DIY dead bait pop ups... that work

[MikeH]

I see a few threads on dead / cut baits, and I was using popped up dead baits extensively for piking up to the cut off last weekend. I thought I would share my DIY pop up solution before the season opens again in May.

I tried popsicle sticks, bits of foam etc, but these did not have the required bouyancy for a dead bait plus the hooks. What I needed was some kind of artificial air bladder inside the fish, and I was not going to risk injecting air!

The solution was a cheapo glue gun, a pair of pliers and a pack of kids drinking straws. (dont use crazy glue, it wont work.)

   

Heat up the glue gun and glue stick.
Cut the drinking straw to appropriate lengths.
Put a blob of hot glue into the end of the straw and clamp tightly closed with the pliers to make and air tight seal.
Put a second blob of hot glue into the other end of the cut straw and clamp closed.
Carefully trim the corners off one end of the straw, this is the end that you will insert into the fish.

I usually insert the pop up into the fish down through the underside of the gill cover rather than through the mouth. If needed, you can get two pop ups in, side by side for larger baits.

The added bouyancy will lift the bait nicely off the bottom and allow it to move in the flow.

[zippyFX]

Neat. would an ear plug work as well?

[MuskieBait]

Any other environmental way to pop them up instead of using these straws?

With the number of times you fish during the year, Mike, we may need a shoreline clean up just to remove your share of plastic straw from Lake Ontario

Just trying to give you a challenge to look for an eco way...being the ingenious person that you are.

Part of me is thinking something along the lines of sausage casings...something biodegradable...

[MichaelAngelo]

Another clever innovation MikeH, good stuff. Sausage casings... now that's a cool idea. Perhaps Mike thought of it already and deemed them too fragile for casting .

Now, how about using a syringe to injecting the dead bait with scent? A slow-release system.... *thinks*

[MuskieBait]

My stuff still smells like garlic

[MikeH]

(04-05-2013 09:47 AM)MuskieBait Wrote:  Any other environmental way to pop them up instead of using these straws?

With the number of times you fish during the year, Mike, we may need a shoreline clean up just to remove your share of plastic straw from Lake Ontario

Just trying to give you a challenge to look for an eco way...being the ingenious person that you are.

Part of me is thinking something along the lines of sausage casings...something biodegradable...

Haven't lost any so far. I usually pin the long the flattened end tab with the head hook which means the float tube is connected.
My tail hook is on a link leader, and I overwrap the bait with spiderthread so that it is cast-able.

I think the combination makes the bait and tube pretty secure. I know it's a pain in the ass to take one apart again afterwards.

(04-05-2013 09:16 AM)zippyFX Wrote:  Neat. would an ear plug work as well?

I haven't figured out a way to get an ear plug easily inside the bait fish, its too squishy and you can split the fish. As a kid back in the UK I used red polystyrene balls rigged above the bait fish (like a pop up boilie only bigger), but I don't think they are acceptable any more. you do lose those quite easily.

[MichaelAngelo]

(04-05-2013 10:12 AM)MuskieBait Wrote:  My stuff still smells like garlic

Shhhhhh no one's ever heard of it before. Whooops, cat's outta the bag

[MikeH]

I think I might actually have a bio-degradable alternative....
Need to test it first. Not planning on using pop up dead baits until season opens again, I was planning on pre-baiting Olympic and a couple of other spots on Sunday instead.