Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat DIY "Sputnik" Fish Attractors from Bowling Balls & PVC

I got one of these put together and thought I'd share the experience with y'all. It was fun and turned out pretty well.

The finished product ready to launch into the pond


Sitting in about 4 feet of water


What I started with; six free bowling balls


Measuring and making a template for the holes



Son laying on the templates


Drilling the 1/4" pilot holes; follow these up with 13/16" holes after removing the templates. Drill to a depth of about 1".



Jig we set up to saw the 1/2" PVC pipe; We set it up at 2-1/2 feet so we'd get 4 pieces from each stick.The other son feeds them to me through the door.



After drilling all the holes and cutting all the pipes simply drive the pipes into the holes with a mallet; there you go, your very own "Sputnik' fish attractor made from a used bowling ball and about 11 dollars worth of PVC.

Let me know if you guys make some or need any help.

Best regards,

Chip

...any signs of buoyancy?...no problems sinking?
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still my vote for most creative idea for the month of May! Can't wait to see what he does with the pins.
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(edit)...oh yeah...kickin' pond, dude!

Brettski,
Thanks.No problems with bouyancy, it settled right to the bottom and I threw it in from over my head to see if the pipes would break. It went down slowly as the pipes filled with water
Score one for the boys! They were a big help.
Chip

That's a thing of beauty.

Thanks Bruce, let's hope the fish think so.

They will. Did you see my bluegill condominium? There's a bluegill sitting in every hole right now.

Dang, now I have a use for that bowling ball drill press and all the bits I bought two years ago. Now I just have to find some used balls.

Bruce, find some bolwing balls and I can get the holes drilled for you.

Sorry Bruce I missed that post can you send or post the link?
Chip

Chip,
I wanted your instructions within this thread for future reference. There probably is a better way to accomplish this but this is the best I can do. Thanks for sharing your project with us.
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I use the full diameter of the ball so I can get out to about 6 feet using 1/4 sticks of pvc. I have the boys set up out in the barn working on it now. The circumference of the balls is 28" so I made some masking tape templates with 7 holes on 4 inch centers. Just stick it to the ball , turn it 90 degrees, put on the 3 other templates and you're ready for the drill press. Pre-drill with a 1/4" at about 2200 rpms then finish with a 13/16" drill at about 850 rpms to 1 inch deep. I'll have to see if the finished holes are too tight with the 13/16" bit but that was as close as I could come. I think when you do it this way you'll wind up with 26 "branches".
Chip
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Schroeder,
No problem. I might add that it makes assembly easier if you chamfer the holes or the pipe ends to go together smoother. You wind up with about a 0.0275" press fit.
Chip

Chip, I got 8 free balls last night and they offered more. Planning to do the project this weekend. The guy in the pro shop said they were made from polyurethane so I was thinking of using Gorilla Glue (polyurethane) to glue the PVC in after roughing it up a bit. It sounds like yours are friction fit, any problems keeping them together?

Ryan,

No problems with coming apart, it's a tight press fit if you drill to 13/16". You can grab one of the branches and tow it.The 13/16" drill bit is something you have to shop around for. I got mine at Grainger.

The pipe size is 0.840" O.D. and the 13/16" drill is 0.8125", pretty snug for what were doing.If I moved it a lot I would put an eye bolt in it for a rope.

The Gorilla Glue should work well since the standard drill size most TSC and hardware stores carry is 7/8", the glue expands as it hardens tightening the joint.
Chip

Here you go, Chip!

Bruce,
What size corr. pipe is that...guessing 6"?...larger? Also, and this is very important, is it part of the BG condo time-share network?

Wow,now that's some structure. I bet it holds a lot of fish.Thanks for the picture Bruce.

Bruce,

That thing is really cool!
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What does it do?

Ed

Could something like Bruce's contraption be made for fathead minnows? Maybe smaller pipe, in shallower water, not stacked as high?

(Sorry Chip, didn't mean to hijack your thread)

That has to be at least 10" pipe for Bruce's broad shouldered, steroid injected bull BG to ease into.

At least if we're gonna hijack Chip's thread it's on a relevant subject. I'm positive that smaller pipe could be used for fathead spawning. Basically anything that has an underside will be utilized.

Chip's is more of an attractor, mine's more of a refuge. Both good, but slightly different purposes.

burger, my broad shouldered bluegills keep getting stuck in that pipe.

Ed praises, then queries:
(Bruce...if I may...)
Ed,
As Bruce has noted, this structure is a BG condo. It's main function is to provide deluxe shelter for BG during the Winter months. The common term, albeit somewhat politically incorrect, is a Snow-fish condo. Similar to the annual midwest migration by humans to Florida, mature senior BG also need a "cold temp change of pace". As a responsible Snow-fish condo landlord, Bruce has no doubt created structure nearby that simulates Space Mountain and the Epcot orb. These items seem to provide a calming effect and the feeling of "belonging" in the new evironment. You will note the "stacked look" of the condo units. This construction method came about from many years of study based on "BG cultural offense or BG-CO". An anti-social behavior was common between Canadian and domestic US BG upon arrival at the BG condo. The old construction method of laying the condo units horizontally (side-by-side) was scrapped for the tower effect. Scientific studies revealed that the physiology of the eye placement on BG encouraged most sight horizontally, thus promoting the highest level of BG-CO when housed in horizontal units. Bruce has wisely chosen the tower construction method, thus allowing bonding of BG of similar culture background in adjoining units at one level. Differing culture backgrounds can now exist in harmony within one condo complex provided they have habitated units on different "floors". Although all the scientific data has not yet been analyzed, there is also evidence that the feeding and resting habits of Snow-fish alters with age as they tend to eat the largest meal between 3:00 and 4:30 pm, ultimately resting suspended in the condo unit well before dark.

10" ...and yes, bluegill time share network. Bluegill are allowed to pick any two week period that hasn't previously been assigned to any other bluegill. Federal regulations do not allow us to prohibit use by redear sunfish as we had previously hoped.

Bluegills in socks and sandals; what a visual.

Bruce,

If you don’t get some water over this contraption soon…………it may attract purple martins and barn swallows!

Oh and by the way Chip, very attractive “sea urchin” attractor located in a gorgeous setting!

Ed

Bruce,

That looks a lot like a MLRS
MULTIPLE LAUNCH ROCKET SYSTEM

I wonder how far it would shoot a bowling ball?

Chip

Brettski- You have now earned my vote with that soliloquy, as the #1 BS expert in the history of Pond Boss! :p

Moderators note: BS stands for Bluegill Snowfish not Bull excrement although they may be the same thing! :rolleyes: