Lightweight Otter Float tutorial w/ pics

This is an updated verison of the first otter pipe I made. 8" corrugated pipe and 220 RBG.

Materials you will need:
3' piece of 8" corrugated pipe
Two pool noodles roughly 4" wide cut to 2' long
Two pieces of 4" PVC pipe cut 2' long
Four 4" PVC caps
PVC glue and cement
Spray paint
3/4" or larger plumbing strap
A sack of 1" long lag bolts
Drill bit and impact driver
Two medium sized eye bolts
10" rubber bungee strap, approx. 13" overall length with the two hooks


First I take the pool noodles and place them inside the 4" PVC pipe. You'll need to possibly shave down the sides depending on the width you have. Then glue and cap both ends of both pipes with the noodles inside. After that, I then spray paint both pipes a camoflague pattern.

Attach the PVC pipes to the corrugated pipe at about the middle mark with the plumber's strap as tight as you can with the lag bolts. Having the PVC 2' and the corrugated 3', attach so that you have about 6" of no PVC on both ends of the big pipe.

An optional part is to screw in an eye bolt inside the trap on the top part 8" back or so. You can use the eye bolt to wire a piece of bait that'll be waiting just behind a ready trap.

Cut the bottom 2/3 of the end of corrugated pipe off about 2 ribs deep on both ends of the corrugated pipe. If you set your conibears dog down you'll need to cut a notch in the middle of the recessed crescent that you just cut out.


To load the trap in the pipe, place it into position and then hook the bungee through the same spring eye on each spring over the top of the overhang on the pipe's end. To be able to hook them together, you're springs will probably be have to be pointing up. If you pull the rubber strap back about 3 ribs deep on the corrugated pipe and then pull your trap springs down, it will pull the trap tight up against the pipe with hardly any wiggle. If you're setting dog down, the notch you cut out in the middle of the bottom will facilitate a good fit.


I've tested the trap's ability to fire in the water and it works no problem. When it goes off, the bungee cord comes off too, allowing the trap to fall away from the pipe, which I think is a good thing. So if you do follow this set up, it'd be wise to crimp one of the S hooks to the spring eye so that you don't lose it.

Here's an otter's eye view of the pipe. There'll be a piece of fish hung up behind the trap. This trap is undyed, but before actual use will be to help it disappear. On a different trap I have the triggers bent out into a "T" shape. The triggers are under the waters surface and would be unseen to the oncoming animal. That's a trigger configuration that I use on just about all my water conibears, I just hadn't done it to the trap shown yet.




Both ends of this float will be loaded and have a piece of fish wired up behind them. I have fairly high hopes for this set up and am even expecting an occasional mink as well.



The overall weight of this setup is probably in the neighborhood of 25-30lbs.

Cool.

I don't mean for this as a knock on any previous design just a variation on concepts that Ive seen other people think up before me

Looks good bud.

You may want to place a trap In both ends In case something else sticks It's head In there. A RBG would be a nice fit.
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Just a question . Why use pool noodles inside the sealed PVC ? They will float exactly the same with out anything inside.

I figured they'd just add enough buoyancy to keep it afloat if water started seeping into the PVC tubes

Can you buy a small section or 10' section of 8" corr. pipe ? I got 4" and 6" section laying around but no 8".

I don't think it would be an issue if you cleaned the PVC well before gluing it but could see water seeping in due to damage from a catch. You could use all sorts of things like Styrofoam or expand a foam too.

I don't think it would be an issue if you cleaned the PVC well before gluing it but could see water seeping in due to damage from a catch. You could use all sorts of things like Styrofoam or expand a foam too.

You could do the same with 5 gallon buckets. Cut out the bottoms and attach together. I here blue buckets work well down here.

Them blue buckets would stay plugged up with coons!

That smaller dark black hole is part of the intrigue I think. Just enough to poke a head in and not try to put feet up in to. Mr. Leon came up with a winner. I’m sure some variations of his set will work. I’m having a hard time finding the closed cell foam for the floatation.

Some of the cheaper archery targets have decent foam for the floats in them. I have an old beat up crossbow target that I'm going to cut up for floats. I also have an idea for floats similar to what Massac has done, but with the trap up higher like Leon's original design. I trap out of a canoe so a more narrow profile is easier to load in the canoe.

The problem with exposed foam floats, Is If you any muskrats around they are going to chew them up and make a big mess.

I doubt your boat could haul them all. You’ll have to make trips to the truck.

Beav, there isn’t enough rats left in almost all of Kentucky to even consider. I envy you guys that still have rats and grey fox.

Kytrapper, I was about to post the same thing. It would take the rat population in my area about a decade to chew up the float foam on an otter float.

Really like this float, if there was a good way to snap the flotation tubes into place on location it would be much more portable, any thoughts on locations I’m thinking where small waterways enter rivers and maybe inside bends that otter shortcut across?

Just run 2 lengths of 1/4" threaded rod through the main body. Let them stick out far enough on both sides so you can attach your floats. Use a couple of wing nuts and your good to go.

Newfox those are the spots.

Bumping due to edit in design

Massac did you get a chance to talk to Leon at the Covid Convention last weekend?

Ttt

Bringing this one from the dead for a bit

This is not a float, but another version of an Otter tunnel-

man that looks good, did you try it?

.

Not yet. Not sure if it's Pennsylvania legal... gotta talk to warden first

Hern, I would say that it's not legal- here is an excerpt from our beaver/otter trapping regulations...

In addition to general trapping regulations, it is unlawful to: 1)
destroy, disturb or interfere with a beaver dam or house; 2) use
other than raw, native wood and stone materials to direct the
travel of beavers or otters (manmade materials may be used only
to support traps or snares)

Seen that a while back. I like the one started in this post also. Would be nice to see some catches on the floating one.