As our first review finds, TFG’S Airbomb has rewritten the rules of long-range baiting

It’s not a spod, nor a Spomb, the Airbomb from TFG is a bait-delivery product that stands on its own.

The theory is not a new one (anglers have created homemade baiting ‘cones’ before) but the execution is nigh on perfect.

The plan is simple – stop a bait rocket in mid-air with a jolt so it blasts its payload in a scattered approach using the momentum of the cast – but the Airbomb offers more than that.

A central ‘pin’ runs through the Airbomb and, like a grenade, when this is pulled by the tug of hitting your line clip on the cast, the device’s two halves spring open and the bait is released. This all happens before it hits the water, minimising disturbance and definitely confusing seagulls.

The bait flies forward beyond the reach of your longest cast and does so in a lovely scattered pattern

Before we had a go with the Airbomb we had reservations about how this would work – would light particles fly off in a completely different way to boilies? Would the baits ping off in all directions?

What actually happens is perhaps the Airbomb’s most impressive party trick. The baits fly out in a lovely spread, but it’s a uniform one that can be repeated time after time.

We compared a payload of hemp and a payload of boilies and yes, the hemp doesn’t go as far, but it’s only by about the length of a stride forwards when casting.

The spread of particles is also unobtainable even with a catapult, depositing a lovely arc of seeds over your spot.

The fun doesn’t stop there, either. With Dave Lane by our side during our demo session with the Airbomb, he pointed out the ability to bait up with unprecedented tightness to an island or far-margin bank.

Because there’s no risk of losing the Airbomb in the undergrowth or an overhanging tree (you clip up well short of where the bait ends up), you can really fling your boilies or particles into a snag or undercut.

Last but not least, the Airbomb can also be used for baiting tiny holes in the weed or very localised spots.

Because it does not open on impact with the water, you can cast it out beyond your spot, retrieve it over the surface then, with a short, sharp tug on the rod, ‘pull the pin’ and deposit your bait.

We came away from our morning with the Airbomb buzzing with thoughts of how best to put it to use – from pinging out floaters without landing a plastic rocket in the middle of the spot, to defeating Spomb-aware seagulls and scudding baits into island margins.

The downsides? Well, it’s £14 and currently only available in a single size, but it’s solidly built and we think it’s more than worth the outlay – especially when compared with the cost of a throwing stick, which the Airbomb comfortably outperforms.

It’s also not the most buoyant baiting device. It does float and will skip across the surface on the retrieve, but you must get cranking almost as soon as you’ve hit the clip or it’ll dip below the surface and become a pain.

Aside from that, this is a genuine game-changer that will ignite the imaginations of thoughtful anglers and create baiting situations most carp will have never encountered before.