Homemade Strike Indicator

[L_soult]

With a house full of kids that are into Under Armor, Xbox, Hollister, and Nike; I'm always looking to save a buck.

I know you get what your pay for on the big stuff, but I think I can cut some costs in some areas.

Here's a homemade strike indicator I made from closed cell foam earplugs from work and one of my daughters bobby pins.

I tried it today in the creek behind my shop during lunch. Worked nice.

 

[SBecker]

I admire your creativity.

 

[Volksnurse]

Likin' the bobby pin concept...does it stay where you put it on the leader?

Ive made a few O-ring and craft foam indicators from my daughter's glitter foam...

 

[L_soult]

I cut the open end on the pin to the length of the plug. Then inserted it through and I bent the two ends outward at a 45 degree angle (about 1/8" deep). This put the plug in slight compression which causes the plug to be in slight compression. Nice and snug.

 

[whheff]

Very nice!!

 

[mike_richardson]

eat your hear out thingamabobber. I wish my work had those ear plugs

 

[L_soult]

I just reread my "double compression" comment. Thats what i get for trying to post and carry a conversation at the same time

 

[dubthethorax]

Very nice. I bought out a bunch of Idylwilde sindicators from some fly shop on clearance before they went under. I like them better than Thingamabobbers for casting and they also have monster ones for steelheading.

http://idylwilde.com/wordpress/2010/02/new-sindicator-strike-indicators-guaranteed-to-make-you-more-awesome/

 

[L_soult]

Haha. Guaranteed to make you more awesome? These things were make with me in mind. I could use a little more it that.

 

[semperfish]

Cool idea....let me make sure I understand how this is secured to your leader: Compress the earplug; pass leader through the bend of the b-pin and release....as the earplug re-expands it "clamps" the leader between itself and the b-pin....is that correct?

 

[L_soult]

I make a loop, stick it through the eye of the pin, and pull the tag end through the loop.

I had thought about using it as you described. I just hadn't tried it yet.

I'm thinking about eliminating the pin and having an o-ring on each end connected with several passes of thread through the axis of the ear plug.

Just because I know the bobby pin will eventually rust, unless I can find some that are made from a corrosion resistant alloy.

 

[JohnPowers]

Very clever. I have a load from work. You could be the Steve Jobs of strike indicators.

 

[shakey]

nice bobber idea!

 

[gaeronf]

dubthethorax wrote:
Very nice. I bought out a bunch of Idylwilde sindicators from some fly shop on clearance before they went under. I like them better than Thingamabobbers for casting and they also have monster ones for steelheading.

http://idylwilde.com/wordpress/2010/02/new-sindicator-strike-indicators-guaranteed-to-make-you-more-awesome/

They look just like Thingamabobbers from the picture. What about them makes them better for casting?

 

[dubthethorax]

I guess casting might not be the right word, and I should have used presentation. I feel like the plastic is a tiny bit thinner and they dont "PLOP" as much.

 

[BlkLgbEaDheAd09]

genius idea man! thanks for sharing. i do like the compression idea alot though.

 

[L_soult]

Thanks guys. I got the idea from a guy on instructables.com that was making bobbers by tying his fishing line to a hole in pieces of packing foam. I just used what I had laying around.