Home Made Push Pole

B

Bill Gass

Active member
What's the best idea for making a home made push pole that doesn't just sink into the mud when you try to push the boat. We got into quite mess last weekend where it was too shallow for the motor and had to pole using oars. which just push into the mud. Then when you try to pull them out or just hang onto them it actually arrests forward movement trying to get them unstuck. Ofcourse I've been looking at the ones on Cabelas, but I'm pretty sure that bugetary restraints are in place so I have to come up with something on my own. So I guess what I'm really looking for is some sort of a design for a foot to go on the pole. Any ideas?

Bill G.
 
Bill,I had a duckbill foot that I put on a ten foot closet pole from Lowe's.You could make an A shaped foot out of 1" dowel and Fasten it to the pole with screws.Dont know how it would work on a mucky bottom.It's the type foot used in the shallows in the Keys,if you have ever seen pics of them.
 
Bill ,I couldn't pull up the site that Ed L posted,but if you go to Ed Askew profile and pull up his site.scan around to find ,Building a push pole,you'll be in business.
 
home depot 1 1/2" or 2" wooden railing, think its 10' or 12' section, slide it inside suitable size pvc pipe, slide a T on top screw it together,,,get a gator foot from Cabelas ,,,,indestructible
 
I bought a 14' closet rod from Home Depot for about $10, threw a duckbill on the end of it and it has served me well for 8 years. One year I sanded it since it was getting dinged up from being thrown around in the boat. But it works great, has lasted for a long time, it was cheap, and took about 5 minutes to put together once you had the pole, bill, and a screw. If you drop it it floats. There was only one down side, you want one as long as possible, but storage in the boat is hard since it didn't collapse.
 
Andy:
I did the same but added a screw hook dipped in plastic coating on the other end and use it to retrieve decoys.
wis boz
 
I've had great luck with this foot http://www.richmarsports.com/Pushpole_Products.html. I've cut 1 1/8" poles from ash (since it's incredibly flexible) at 16' long, which is as long as they can get into the drying kilns. If I could get 18' I would. Run a stick of ash through the table saw into octagons and then smooth with a spokeshave or drawknife.

The duck bill push pole feet sometimes show up on ebay for around $8 so you might want to snoop around there from time to time. Also, on the rich-mar site, note the screw head halfway down one "bill" of the foot. This screw head is a machine screw left proud by about 1/8" and its purpose is to snag decoy lines without snagging all sorts of other junk will poling. It works slicker than snot for pulling in the rig :). I'll pole the boat into the middle of the rig and then fish out every decoy within a 32" diameter circle.

hope this helps
jamus
 
Pretty much same answer as the rest, I use pvc cut to fit in my devlin bluebill. I split one end and shoved a spring loaded marsh foot in it. Make sure you spraypaint the foot, it will last much longer, at least here in the salt it helps.
 
Bill

My preference for a pole is wood with a duckbill on one end. From what others have posted I'm not alone. Nice to know not everyone buys the expensive stuff in catalogs when a plane old ash or doug fir pole is more than capable for the task (plus they don't sink like some of the marketed ones do).

In the early days of this site we tackled the issue of what to do when you need a pole that is too long to stow. A few minds got together and Jeff Jacobs machined one of the nicest hunting items I own, a custom push pole ferrule for1 1/4" dia. pole. It was machined from aluminum and works similar to a break down pool cue. Lots of ideas were kicked around but this was the best and after years of use I see not a single flaw if you want a two piece pole. You don't get the spring that you would from a one piece pole (expert polers that move marsh boats long distances load the pole and let the spring help them along) but for general use over shorter distances it's a very good compromise.

On a similar topic I find a good boat hook to be one of the best ways to pick up decoys and maneuver a boat through thick brush. I read an article years back about the desirable characteristics of a boat hook. A good boat hook is said to float standing up. If you want to have some fun try getting a pole to not lay over flat but to stick straight up out of the water. Once you've done that now try and get it to stick up as high as possible. You can have a lot of fun with that.

coupler.jpg


coupler2.jpg


boathook.jpg

 
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Bill,

I hunt in the tidal marshes with very soft bottoms. The 10 or 12-ft closet poles from Home Depot work great, BUT instead of trying to make an A frame at the bottom, I just drilled a hole about 2 inches from the end and drove a 1/2 electrical conduit pipe through it (about 10 inches long). the T at the end can be used to pick up dekes too.
 
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