Ron's Tips #3. Burley Distributors/Bombs

[campr]

The Next tip I want to share is for Burley distributors.  There are basically 2 types, fixed pots that distribute burley via holes in sides and bottom and bombs that drop all the contents in one go.  Pipes used by me were 90mm stormwater and 50mm for small one.

FIXED are easiest to make.  You can make them with screw on tops but that is extra cost and work that isn’t needed.  I make mine from 90mm stormwater pipe and 2 end caps with a hole in middle big enough to take rope or heavy cord you are using.  Pass rope through pipe and end cap and tie knot big enough to stop rope pulling through.  Slide other cap onto rope, tie a loop in end to place over bollard and slide cap down onto pipe.  Depending on burley used, drill appropriate holes in sides and top.  For frozen minced fish I use half inch holes and weight them heavily.  For chook pellets holes just smaller than pellets.  Only put a couple of inches of pellets in as they need room to move and swell up.  I leave mine in burley pot so pellets get wet when launching as they need time to soften.  Works best in a current or set near surface where they are agitated by waves and you will get a constant stream of fine particles to attract bait etc.  If stream stops give rope a jiggle to get moving.

BOMBS are made in a similar fashion but assembled differently so that when rope is jerked lid comes off and whole unit flips upside down to dump contents. I also weight these heavily to sink quickly with lead moulded from appropriate sized tin can. Small ones can be weighted with snapper lead as per photo.  Size of pipe is varied depending on how much burley you need to dump.  Drill larger holes on sides of tube and end caps + hole in caps just big enough for cord then glue bottom end on pipe.  Pass cord from bottom into pipe and I also through hole in lead moulded to fit bottom and tie a large knot. Now the tricky bit.  Run cord on outside of pipe and tie loop about 8 inches higher than pipe then pull other end of loop through hole in end cap leaving enough slack in cord to top pull end off the tube.  Larger pots I have 3 cords on pull cap as per photo.  To operate, put burley in pot and slide top cap on just enough that it will hold against weight of the pot.  Gently place in water over side of boat and lower to bottom or desired depth, then give rope a sharp tug.  Top will come off and whole unit will invert so that where rope goes through bottom cap is now the towing point.  Give rope a few jiggles to ensure burley goes and retrieve pot.  Never use still frozen burley as it will float up rather than sink.

VARIATIONS.  If you look at small bomb you will notice a small slot on top.  I did this many years ago when it was impossible to get a bait down due to the mutton birds at the Banks that would chase bait down up to 30ft.  I’d put bait and sinker into bomb with line through slot and lower it deep enough to avoid mutton birds before releasing bait.  I considered lowering burley to bottom with a baited hook amongst it but never got around to try it.     Large bomb shown can be converted to a fixed one by drilling a small hole through top cap and putting a pin or wooden skewer through it to prevent separation of cap.

Hope this is of help to someone.  Ron