Another lil ole build

Should double what you see here (to 10 tops) then we'll dump and make 2 spots. These are approx 7 foot tall to be placed in 18-20 FOW. Each base is Approx 70 pounds of cement. Pipe dia from 1" to 3". This is another batch from the MOTHERLOAD of pipe I bought a few years back.

The one pic is a closeup so you can see the the base a little better.

I use 18 qt dishpans (thanks KrappieKrazy). I then run a little water back on top once they have set-up for 48-72 hours. Step on one side and the cement pops right out. No cooking oil, no plastic wrap (after all it is a plastic pan). Make sure you only fill the pan up about 7/8 of the way...DO NOT FILL IT TO THE VERY TOP.

Building tops should be done so using the K.I.S.S. method, especially in this economy. I have about 25 cents in each one of these as my fishing/building buddy got the cement from a warehouse for free as it was busted and broken bags.

Those look good.

Those look great!

Thats the way to do it. I got me a mold now. Just need a helper to pick the finished product up. Lots of folks like to fish not many want to pick this stuff up and do a little work. LOL Thanks for shareing Sac.

Hey i got a question.. how do you put those in the water?? how do you put a bunch of them in the water if they're 70 pounds???

This is how I do it.

are they real heavy to put in? do you just throw em?? Thanks for all the help

Hey sac,
I like your tops:D

Kago, First I place out markers on the well researched and debated site that's been selected. I then decide the pattern I want for that spot. Then yes I do toss them in. I want them to hit the bottom with as much force as possible, that way they might lock in the mud on the bottom and make them almost impossible to move.

Some folks build things to put on the front deck so they can just slide them in place. Up until that point it's all hard labor. So I just finish them off by hand. One at a time. I don't put more than 7 on my boat. If we have 10 we usually split it up and 5 in one and 5 in the other boat.

ALL CREDIT DUE TO THE MAN ABOVE...KrappieKrazy. Are you pleased at your students progress? How about my cost control...I should be known as the The cheapskate of Crappie Fishing.

The student has become the master.

Hey thanks a million sac!!!

Those are some good looking condo's...are they easy to see on your graph....
JAKE

Hey dentist, they BLOW UP ON MY SCREEN-Looks like a giant mushroom. I'll post a few pics next time I remember to take some on the water. You can also add a few metal pipes in each one to help reflect the sonar.

...

"I offer no answers or replies to the points brought forward....just immature wisecracks"

Pretty much says it all. ;)

I learned a lot from this and your other posts on this subject. Thanks again. Now where am I gonna put a tractor trailor load of pipe? The reuseable base is so cool. Saves money and time.

You said you throw them in. Does the weight of the concrete & the parachute effect of the pvc make them land upright? No rope?

Oh with the 70 pounds at one end it will 100% of the time land the correct way. I get the 70 pounds about chest level and really give it a good toss so it hits and hits hard (makes a big splashdown) and shoots to the bottom and hopefully locks into the mud.

these 10 ready to go.

About how much would making 10 or so of those cost?

sac...do you have a problem with the corner pipes breaking off if you are pulling on the pipe closest to the edges?

nope no breaking, just make sure you pull 2 limbs when dragging it to the moving truck. If you pull on them too soon they will break but after the cement cures about 4-5 days the stuff is as hard as..well concrete.

I have about 2-3 bucks in ALL 10 of these, NOT per top but for ALL 10. Normally they are expensive but I got the pipe for almost free and everything else was free (including the cement), so yes normally PVC tops are a lil expensive. The key is to either purchase bulk DAMAGED pvc pipe or find/salvage scrap PVC for free. If you try and buy each stick it would be almost too expensive to consider. We use PVC almost all the time BUT I will/have used metal poles from fences, tents, etc. We've used fiberglass rods from tents too. Works the same but the pipe is too rigid and doesn't flex at all or the fiberglass is TOO flex and not strong enough to support the 70 pounds if you pick it up by a limb AND it will splinter in your skin. Anything round will be snag proof and that's my goal. Along with durability as I can get free Bamboo all day long but it has to be replaced over time. So much goes into each drop I NEVER EVER EVER want to have to go back and "freshen them up"...Doesn't make sense to me.

Here's some I built earlier this year for spawn/prespawn. These were a little more expensive as I bought 8 bags of cement for 10 tops...that was $28 divided by 10 tops is $2.80 per top. I split that expense with my building partner. And of course he was drunk when we placed them in the water and wanted to argue on where to place them and I just let him do what he thought was best and this first spawn I didn't have much success with these SO FAR but they didn't get placed where I wanted them placed. I placed others the year before that HAD SOME HAWGY HAWGS ALL OVER THEM THIS YEAR!!!

Here's some other styles we played around with over the years...

I like those kind. They show up great on my Humminbird side-scan.

If you spend all that money on a SSI and you can find my tops, MORE POWER TO YOU!!! You earned your way to it. Besides you will have spent about 3 weeks searching for something...anything. I don't know many folks around here about to put a 2 thousand dollar fishfinder on a 1 thousand dollar boat. I guess it's like having a junk car with 3 thousand dollar rims on it??

thanks for the answer sac...

I don't have a 1,000 boat I crappie fish out of a 50,000 Ranger with about $ 6,000 worth of extra electronics on it. In 3 weeks I can find every bed in that lake. The first and only time I fished Ross I won enough money in a tourny to buy that H-bird.

My granddaddy made some like that when I was real young. They worked well. Should work good for you. I also have a side scan and it dont take long to go over a lake especially when you got several buddies that have one.

They look great. Can i borrow your gps for about a hour? How long does it take before you catch fish off them?

mchappy I have fish on them if in the right location with in days.

what kind of spots do you drop in like for winter, spring, etc. Been trying to stock pile some boo to start dropping soon.

winter it's moot point to try and place them. The fish go to the river and WAY TOOOO MUCH current there. But if you can get it to stay try the S curve for winter and then spring...well anywhere it's 9 foot or less will work.

thanks rick

How do you get the condo and cement out of the mold once it drys?

sac-a-lait, or anyone for that matter

what kind of advice can you give on placement of these gems!

thanks

Sac do u sand the pvc to get alge quicker and did u use big nails sticking out the bottom as an anchor in current?

Sac would sure love to see a snapshot of them on the depth finder.
pete

I'll get some pics up asap. I place them in locations where I have caught fish just far enough off so they are hard to find and they draw fish off a known spot that produces. I have yet to try the extra feet but have come up with another way to make them taller and harder to move. Will post those [ics when we do it.

Thanks for the pics Rick, You really go the extra distance to help people learn the how-to's of building good crappie structure!:)