My first condo...bamboo & pvc

This is my first crappie condo. I've read a lot of post on bamboo & pvc and decided to mix the two. The pvc idea is from Mr. Paty's dvd. He actually attached his pipes together with material and screws so they wouldn't turn. I decided to use bamboo on the outside edge and place the pipe between the bamboo to prevent turning. I am excited about getting this thing sunk. I'm placing it in 20 feet of water about 100 feet from a boat house that I know holds crappie. Should this hold crappie year round?

Below are pics to show you what I have done. I got a 5 gal. bucket, (6)10' pieces of 3" pvc, 3/8" rebar, bamboo and a 80lb bag on concrete. Placed the bamboo along the outside of the bucket and the 3/8" rebar placed in the middle and filled with concrete. Drilled a 1/2" hole in the middle of the pvc and slid down between the bamboo. I cut some 2" pvc for spacers between the pipe to make it taller. When complete I will bend the rebar to hold everything down. In the pic there are only 5 pieces of pipe but I will add another. Hope it will hold a few slabs.

Looks like a winner to me. Should hold fish most of the year.

Now where are you going to find the gorilla to pick it up for you?

Looks really good to me and no doubt crappie will relate to it. May you catch crappie from it for a lifetime!!!

I can handle the weight. Only thing I kind of worry about is that it being so heavy and sinking so fast it might snap my pvc on its way down. Have you ever had that to happen? I might slide bamboo inside of the pvc to help prevent that from happening.

The spacers are cool.

Fix it where you can use a rope on the top of the Rebar. Then lower it with the rope. Allowing it to touch down.
Holding each end of the rope in each hand. Then after it makes it to the bottom drop one end of the rope and pull the rope back up.
I think I may build some like that but use all Bamboo.
Pete

I really like the looks of that

Thanks Shiloh I like the rope idea. That way I can ease it down.

It was posted on here a few years back to use the rope. Hope it works for you.
Pete

That is excellent. I will try some in that style soon. May use the bamboo butts that way. Sometimes they are very thick, this will help minimize waste. Thanks for sharing

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Originally Posted by plantdr

That is excellent. I will try some in that style soon. May use the bamboo butts that way. Sometimes they are very thick, this will help minimize waste. Thanks for sharing

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Hey I just made a few Condos and what I did was for 4 of them I found some of those cheap flower planter buckets clogged the holes and put some playground sand in it. Sand is about 3" high in each then I placed the wood stakes I had then took 1 80lb bag of cement for the 4 of them. Each weighs between 25 -30 lbs. Why the playground sand? Well I bought my son a sand box and bought way to much sand so I had 2 bags laying around. I have some PVC that I'm gonna turn into a condo also but I cant find my darn drill bits since I moved so I cant drill the holes.:eek:

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Originally Posted by plantdr

That is excellent. I will try some in that style soon. May use the bamboo butts that way. Sometimes they are very thick, this will help minimize waste. Thanks for sharing

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Yeah, it's constantly got me to thinking about what to do with it so all the work doesn't go to waste. Just one thing to remember (based on frustrated experiences), there may be 60lbs. of Quikrete in that bucket but bamboo is very buoyant and its buoyancy increase exponentially the bigger it is. Too much and you'll have a really hard time getting it to sink and/or staying in the same place you put it. One benefit of putting your stuff in buckets is that they can be easily moved if need be. The only bad thing about that is other move it and then you have to look for it (usually just deeper). That's when the sidescan come in handy.

I've sank several like that (less the bamboo) & have nevere had any of the PVC to break. They do go down fast.