A better bait cage.
 

After being completely fed up with the promar bait cages, I've decided to build my own.

Things I hate about the promar cages.
- The hooks to keep the doors on break after a while
- They make stacking the hoops a pain
- When bugs are thick, it's too easy for them to clear all your bait.
- They get stepped on and bend
- They're annoying to store
- Chunked bait falls right out
- Needs some sort of fastener

After seeing my friend do REALLY well on bait tubes, I got to thinking. What can I do to improve.


Here's what I've come up with.
These hold about 3-5 sardines broken in half. They lasted all night still packed with bait. Didn't need to do 1 bait change

Pros
- Cost 1/2 as much as a promar to make
- They slip right into the bait pocket in the bottom of almost all hoops
- Almost every hardware store carries them
- They are solid plastic/pvc, means no rust and nothing to break
- Smaller slits makes bait last a lot longer
- Requires no fasteners
- Makes stacking hoops much cleaner and easier on the back of a kayak
- You can fit all 5 in a 1 gallon freezer bag already loaded with bait for the next trip
- Easy to clean out and store
- They float, incase one comes loose
- Bugs can't eat them from the outside (ambush/ecplipse users), they need to get in the hoop
- SEAL PROOF

I know the biggest question everyone is thinking to themselves.... DO THEY WORK??
Well tonight, I put them to the test. See photos

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Genius!

so how many hoops do you run?

5 from the kayak, 2 from a pier.

That'll work!

Fricken smart ass.....I mean fricken smart idea!

I'll be making a few this weekend.

Bugs are definitely crawling this year....go get-em before they go to deeper waters!!!

Sweet.:cool:

I better hit up Home Depot before there all gone.Thanks for the hot tip:luxhello:.

Awesome idea, I will make some of those for sure.

The PVC one takes to much time to make. Plus I lost one last time out and get this, A dog came into my yard last night and stole my three remaining PVC bait tubes ... I found two of them ... but not the third.

that's genius and what makes the site worth visiting.

i always thought the metal cages were too big and hold too much bait. i went through the trouble of cutting them down but there still bulky. never tried the the lobster tubes but i didnt see a big improvement, still bulky.
these looks great! i like the compact idea. thanks :cheers1:

Thanks guys :you_rock:

I just went and bought a few extras just incase you all clean out the home depot by my house :D

Give me some feedback and let me know how you like them, and what if any improvements you come with.

I guess I should have just started selling them haha

I just bought 5.

The inventory guys at Home Depot will be like wow a rush on drain grates.

I may drill holes in the white part. I will also put some rope loops on them to clip them down if needed.

I bought small little self tapping eye lid screws. A 5 pack cost $0.98

I might put them through too. I used the cages last night and didn't find a need.

Nice job! Post in Shared Innovations thread too?

Let me know if the halved salmon heads fit in these. I built some tubes with 3" drain pipe and they suck for halved heads.

Here is a slight modification, don't know if it helps but I figured it couldn't hurt.

A drill press would be easier as I used a vise and hand drill.

You know you gotta wear these now.

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Cant beat the simplicity! Thats a nice find drake! What ya gonna call it? the draketube....drakecage....Kanyewestcage....drainca ge...:luxhello:

yep had a seal problem this past wednesday....i built a promar style bait tube, i know why it costs $20 bucks now...! Its a deal when its got a $100 bucks worth of holes in it!:eek:

I call it a bait puck :cool:

Made a small modification to the nets to better accommodate the pucks.

One came loose last night so I wanted to come up with a better way to secure them. This is what I came up with.

I cut the string that holds the tag ends of the netting together which forms the opening. Then I weaved a short bungee in the loops and zip tied them to the lower ring. I cut the end off so they wouldn't rust and get hung up, then burned the tips to clean them up.

The bungees cost $2.94 from home depot.

Took about 2 minutes for each hoop.

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Bait Tubes
 

So how did your new bait tubes work...I like the idea..have been looking for a better alternative myself...thanks brewman!

Just bought a couple can't wait to try them out.

The Bait Pucks work fantastic.

Remember to knife them at every pull.

I have a second set that I clip on a couple hours into it. I leave the first puck in there as well.

I got my first limit the other night with them and even threw back 2 legals as I pulled up my last nets.

Tried them out tonight, work like a champ!!!

Soo much easier and no hassels, Drake you are a true innovator! Thank you sir and hope your nets are always full of the right kind sir!


:you_rock:

Read the posts below :D I've hit limits everytime (6x) with them
Awesome, let me know how they work. Maybe they can be in a grab bag as a giveaway at yakfest 2013
NICE!!!! Yeah I've been sticking my knife through the slits at least before every outing. Glad they are working for you.
Did you find you had to keep rebaiting though, since you have a lot more access to the bait?
Thank you very much! I'm super stoked for you. :you_rock: too

Did you guys do the bungee trick on the hoops too?

Please call them the "Drake Puck" to all your friends. I want to leave my mark any way I can haha :D

I just like to put out new bait an hour or two into it for even more scent. I do not rebait the Drake Pucks™ in place, I just put in an additional one.

I am thinking of trying scissors to cut up the bait in the Drake Pucks™ at each pull. I also have found a straight edge screw driver works great for opening them up.

The current will be strong tonight as well as foggy, sounds like a fun night to hoop as I am going out again this evening.

Almost 2 months, and these things are still holding up well. I've only had to re-bait 3 times and I've used them over 15 times. Just switched from Sardines to Greenbacks, I'll report back when I figure out how they work with Greenies

Bump... drake picks live...

But have evolved.... 3 inch drain pipe and holes that look like new promar bait tubes.

Lobster on!

OLD news
 

Been doing this for years, works great. I like the smaller 2" pvc, less bait to fill and keep seals and rays from slurping your shit.

When no seals are around i use the Jim Kelley special aka Deamon, cant share that though. :the_finger::the_finger::the_finger::the_finger:

DEAMON with the bugs and the biscuits. He's a legend in my book. Another fine kayaker lost to a skiff.

I use those in addition to the homemade bait tubes.

Having seen a family at Mole (when it was allowed) get their nets torn by sea lions, I stop putting anything in the net pucket.

I use clips to attach the "bait pucks" to the upper ring and bottom net.

it provides scent and the seals leave the netting alone.