Push pole question

E

Erik Mion

Member
I was just wondering if any of you guys have made your own push poles. I need one for my boat and don't see spending the money for an aluminum rod from cabelas. I was thinking maybe using a wooden dowel and trying to make some kind of spreader foot on the end. All the places i hunt are thick and muddy. Any ideas or should I just buy one....

Erik
 
i have made a bunch. Wooden closet rod squared on one end and two flat duck feet screwed into it. I think my current one is about 6-7 years old and may warrant a replacing next year. Ed askew used to have a site dedicated to making one.
 
I just bought the avery duck foot it was about $10 and went to home depot and got 1 1/4 inch closet rod its like $1.50 a foot and painted it with camo paint it does the job for about $25.00 there is also a you tube video on how to make your own foot
 
Erik

I prefer wood as the aluminum ones are cold, expensive, and sink if dropped.

Another option if you can't find a closet rod to your liking is to buy a 2x2 of your wood species of choice and cut it like an octogon on the tablesaw by knocking the four corners off with the blade set to 45 degrees. Sand the corners a little and you have a very comfortable pole. I just made a couple from black locust using this method.

Eric
 
I had the Avery pole. It gets gunked up and it can't be extended or collapsed any more. Then I ended up breaking it. This was all during the first season I used it. I got wooden closet rod from the lumber yard. I then sanded down the one end a little to accept the foot from my original Avery push pole, and the other end round. Works better than the aluminum. Also, the aluminum fills with water, while the wooden does not. It's cheaper too!
 
Here is a tutorial on how to make them Erik:

http://www.angelfire.com/ultra/edaskew/pushpole2.html
 
Go to your local junior or senior high school and ask for old discarded pole vault poles. Excellent push poles. Lightweight, flexible and can easily be cut to size.

Mark W
 
pole vault pole would be # 1 choice,,,another options is wooden type pole sheated inside a pvc pipe..Super strong durable
 
Another option is to build an old style push-paddle. Here are some photos of a couple I built a while ago out of a 10ft closet pole and some leftover marine ply. The paddles got a layer of 6oz glass and epoxy. The handles are curved to allow you to hook decoy lines. Since I built these I never use a push pole anymore. (The dowels through the handle were epoxy in place to secure the handle then cut off once the epoxy cured.)
Rick
[inline Paddle1.jpg]
[inline Paddle3.jpg]

View attachment Paddle1.JPG
View attachment Paddle3.JPG
 
I can't seem to find the exact website, thought I had it bookmarked, but there are some guys in Florida that push pole the flats that use fiberglass kite poles. I seem to remember them being like $50 for a 10 or 12 shot of it.
 
I have used an inch and a quarter dowel push pole for years-it flexes and it floats, the metal feet from any of the outdoor stores on the bottom(the plastic ones break when cold). You can paint it but I just get some mud on it, after a couple of trips its just as good as paint.
 
Flats guys down here have a passion for push poles. I traded a marginal handgun for my Stiffy push pole. The guy didn't like the way the carbon tape wrap felt while poling. Anyway; 18 feet long composite carbon/carbon, about 3.5 pounds.

http://stiffypushpoles.com/

Hitch
 
Plywood screwed over flange at end of wood dowel and fiberglassed.
photo-30.jpg

 
I have a wood push pole and an alumminum one and I prefer the wood. The alumminum one is hollow and when ever you pick it up out of the water it has water leaking out all over the place including on me.
 
I bought the Avery pole years ago and never really cared for it. Threw it in the boat the other day while getting ready to go. When it came time to use the pole it wouldn't extend. Going to look into getting a closet rod and using it. Might try to use some of the Avery pole to attach to the closet rod to make the duck foot removable. Would like to make a timber hook for it as well.
 
I had the same issue on Thursday, could not extend the avery pole. Damn thing had silt in between the sections. Once home I did get it apart, cleaned it and soaked it in WD-40. Doubt it will last though.... the issue with the solid pole for me is space.... not much length can fit in the sneakbox.

Dave
 
Have gone through two Avery extendable poles myself; they seem to last about 3 yrs, then they get gunked/rusted up. One of the sections fell out two weeks ago, and I had to resort to getting out of the boat and towing it until the water got deep enough to go with the motor. Hopefully I won't run into this issue much more before the end of the season!

I bought a long closet rod which I plan to cut down so it fits in the boat, and use a sawsall to cut off the duck feet at the bottom of the Avery pole and attach it to the closet rod. I think I'll just paint the rod to give it some waterproofing; no epoxy - we'll see how long it lasts :)

I found a great design for a push pole while walking around at Tuckerton (see attached pic) - someone who occasionally visits this site made it (his name escapes me at the moment). I wouldn't mind trying to make something along the designs of this one when I have some "spare time" (read: in a million years).

Best of luck

Anthony

View attachment pole foot 1.jpg
View attachment pole foot 2.jpg
 
I agree with greg- i use the avery spring loaded duck bill. It's made of steel. I've had mine for 4 yrs. Just add some foam pipe insulation to the pole, it sinks with out it. $20.00 for
 
Eric,

What length did you make your black locust push poles? Do you intend to use one while in your poke boat?
Did you add a foot of any kind?

Thanks.

Chris
 
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