Dodger from kitchen sink drain pipe

I was doing a replacement of the "p-trap" under my sink (see https://www.amazon.com/Trap-OD-PVC-Chrome-Plated/dp/B003OIW9PY ) and had 5 1/2 inches of extra chrome pipe to cut off. It turned out to be the right size to make two dodgers.  I cut it lengthwise in two with a grinder, pounded it out, rounded sharp edges, used a nail to create holes and bent it to look like a dodger. I'm new to fishing and I've never used or even seen a dodger but gathered from this forum that it may come in handy. What do you think?

   Between you and Nowhere Man, now I have to keep close watch on both my plumbing and bicycle seat post.
    I made some out of a 2" wide carpet/flooring transition aluminum strip and they seemed to work fine, some with some shiny Mylar or crinkled alum foil glued on, some without.   I tried to get the angles of the curved ends (the leading and trailing angles differ) approx. the same as store-bought, as well as rounding the shoulders of each end.  I experimented with adding weight to the light aluminum - four nickels glued two on each side of each end- but the testing results are so far inconclusive .
    Yours looks like it has an extreme leading edge bend, which might not be a problem at very slow speed, but might make it dive or wildly gyrate at greater speed - but it will probably still catch some kind of fish. 
     For some reason, probably something to do with Murphy's Law, I haven't lost a single homemade one to snags. 
     If my time was worth much, it wouldn't be profitable to compete with the pros, but there is the satisfaction of having done it.  I use them to target halibut because it's down in the snaggy zone.  I'd use a pro one for salmon.

       

I was going to try it with the largest bend trailing. That seemed to be the way to make it swing back and forth but I will experiment. Which way do you do it? I will be paddling so won't be going very fast with a bounceball.

You are a good handy man Bill 

Somehow I missed this post back in February.

So far, I've made dodgers out of bike seat posts, copper pipe, and some aluminum bar stock I had laying around. They've all have different action, and all have caught fish. The copper is heavy, and really stays down which is good for halibut and snags. The bike seat post is lightweight metal, so I make them wider and those give a big, slow wobble back and forth at slower speeds. The aluminum bar is in between, and that's my general-purpose material (still, much heavier than store-bought, which keeps it down with less lead on the line). I haven't caught any salmon with a DIY dodger yet, but I think the aluminum bar version would work well at the higher speeds and with a downrigger.

Anyways, I'd be interested to hear about any success you have with yours.

Somehow I missed this post back in February.

So far, I've made dodgers out of bike seat posts, copper pipe, and some aluminum bar stock I had laying around. They've all have different action, and all have caught fish. The copper is heavy, and really stays down which is good for halibut and snags. The bike seat post is lightweight metal, so I make them wider and those give a big, slow wobble back and forth at slower speeds. The aluminum bar is in between, and that's my general-purpose material (still, much heavier than store-bought, which keeps it down with less lead on the line). I haven't caught any salmon with a DIY dodger yet, but I think the aluminum bar version would work well at the higher speeds and with a downrigger.

Anyways, I'd be interested to hear about any success you have with yours.

Bringing this post back.  Curious what thickness you went to with the aluminum bar?  I have some scrap aluminum bar stock and some scrap aluminum angle that I am thinking about heating with a torch to soften, then hammer it flat.  Any info on a target weight?  Will be using for halibut.  Thanks for input in my experiment!

Bringing this post back.  Curious what thickness you went to with the aluminum bar?  I have some scrap aluminum bar stock and some scrap aluminum angle that I am thinking about heating with a torch to soften, then hammer it flat.  Any info on a target weight?  Will be using for halibut.  Thanks for input in my experiment!

The aluminum I used is about 1/8" thick and 2" wide. I only use that type (which I refer to as "Roger") when I'm moving at higher speeds, as it produces less drag than the copper version (the "Brett Favre"). The copper is a little wider (about 2.375") and heavier, and gets better action at the slower speeds that I usually troll.

Last year I caught salmon to 26 pounds with the same dodger-hootchie setup that I use for halibut, but with a downrigger instead of a 3-way. I caught halibut with the DR too. If you can avoid snags, it's also a good setup for rockfish. Basically, it'll catch anything from sanddabs and mackerel to halibut and salmon.

In case you haven't seen this video, here's some underwater filming I did using the DR. It gives a pretty good idea of the action. And don't miss the surprise visitor that shows up starting at about 1:45...

Right on, cool video! I might have some copper pipe too, have to check the scrap pile. Do you the corners bent the same direction to create that wagging motion? I have one off the shelf that has the corners bent opposite, and it sometimes wags, sometimes spins, depending on how fast I'm going.

Both front edges are bent down and both rear edges up (or vice versa). The front is a 45-degree angle, and the rear is about half that. I find the heavier gauge of copper pipe works better (type "L", I believe). You can get the shiny stuff at Bass Pro.

Copper is nice because you can easily adjust the action on the water using a needle nose pliers.

What speed do you feel these work well at?  Can you go fast, or stick to the 2ish range?

NWM, I might've asked you this, where did you get the reflective tape again?

NWM, I might've asked you this, where did you get the reflective tape again?

Stated BassPro up above 

Stated BassPro up above 

I re-read, good catch!  I want to get a roll though, looks like I can source aluminum 6061 sheet for 3 dodger/flasher, much cheaper than buying one pre-made.

Both front edges are bent down and both rear edges up (or vice versa). The front is a 45-degree angle, and the rear is about half that. I find the heavier gauge of copper pipe works better (type "L", I believe). You can get the shiny stuff at Bass Pro.

Copper is nice because you can easily adjust the action on the water using a needle nose pliers.

Nice! I will have to play with what I have on hand a see what I can come up with.