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View Full Version : Prawn puller for under $100



Johnnybear
03-27-2006, 08:06 PM
Here is a picture of the prawn pullers my buddies and I have been building.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/Picture_097.jpg
Winch: $49.00
Scotty spool: free (find an old manual that nobody wants)
Front pully: $18.00
Power switch: $6.00
Scotty downrigger plug: $7.00
Scrap aluminum: $18.00
Total: $98.00

Labour: all in good fun.

Johnnybear
03-27-2006, 08:15 PM
Here is a picture of part of the harvest from 2 Sunday's ago.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/Picture_090.jpg

Here's a shot of the puller in action. Beauty conditions eh!

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/Picture_087.jpg

johnes50
03-27-2006, 11:24 PM
Those prawns look mighty tasty. Looks like handy rig that you could use as a downrigger in a pinch too.

BlacktailStalker
03-27-2006, 11:25 PM
Beauty ! Nice work.

MB_Boy
03-28-2006, 09:17 AM
Nice work!! We always bring rookies out and use them as a puller and they usually bring their own beer as well.......costs almost nothing! :wink:

In all seriousness though that is a pretty slick set up. A buddy of mine was looking to save some $$$ in purchasing one and I will certainly be passing this along.

guntech
03-28-2006, 10:00 AM
How does the spool assist? Do you take a wrap around it or is it just friction or a taper to the sides?

MB_Boy
03-28-2006, 10:58 AM
How does the spool assist? Do you take a wrap around it or is it just friction or a taper to the sides?

I would think that you would have to put a wrap on it as that line would be much more narrow than those spools.

Johnnybear
03-28-2006, 11:21 AM
You have to put a couple of wraps on the spool. We use cheap 1/4" poly rope. You wrap the inside of the spool with hockey tape and it grips pretty good. The one in the photo is one of the first ones we built. We are playing around with arm to get the front pulley level horizontally with the main spool. She's not as fast as the commercially bought ones but does the job nicely. You'd probably get some more speed with a bigger spool but we haven't figured out what to use to keep the cost down.

We buy the winches at Costco but I think Princess Auto has them as well.

Jager
03-28-2006, 08:27 PM
Hey Johnnybear

Are you making these to sell or just for personal use? If you're not selling them do you mind sharing how you attach the winch to the spool?

Peter

Johnnybear
03-29-2006, 07:42 AM
Jager, I don't build them to sell (not enough time). Just build them to help keep a hobby less expensive. You have to cut the Scotty spool in half with a band saw that has a nice thin blade preferably to get it on the winch spool. You have to drill four holes in the outside hub of the winch spool and mount the Scotty spool to it. It's kind of hard to explain. I'll take some more detailed and close up photos of the procedure as we build the next one and post them. We're building another one this weekend.

I just build them for fun and don't mind sharing information with people who want to try it themselves.

Jager
03-31-2006, 08:47 AM
Thanks for the info Johnnybear. I look forward to more details as I just got a winch and I have a downrigger sitting in the garage. Anything should be bettere than pulling by hand or spending the big $$$ on a commercial one.

How's the winch holding up to the salt?

Peter

Johnnybear
03-31-2006, 02:22 PM
How's the winch holding up to the salt?

Peter[/quote]

Good so far. The switch we use is a waterproof marine switch from the local chandlery. Just rinse the whole unit off with fresh water when you are done and store in a dry place. I wouldn't leave it on the boat due to theft and the possibility of corrosion starting.

death-junky
04-05-2006, 03:11 PM
yummmm i wish that i had a boat :( good catch :D
ttyal
Riley

Jager
04-09-2006, 03:23 PM
Hey Johnnybear,

I think I saw one of your 'pullers' this weekend driving thru Cedar towards Ladysmith. It reminded me to bug you for more details on the build process. If it was you, how did you make out? Looks like you made a different spool.

Peter

Johnnybear
04-09-2006, 04:47 PM
Jager, if it was a double eagle you saw then it was my buddies Dad. He made a spool for his out of 2 old cutting boards for the outsides and a chunk of 1" thick oak for the center and sandwiched them together.

I went out yesterday to get my boat going for the year and spent the rest of the time rigging traps and getting lines organized etc. Didn't do to well only had 2 traps out for a short time and only did one pull. My buddy and his Dad were out in their boat for 5 hrs yesterday and almost limited out with 8 traps in the water and 3 pulls.

We built two more pullers last weekend and I totally forgot to take pictures. We're building another one soon and I'll remember for sure. It's good to build a bunch as they get better each time. One of the ones we build was my own and I put a 3000 lb winch on it and I tell you you could pull up 6 traps at time with this unit.

Jager
04-09-2006, 05:19 PM
Yup, it was a Double Eagle pulled by a black chev. I couldn't tell from the angle of your photos but it looked like the far end of the drum still had to be supported. Too bad....I guess you just have disconnect the bouy and thread the line thru. Still better than paying $400+ for one.

Johnnybear
04-09-2006, 09:13 PM
That was my buddies truck. We put quick clips on our floats and yeah you have to thread it around but it's not a pain once you get it set up right. I used mine yesterday and was really impressed with the mod's we did and the pulling power. The only negative thing about them is they are a little loud.

swellswo
01-30-2007, 10:22 PM
Hey Johnnybear any updates on your prawn puller design? I am in the process of collecting parts and would like to hear if you have come up with any design improvements and any detail on how you attached the downrigger spool. Thanks!

Johnnybear
02-06-2007, 11:38 PM
Sorry for the slow reply. Been swamped with work (good or bad thing). We haven't been playing around much with the puller design. The original still works good. If I get some time I'm going to work on mounting a drum on the outside so you don't have to feed the line just wrap it. Went out to the fingers over Christmas holiday with 1 friend dropped three traps and limited out in one pull!!.

Jager
02-07-2007, 08:20 PM
Hey guys, on one of the fishing forums or numerous google searches I did I came across a design I liked. (I think it was done by a guy in Campbell River).

A costco winch and scotty spool were used but he had made a "pillow" block ( I think thats what he called it) out of a hard plastic. Basically it was a block of plastic with a hole drilled through it (the diam. of the winch drum) then cut in 1/2, mounted over the winch drum (scope mount style) and bolted to the mounting plate of the winch. The pillow block supports the drum and keeps it from disengaging the internal gears. A scotty spool was then bolted to the outside of the drum. = no feeding, just a quick wrap.

I'll try to find a pic.

Jager
02-07-2007, 09:37 PM
found it.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/prawn_puller1_sized.jpg

JoshLedoux
02-07-2007, 09:47 PM
How do you fish prawns here, I've done a bit of crabbing but probably not very similar, how deep do you have to be and what kind of bait do you use?

swellswo
02-07-2007, 10:39 PM
That looks like tha cats meow with minimal modifications to the winch. What was the web address you found that picture on? I was pondering whether to drop the planetary gear and find a drive shaft/gear that matches the internal axle. Although the retrieve speed would likely be too fast. What is the retrieve speed with this combo? As far as where to find prawns and what to use, usually they hide out around 300' and cat food works great. You need specialized traps and a strong back if you do not have one of these contraptions we have been dicussing.

Johnnybear
02-08-2007, 08:38 PM
I prawn using the collapsable discharge out the bottom type black traps with the four legs (black legs not the crome ones) and use a standard scotty crab jar with 1/4 inch holes drilled all over the place. I attach the bait jar lid to the top inside of the trap in the center with a ss quick snap so when I screw the jar on it sits somewhat in the middle of the trap vertically. I use a homemade 4 line bridle with a line snap attached. At the bottom of the trap I attach a 2 pound cannon ball in the center using a large ss snap ring(when you go to empty the trap into a bucket the weight really helps create a funnel and the prawns just pour into the bucket perfectly).I normally use 420' lines (cheap 5/16 yellow poly) with a loop spliced at the end and another 50' up the line. The traps just snap onto the loops and your good to go. This length of line I find is a versatile length allowing me to cover any depth aroung 180' to 330' (the best depths depend on where I am and vary from location to location)with 2 traps set 50' apart. At the top end of the line is another spliced loop to attach my large orange commercial style float which has another line snap attached to it. I always use a mid line weight on my lines no matter what depth to keep my lines down and out of props way.

I usally fill my jars 1/4 with commercial prawn pellets then top them off with a can of Carlisle tuna cat food (buy bulk by the case at Sharecare or Buckerfields). A little trick is to get all your jars (I usually go with a buddy so we have 8 traps so 8 jars) and bait them up the night before, put them on a cookie sheet, cover with a kitchen garbage bag and put them in the freezer. This creates way less hassle on the boat and the bait slowly thaws in the water and lasts way longer. Just screw the jars into the lids attached to the traps and your good to go.

Always ask around for the hot spots because prawns are not everywhere. Around the mid Island area there are many spots, Deep Bay, Lasqueti Island, Five Finger Islands, Flat Top Islands off of Gabriola, Northumberland Channel, Ladysmith to Crofton (check for closures).

Good luck and good prawning.

Johnnybear
02-08-2007, 08:56 PM
One more thing... I use a cheap black plastic garbage can to put my (4) 420' lines in. I tape the ends of each line with a different color electrical tape so I don't grab the wrong end of one and get everything tangled up in the garbage can. When using the puller the line just coils real nice into the garbage can and I haven't had a bird's nest yet (knock on wood). I drilled a couple of 1/2" holes in the bottom of the garbage can and I just keep the lines in there all the time ready to go.

mrpeeperz
09-29-2008, 09:49 PM
has anyone seen the winches at costco recently? and has anyone tried the canadiantire ones? they are about 40 bucks but have a freewheel out so i am not sure if they have the same capabilites

fozzy
12-22-2009, 11:16 AM
Johnnybear, where do you get the front pulley? Who makes it?
Thanks

ultramafic
12-22-2009, 01:20 PM
One more thing... I use a cheap black plastic garbage can to put my (4) 420' lines in. I tape the ends of each line with a different color electrical tape so I don't grab the wrong end of one and get everything tangled up in the garbage can. When using the puller the line just coils real nice into the garbage can and I haven't had a bird's nest yet (knock on wood). I drilled a couple of 1/2" holes in the bottom of the garbage can and I just keep the lines in there all the time ready to go.


We use a cheap plastic garden hose reel from canadian tire... you can get a crap load of poly rope on the garden hose reel. We just reel up the rope as it comes out of the water and pull it off the reel as it goes into the water.

Probably wouldnt work all that well if you were by yourself since the reel doesnt have the strenght to actually pull the traps so its kind of a team thing. It will definitly keep the tangles out of your ropes..

mike

.284
12-22-2009, 02:13 PM
You could also get a rope spool from one of the commercial fishing net stores. Then mount it onto a pole which fits onto your downrigger attatchment on the opposite side of the boat. Drill in a handle and then you (or your decky) can reel it up while winching. Works great for dropping traps too, just drive in circle and let it unspool, no birdsnests.

rifleman
12-22-2009, 04:22 PM
One more thing... I use a cheap black plastic garbage can to put my (4) 420' lines in. I tape the ends of each line with a different color electrical tape so I don't grab the wrong end of one and get everything tangled up in the garbage can. When using the puller the line just coils real nice into the garbage can and I haven't had a bird's nest yet (knock on wood). I drilled a couple of 1/2" holes in the bottom of the garbage can and I just keep the lines in there all the time ready to go.
we drill holes in the outer lip and put snaps on the ends of the rope & hook them into the holes. in order of course ,so no tangles works great. you can hook on the bouy right away.

kilkeel
01-26-2010, 12:49 PM
where did you pick up the motor??

Fixit
03-26-2010, 01:28 AM
FYI i just picked up a crappy tire 1500 lb winch for 45 bucks

it draws 4 ish amps at 28rpm, no load, and gripping with my hands all i could load it up to was just over 10 with very little loss in rpm.

I also picked up a 12" v belt pulley from princess auto with a hub so i can mount it to the drum. pulley was 32 and the hub was 6 bucks

morden
03-26-2010, 09:12 AM
I use an anchor lift to pull my traps....35 dollars and slicker than snake shit.

Murder
01-08-2014, 10:55 PM
I use an anchor lift to pull my traps....35 dollars and slicker than snake shit.


Old thread to the rescue! Thank you sir, you just saved me hundreds

mrjumpcamp
05-30-2014, 08:46 AM
Here is the one I put together with spare parts laying around. I am going to make the second one with the plastic block supporting the spool so the wheel is on the outside, so I don't have to untie my trap/buoy everytime to feed the line thru. 4854