I could use a little instruction to save an expense if possible. Does anybody have a tutorial or a link to one in the archives? I'm not sure which archive this would be in.

How to make a cheap catch pole.

Hope this works. Very good video from the archives!

i used a 3 or 4' piece of black 1" water pipe (lowes) threaded on both ends. bought 2 caps some ferrules, and coated 3/32 cable(don't remember exactly how long, but i would think 7-8 ft. then cut to what you need).

drill a hole in both caps bigger than the cable, smooth any rough edges(so it don't eat the coating off the cable). you can crimp or flatten the ferrule with a hammer on one end of the cable. you need to drill a hole all the way thru both sides of the pipe on one end about 1/2" below the threads--same size hole as the caps. thread the cable thru the hole on one of the caps and all the way thru the pipe. the ferrel will keep the cable from passing thru the cap. screw the cap onto the pipe and tighten with channel locks. thread the other cap thru the cable, but don't tighten yet. this will be the loop end for the cable. thread the cable thru the hole you drilled in the pipe. when you get the cable thru the drilled hole in the pipe(out the other side--complete pass thru), you can now tighten the cap with channel locks. now you will need a couple of feet of cable out the rear of the pipe to hold with your hand, and make the loop in the other end to the desired width. then cut the cable about 1" past the pipe(where the hole was drilled) and crimp a ferrule--you can use 2 if you wish(do not leave this inside the pipe--the cable will not slide!!). bend the cable and ferrules down towards the bottom of the pipe and tape tightly with electrical tape. now you are ready to go!!

i have used this on some STOUT coons and some fox.

I like the metal pipe, cause you don't have to worry about it bending or breaking with a stout animal.

hope that helped.

Thanks gentlemen! Very much appreciated.

Matt

Here's how I made mine. I got a 5 foot piece of 1" pvc pipe, an end cap, a clothes line tentioner and about 8 feet of 1/8 in coated cable. I drilled 2 holes in the end cap, ran the cable thru one hole, added a ferrel and samshed it with a hammer. Took the other end of the cable and ran it thru the other hole in the cap to make my loop.....



I then ran the cable up thru the entire length of the pipe, and thru the tentioner and simply glued the end cap and tentioner in place. It's light weight, and works well for me. It can be made for around 20 bucks. Hope this helps ya. I have heard some of the northern boys say they don't like pvc for the colder temps but this has performed well where I live.

Pappy, that is exactly how I made some but isn't that coated cable 3/16"?

Mark, it may be with the coating, I'll have to check, I know it's sold as 1/8 inch coated cable.

I used a six foot piece of galvanized fence post.

I've owned the cheap plastic one before. I also caught the land owners pit bull one day and was glad I had upgraded to a 5ft steel pole. You can go cheap, but spending $20 or $25 on one at your next trappers meeting is not a bad idea either.

I made one years ago with an axe handle, cable loop running through eyes on handle fastened to dog chain, pull to tighten and hook dog chain to nail in axe handle to hold tight.Cost almost nothing.

basically the same as i made mine, except i ran my loop end thru the side of the pipe instead of back into the cap. both work just fine!!