get to the real thing. Convenient, clean and easy, there is always a couple of kilo with me all year round or any venue. Check with your local Mainline stockist for availability and then enjoy. Remember, it does exactly what it says on the tin!