How to make best DIY buoy stick and flag for crabbing.

What are your suggestions for how to make the best DIY buoy stick and flag for crabbing?

I'm thinking about using PVC, but sticking it through the smaller trailer buoy. What do you guys do? Any tips? Thoughts?

And what's your perspective on buoy sticks with flags: a helpful tool to find your buoys, or a poachers treasure map?

Best,
Stewart

Funny you ask this - I've been thinking about making some flag markers for my hoop nets too. On the hoop nets, I've been using the small buoys with a piece of pool noodle, and they can be hard to find when the swell is more than about 3'.

I was thinking about taking a short piece of PVC, adding some weight to one end, and running it through a dollar store foam kickboard. Will use a PVC fitting above the kickboard, and not glue it, so that it can be broken down flat if I want.  I wasn't going to make them super tall, maybe 24" total, with about 18" or so sticking up above the kickboard. Then, just adding a loop to the kickboard, and using a carabiner to attach to my line at the other buoys.