Making your own noodles for catfishing

[BeastMan]

Found an easy diy on YouTube and wanting to make noodles to use on the rez. Question: every video I?ve seen they use cord down to a swivel or all the way to the hook. Why couldn?t you use 65 lb mono or even heavy braid instead of cord? Also what hooks would you use? I?m thinking circle

[TUSK]

Found an easy diy on YouTube and wanting to make noodles to use on the rez. Question: every video I?ve seen they use cord down to a swivel or all the way to the hook. Why couldn?t you use 65 lb mono or even heavy braid instead of cord? Also what hooks would you use? I?m thinking circle

Daddio... I just made 100 of em... My thoughts:

Swivels aren't really necessary, IMO... Bypass the extra time and expense.

I use Tarred Line... It's cheap, easier to handle, doesn't get as slimy as cotton line, and holds knots well... my M.O. is to get the largest diameter line that I can slip a loop through a large eyed circle hook.

I mostly fish lakes and ponds, so current isn't an issue... if fishing where the current/wind/wake is considerable, more weight will help slow noodle drift... In lakes and ponds I actually want my doodles to drift to cover more water.... I usually just clamp on 1 or 2 reusable 1/8 oz split shots... I'm going to step up to half ounce egg sinkers...

Hooks... I prefer a 5/0 Eagle Claw L197 Circle... it has a big eye, is self setting, and will catch cats from 1/2# up to 20+#... If you are targeting mondo cats, step it up to maybe a 7/0... Keep in mind that the gap on a circle is much smaller than the gap on a regular style hook of the same size.

Noodle sizes... most pool noodles will have either 1/2" or 3/4" diameter hole... match your PVC to that size (1/2" is better IMO bc its cheaper, as durable, and has the ~same water displacement as a 3/4" noodle jug)...

I drill pilot holes in the PVC endcaps, screw in a 3/4" eyescrew then put a few drops of Gorilla Glue on the threads to lock it up...

If you want to get really fancy, put some ballast inside the pvc pipe... it will let you know if you get a strike as the ballast will hold the noodle at a 45 (or 90) degree position...

If you're interested in more detail I'd be happy to discuss further and/or post some pics for ya!

Happy Cattin'!

[TUSK]

Noodle Length... The last batch I made had a 15.5" section of pool noodle with a 17" piece up pvc...

These are big enough to catch really, really big catfish and make it easy to chase down anything <20#

[BeastMan]

I was going to make a few with a noodles and coat hangers before I go the hardcore pvc route. If I like it I can do the real ones... or you could sell me some https://youtu.be/18PDX8swKMU

[shoeless joe]

Tarred line Is the way to go. It's easy to handle and will straighten a hook before it breaks. Mono is harder to deal with and manage. If turnin lose or pickin up 25+ jugs you won't wanna be dealin with regular ol fishin line on your jugs.

[TUSK]

I was going to make a few with a noodles and coat hangers before I go the hardcore pvc route. If I like it I can do the real ones... or you could sell me some https://youtu.be/18PDX8swKMU

"buy" from me???? STFU, I go to Jackson every once and a while... just tell me how many ya want and I'll deliver (plus S&H, of course)....

seriously, lemme know what route ya wanna go, and I'll help, buddy.

[TUSK]

Tarred line Is the way to go. It's easy to handle and will straighten a hook before it breaks. Mono is harder to deal with and manage. If turnin lose or pickin up 25+ jugs you won't wanna be dealin with regular ol fishin line on your jugs.

this is correct.

[viverlibre]

you can buy them cheap on ebay, $5-6 each, including hooks and line. I just caught some cats on mine this afternoon.

[Howboutdemdogs]

I just use a regular pool noodles cut about 16”. Just long enough to fit in a standard bin. Nothing fancy on the cord. Just a coated cord from Lowe’s cut about 3’ long. The hooks are from Walmart. When they get old they will start to cut the noodle. I do have reflective tape on mine cut in about 1” x 3” lengths on them. When we get finish wakeboarding in the late afternoon, I will use the prepackaged lime green minnows and just throw them in the river. About 9:00 or so, I will go back find them with a spot light. I have probably lost less than 5 over the years. The reflector tape is the key. You can pick them out in a line in the dark. We usually fish the Tombigbee