Bait Tube :Easy Open No lose Cap

 A while back SteveS had a post about a bait tube alternative to a bait bucket.  I made a modification to the design shown in his great photos. I'll describe it in case my photos don't come thru, but it's going to sound like someone describing tieing shoe laces- much easier to just show.
     Basically, instead of a screw-in cap on the back end, I used a cap, but instead of gluing it on, I rigged a piece of surgical tubing so it would hold the cap in place when in use, as well as tether the cap to the tube so it doesn't go bloop while getting bait out.  There are probably a dozen other ways to do this.  I just drilled a smaller hole next to one of the larger ones in the cap, then cut a channel from the small hole to the big one, just wide enuf to let stretched-out tubing to pass from the big to the little hole.  Also drilled an extra hole in the pipe  near the rear to run the other end of the rubber tubing thru.  Then I tied 3  knots in the tubing, one to hold it to the pipe, one just big enuf to barely get thru the large hole in the cap and big enuf not to slip thru the small hole , then a big fat knot at the end of the tubing that can't possibly slide thru the big hole.
  It takes a little trial and error to get the knots the right distance apart so that the cap is held securely on when bait are inside and so the cap can slide down the tubing to hang free on the bitter end when getting a bait out. To lock it in place, put the cap on, pull the tubing tight and the lock knot thru the big hole, then the tubing thru the channel to the small hole so the knot is held there and unable to slip thru.  I used a female /female cap on the other end just like SteveS, and attached the 3/16" poly braid line to a tuna barrel swivel on that end.  Also: it's much easier to drill holes in the caps if you use a  center punch, or a bit with a pointy tip.   I sprayed some bright paint on the tube for when I'm looking for it when it gets loose.

Nice one! This is on my list of winter projects and I love that modifaction!! I kept thinking there had to be a simplier way to get the cap on and off and I think you nailed it.

Where can you get surgical tubing?

 

Hornsynder's Pharmacy, 1226 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz.  It's about a buck or so a foot, lots of colors and diameters.  I got some once at Bayside, I think, anyway, at the harbor, but it was not stretchy enuf.

You should be able to find surgical tubing in almost any good fishing tackle store. 

Ahhhhhh my friend, that is a nice way of doing things.  But I believe I have a better way.  Once I get the camera back I'll post pictures.
What I did was created a door in the tube.  Cut a rectangle box.  Keep the parts connected with hinges (like a door),
and then use velcro to keep the door shut.
The fish will slide down to the door area, open the door, take the bait, close the door, and that's it.  No screw caps.
No losing parts.

thought I'd share this with you guys - it was designed by Marmite / Doug......the coolest bait tube design I've seen so far 

more info: http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/bb/index.php?topic=5355.0

I love the green top thingy.............brilliant

chovies will be paying good money for a ride in that baby!

Regardless of how you build your bait tube,  remember to de-burr the inside of the tube after drilling holes in it.  Otherwise, you just created a homemade version of one of these....

I was about to drill the tube, then thought of the same thing - it's hard to debur holes inside.  Rather keep the inside as smooth as possible.

Do you need holes in the tube itself? 
I was thinking the end caps would give enough flow & keep it all running in the right direction?

Do you need holes in the tube itself? 
I was thinking the end caps would give enough flow & keep it all running in the right direction?

I think you get plenty of circulation through the tube with or with out holes in it, as long as the caps have a few holes.   I have not had any trouble with minnows in freshwater and I only drilled holes in the caps.  I wish I had thought about deburring the inside of one of the caps before I glued it on.

I wonder if you were trolling at a decent speed if you might get equal or better circulation by only having holes in the caps and not the tube, since there would be less turbulence in the flow?

Brian 3Dog

JMAIREY had a post earlier in which he said that holes in the caps of his tube alone seemed insufficient.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/bb/index.php?topic=5038.msg41296#msg41296

I think anchovies are a lot more fragile than the fresh water minnows that I used at Mendo.  They stay alive all day iin just a bucket with no aeration or water flow.  But I know anchovies would never last that long

Thanks Marmite!

I think anchovies are a lot more fragile than the fresh water minnows that I used at Mendo.  They stay alive all day iin just a bucket with no aeration or water flow.  But I know anchovies would never last that long

I sure would not argue that statement.  I am mostly a freshwater guy.  I know that the fresh water minnows seam to last a long time.  If I am using freshwater minnows, I usually purchase them the day before I head out and they seam to last for at least a couple of days, they must be more durable than anchovies.

If you were to ream out the inside of a bait tube, you might be able to do the sloppy drill trick where you wobble the drill bit around the hole while pulling back on the drill.  This is a sloppy method that sometimes works for me to pull out the scraps and smooth the edges
Brian 3Dog.

Use contact cement to glue a sheet of sandpaper onto a wooden dowel to deburr the interior of the tube.

Scott