The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

I can still remember the thrashing I had from my father as a very young angler when I decided to made my first home-made swim feeders from my mother's blue and pink plastic hair curlers. I went for the blue ones of cause and being a little over zealous with them, she soon realised she had an in balance of colours.
In later life and once the memory was less painful I returned to the home-made swim feeder, using ring binders, then old bird feeders mesh and have just found a "Party Popper" that I must have picked up from the river bank years ago which I thought may have possibilities for liquidized bread, but never put the plan into operation.
Any way here they are, no giggling please.

Plastic Ring Binders

Old Bird Feeder mesh and a Party Popper


Oh, please wipe your eyes.

Stour Otter

Nothing to lough about, Sir. Especially the ring binders I find quite ingenious
And those bird feeder mesh ones: Aren't many modern ones look just the same?
I am sure the party popper would make a pristine bite indicator.

Party popper monkey climbers?? Not a sentence I ever thought I'd type.

I've made my own feeders out wire mesh (like you get on bird feeders), and they looked very similar to yours Mr Otter. I also used them for method feeding by simply crushing them and wrapping the stodge around it.

However, my son sent me an image of a homemade feeder the other day. Apparently it was snagged by someone trotting on the Wye. I say 'feeder', it may actually be an otter trap.

Up cycling after the office party,im laughing,with you.

I wish Otters were that small!

I make all my own swim feeders I normally use plastic 1-1/4 waste pipe about 11/2 long as I was in the trade and drill 1/4 holes in the sides wrap some solder around and away you go, it also puts out plenty of feed in the swim

I have made my own feeders for years, the most recent efforts are made from brown plastic plant protector tubes . I had a big bundle left after I planted a country hedge a couple of years ago, they make nice brown flexible open ended feeders, one tube will make about a good half dozen or more, a strip of lead flashing provides the weight, very simple, very effective.A bonus is that being flexible , if they get snagged behind a rock they just seem to "spring" out if given a quick jerk.The loop is made from mono, which is just clipped onto a sliding rig link on the main line.



I have made feeders from all sorts of bits over the years, the lighter coloured ones are for reservoir bream, they dont seem to mind what colour the feeders are, the darker coloured ones are for rivers where I have noticed that brighter colours seem to put the fish off a bit.



Over time I have found that it is quicker and easier to heat up a steel rod and melt the holes in the feeder instead of drilling them.I usually use a thick tent peg.

O M R

Things have never been the same since digital camera's put paid to 35mm film SLR's. The plastic film tubs were ideal.

I know you can still buy them but it just isn't the same as recycling the ones you bought for film and collecting from friends and family

A bit more traditional?