In my experience, my larger SMB like to run with schools of HSB and hammer pellets along side them. It's cool to watch, they are in some cases nearly 6-8 lbs lighter, but manage to hang with the big dogs. I can't explain why some of my SMB have remained on pellets, perhaps these are original fish per Cody. Side note: Both SMB and HSB vastly prefer AM LMB formula over anything I've offered to date [Optimal, Skretting various formulas and pellet sizes]. Something about the AM LMB nugget turns those larger fish on like nothing else does.