air gun ant 1,666 Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Has anybody made their own bait pump? How did it turn out? I'm thinking of trying to make one, so just after anyone's experiences. Or would I be better just buying one? Cheers ant Quote Link to post
DeerhoundLurcherMan 997 Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 I've made one. It worked good enough, the more I used it the better it got because I was constantly fine tuning it... Drop of washing up liquid and away you go! Bit of a knack to it though, took me a while to get the hang of it.... To be honest though I would just buy one, they are not mega money, and by the time you have bought your bits and pieces theres not much in it.... Dug all my own yellow tails 2 years back for the cod season and was rewarded with an 8lb cod off Dungeness.... 1 Quote Link to post
Tiercel 6,986 Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 (edited) Make one, far better than the Alveys The first home made one I seen was made from copper pipe and it worked well 25/ 30mm stainless pipe use an alvey pull rod and make silicon rubbers less than half the effort for far better results. I pumped blacks and blows every winter for 15 years believe me they are far better. TC Edited June 24, 2014 by tiercel Quote Link to post
Tiercel 6,986 Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 When you make a pump you can make it to suit your physic, it is no good having a 2ft pump if your 6ft 2 or having a 2ft plus pump if your 5ft 2. To make one you need a piece of stainless pipe seamless if possible around the hight of your ball sac. I have always used old Avey pull rods but a piece of stainless rod of about 10mm with a nut welded on the end will do the job.15 to 20mm pipe to make the handle and a drilled tufnel / nylon washer for the top of the pump. make your own washers out of silicon. I used to buy a tube for a quid cut it in half and let it set in the tube for months. You would have enough washers to last a couple of years out of one tube of silicon. You will also need a stop for the handle again I used split old alvey ones, but a piece of hosepipe split down the middle on one side will do the job. TC 2 Quote Link to post
Fat-Ferret 857 Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 I could never get the hang of the pumps at all...Short spade done with the sides cut off worked well I laugh when I think how much time I used to spend digging Lug and Rag...I wouldnt even have half the time now! Digging all day and fishing all night...Good times they were Quote Link to post
air gun ant 1,666 Posted June 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Im gonna have mooch round work today for a few bit that i could "borrow" and try to make one the desighn seems simple enough so ill let you know how i get on 1 Quote Link to post
air gun ant 1,666 Posted June 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 (edited) Done! Just need to make a handle and I'm ready to rock! Lol might just have to fish a low tide mark tonight and try it out I'm really chuffed with it, sucks like a gooden. No time to make the silicone washers at the moment but found some old cork gasked material, sharpend an off cut of pipe and cut out 10 washers, then with a stainless washer top and bottom and compressed on some 8 mm threaded bar between 2 nuts, in a 25mm copper pipe with an old brass fitting in the top that had 9mm hole in the middle, just perfect to act as a guide for the rod I also drilled a hole in the side at the top for lube Edited June 25, 2014 by air gun ant 1 Quote Link to post
Tiercel 6,986 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 If you get the washers right you will find one squirt of fairy will last you a good 4 hrs. Making the pump was the easy part now you have to learn how to use it. A few tips for you. Don't try and pump every cast you see, look for wet or secondary casts. If you see the hole in the centre of the cast it means that the sand has dried out, and you will have less suction. If you can follow the tide out so any casts you see will be fresh and the worm will be at the top of it's burrow. We have had a fair amount of high pressure lately, so there may be a layer of slurry over the sand, if there is don't look for casts but small pin holes in the slurry. Worms act differently on different areas of the beach, the thing to remember is worms cast 24 hrs a day not just when the tide goes out it is roughly every hour or so so an area that was producing should produce in an hours time again. Just remember the object is to suck the worm up into the pump, not stick the pump over the worm. A typical mistake is pushing the pump in too far if you start having tails in the pump it usually means you are pushing the pump in too far. Try starting at a 45 degree angle about 3 inches away from the cast, you need to push the pump in just enough to get it over the worms burrow about 4 to 5" then start your pump stroke. Sometimes when an area is casting and the worms are near the surface you need the angle of the pump to be shallower even, and closer to the cast. You can sometimes get worms by just putting the pump in the sand just an inch and half a pull on the draw bar will get your worm. Good luck. TC 2 Quote Link to post
DeerhoundLurcherMan 997 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Top advice TC I would have thought buying a new one would have worked "out of the box" so to speak... The one I made used rubber washers from b&q and was not very efficient. The silicone washer I later put in made all the difference... Suck a golf ball through a hosepipe... Do the worms differ in depth due to temperature? Quote Link to post
Tiercel 6,986 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Top advice TC I would have thought buying a new one would have worked "out of the box" so to speak... The one I made used rubber washers from b&q and was not very efficient. The silicone washer I later put in made all the difference... Suck a golf ball through a hosepipe... Do the worms differ in depth due to temperature? Yep the warmer it is the deeper they go usually, that said, they still have to cast but they stay at the top of the burrow for less time than normal. As with wind and sun it dries the beach out quicker and they like moisture. It really is difficult to say they do this or that, all you can do is generalise. Different wind directions will affect how they cast, high pressure or low pressure will all affect how they behave. I have seen beds that you know are ram packed full of worms, not cast till low water on high pressure. Same bed on low pressure and they cast as soon as the water uncovers the bed. As a general rule low pressure is best, but not always. I pumped for 15 winters when I was fishing and was still learning when I gave it up about 10 years ago. Funnily enough, never found the cold to affect them much, no matter how cold it was you would always get worms. TC 1 Quote Link to post
squab 2,875 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 I've made one. It worked good enough, the more I used it the better it got because I was constantly fine tuning it... Drop of washing up liquid and away you go! Bit of a knack to it though, took me a while to get the hang of it.... To be honest though I would just buy one, they are not mega money, and by the time you have bought your bits and pieces theres not much in it.... Dug all my own yellow tails 2 years back for the cod season and was rewarded with an 8lb cod off Dungeness.... fished of dungeness beach more times than i can remember as i lived couple mile up the road,only ever used black lug but did have a few red letter days on the codling over the years,bit further round towards camber and you could really hit it off with feathers when the mackeral were running,was happy days 1 Quote Link to post
air gun ant 1,666 Posted June 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 It worked really well! But my pumping skills leave a lot to be desired lol I broke more than I got but I managed around 50 full worms, all blow lug and I took a little spinning rod with me while I did it and got one undersized plaice for my efforts (not spinning just lobed a 2 hook flapper in the channel ) but I'm pleased with my efforts and I'm sure practice is gonna be key 1 Quote Link to post
Tiercel 6,986 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 If your pumping blows with the pump, do it very slowly and smoothly, they do not call them blows for nothing But if you are getting that amount of blows whole don't think you are doing much wrong and blacks will be a dawdle. TC 1 Quote Link to post
DeerhoundLurcherMan 997 Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 When I was on the cod quest, I would dig 40 odd yellowtails and leave them un gutted in a shallow tray and kept topping them up with fresh sea water....If you use a baiting needle they often stay intact when baiting up. I think the scent trail must be much better this way rather than the gutted, wrapped stuff from the tackle shop, and 4.50/5 quid a score! Also if your missing a few change the angle of the pump, I found 3 inches away and just enough angle on the pup to intercept the worms hole at about 6 inches deep worked well for me... TC how did you go about finding the blacks rather than blowlug ect? Just different areas? or different casts? Cheers... Quote Link to post
air gun ant 1,666 Posted June 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 I started coming to that conclusion TC? I think it's the angle and depth I need to figure out, and to spread the spoil more. There was a few times I walked back over casts I'd pumped and found worms on the sand. I think I was just exited that it actually worked! I probably could of had a couple more fish if I'd of been watching my rod instead of worming lol Quote Link to post
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