kayak live bait tube / torpedo

[HenryR]

Anyone here tried or use a live bait tube / torpedo?

particularly: how big do they need to be? for yakkas? do they keep squid alive? even when towed? and, any suggestions on easy way to streamline them?

Edited July 30, 2017 by HenryR
spelling ! and then later, added some tags

[brickman]

hey henry never hear off a torpedo but live bait tubes or slimy or tuna tubes i used to make is this what you mean

[HenryR]

hi brickman,

And, many thanks for the reply.

There's some overlap but them's not the kinda live bait tubes I'm thinking of.

A length of PVC pipe, with more room for the fish to wiggle than pictured above. A few breathing holes drilled here and there. Towed behind a kayak. That's the basics. I get around in a little sit-in kayak, have only a little deck space. Towing a tube is an alternative to lugging a bucket and pump around ..

I've looked at a few online D.I.Y. instructionals, many of which don't strike me as great ... thought I'd see if there are any experts here before I lash out on $20 of PVC - cautious !

[Razzell]

Hello mate,

I built exactly what you described - was pretty easy. 

I very rarely use bait, in fact I've only used the tube once, but it worked well for Yakka's. I also put a pool noodle on one side of it (cut in half length ways) to keep it floating. I haven't tried this yet, but another yakker who does/has the same thing recommended it to reduce drag etc. and it makes perfect sense to counter the only problem I found (that it sinks!)

You do get drag with it, and it does bang against the boat a bit, but not enough of a problem to warrant me looking in to another solution. When livebaiting, I just sort of drift/paddle about lazily, so drag doesn't really matter.

Hope that helps.

Razz

[HenryR]

heya Razz,

yep, really good to hear how you went with one.

What size did you go for? Looking online I found a length recommendation of 750mm. I've already bought pipe, caps, glue, and some sleeves that seemed like they'd make a good sliding hatch (grad total of $25 for anyone wondering about the same: it is cheap). 750mm seems long ...

Pool noodle I already have. I thought I'd try making tapered floats to fit either end of the tube with that. Boat shape, easier towing .. who knows???

I'm like you, not a big bait user. More and more tho, I feel like having a livey floating around while tossing plastic is productive enough to make some allowances for. I know what I'd really like is a collapsible, towable container. I have pondered hard end caps and a flexible sheet fitted into them might work there. I've seen soft ones around online but I bet they're not great to tow. Have my eyes open for some sort of flexible but rigid enough sheet.

I like almost everything about kayaks except the space constraints !!!

[Razzell]

Hello mate,

Mine's probably about 750, so sounds about right. Think you can go with you're own preference on that.

One of the ends of mine is a screw on cap, but your sliding hatch idea sounds great. Especially if you taper the ends for streamlining. I've just pumped it full of small holes. As mentioned, if baiting, I just mooch about, so drag isn't too much of an issue. The fish will find the bait if it's screaming.

I've seen that some of the stealth boys use the collapsible bucket things - they worry me a bit for the same reasons you flagged.

Slightly off topic, but I just watched this video on dead baiting and it's the first good one I've seen. Might give it a go on kings etc. and see how it goes. The less I have to f**k about with livies, the better. (also, this guy is awesome - check out his other vids)

Cheers,

Razz

 

 

[HenryR]

settled i'll start with 750mm. can always cut it down if it's too unwieldy or seems unnecessarily spacious.

the vid is cool.  definitely looks worth a shot. I checked some of his others too. there sure is some nice fishing up north !

[HenryR]

it's taken a while but .... it's nearly there.....

I went for 600mm (x 90mm) because when I have been lugging livies around lately, it's often been in a small mesh bag (it's bag some shoes came in) with foam stitched to the top. Much smaller even than a 600mm tube and though baits don't hold up well to being towed in that set up, they survive fine in the limited space it provides. I figure the tube is more space, the same amount of water flow - i.e. will aerated. Am going to try it and see.

The other consideration was, 600mm straps on to the tackle basket at the back of my kayak without sticking out much at all.

It's not obvious from the photo. The hatch is two collars glued together. They slide open and closed. I put a little bit of velcro on one end to hold it shut.

There no tow points in the photos either. That bit was easy. Drill some holes and knot a little loop of cord. I've put attachment points front and back. Will try both and see what works.

Breather holes: I did drill a few after these pics were taken.

And, the flotation. Some foam glued to the front and back of the tube and 'streamlined'. I'm practically a boat maker now !! Only, I don't know if it'll tow straight or not.

All up it cost less than $30 to make. It weighs almost nothing. It hardly intrudes on my current set up - towing it might be a different story. If you don't want to or can't carry a bucket of water and aerator and battery, it seems well worth thinking about.

I will post some more detailed pics and a write up of how it all goes .. in time .....

The tube is set to get a fair work out next week: squid, if all goes well, and yakkas and quite a few kms of paddling.

 

 

Edited August 1, 2017 by HenryR

[savit]

On 4/4/2017 at 7:13 AM, HenryR said:

 I know what I'd really like is a collapsible, towable container. I have pondered hard end caps and a flexible sheet fitted into them might work there. I've seen soft ones around online but I bet they're not great to tow. Have my eyes open for some sort of flexible but rigid enough sheet.

 

Henry,

I understand that you have almost  fishinded your project as pictures were posted. Just wondering what do you think about this:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Portable-Extendable-Arrow-Tube-Storage-Document-Drawing-Drafting-Carrier-Case-/201926666406?hash=item2f03c468a6:g:bwgAAOSwZ4dZG-5W

and this:

https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/j-burrows-draft-tube-orange-jba153307

+ added breather holes

for the same purpose?

[HenryR]

interesting idea. nearly as much work as plain old pvc though I think. advantage of pvc is there's sleeves and end caps, etc made to go with it. and you can hop up the road and be guaranteed there's some in stock.