I agree with Theo. If your bass know how to eat pellets and the bass are at least 14" long then they should be able to eat the dry LMB hand throw pellets. No soaking required. However if your are trying to feed the 1" dia hand throw pellets to bass smaller than 13" then soaking would help these smaller bass swallow the softer damp pellet. IMO soaking time would be at least 8 hrs due to the size of the pellet and how long it would take the moisture to soak into the middle of the pellet. Do some experimenting with your batch of pellets. Some pellets definitely soften faster than others even from the same brand - in my experience. When first soaking the pellets do not add enough water to create a gravy that leaches nutrients and vitamins from the pellet.