The Old Cane Pole

When I was a kid coming up in rural Texas, everyone took a stab at fishing. It was a right of passage as sacred as learning to ride a bicycle, sneaking out behind the barn to try out a stolen cigarette or stealing watermelons. While I did learn to ride a bicycle without parental assistance, I skipped becoming addicted to nicotine in junior high school and missed out on the educational experience of plucking rock salt out of my buttocks with a pair of pliers. Local farmers were always armed in those days. This was before the time of the hippie farmer.

Fishing, however, I did try, sitting on the muddy red clay banks of creeks and stock tanks with a peach can full of worms I'd dug up out of the back yard. Cane pole fishing is a sport that requires patience and for and ADD kid like me the only thing that made it work was that creek born perch were hungry little devils, if not very big. Even on a bad day that red and white “bobber” would be jerked under about every 15 or 20 minutes and old-fashioned fishing action would ensue.

I never ate them in those days. Mom didn't much like fooling with fish and I didn't much like cleaning them, so most of my catches went back into the water. Some of them must have been pretty hungry because I've spent more than one afternoon pulling the same fish out over and over again. All the fun you could want with nothing more than a rusty hook, a length of fishing line and a simple bamboo cane pole.

Despite it’s simplicity, the old-fashioned cane pole is a deadly fishing tool, rivaling more expensive modern rods of fiberglass and graphite. In fact, since I graduated to rod and reel and fishing lures, my catch rate has decreased dramatically. That's all right with me since I still don't like to clean fish and I find as I age that my sympathies have begun to lie with the fish. Mostly I fish now for something to do with my hands while I sit in boats. The fact that the $5 fishing lure I'm dragging back and forth through the water isn't fooling any fish is immaterial to me. I just like watching the “realistic action” as I drag the danged thing through the water.

For those of you who actually want to catch some fish, though, a bit of fishing line, a bobber, a lead weight and a worm, is all you need to create a low cost, but effective tool for bringing home a nice fish dinner. A homemade cane pole is something every kid needs to make at least once in his life no matter how old the kid might be. Besides, it's siimple to do – a factor that becomes more and more important to some of us older “kids”. Here is what you need to do.

Cut yourself a bamboo cane pole about 8 to 10 feet long. Use a fine toothed saw to get a clean cut on the butt end. You can, of course, buy one, but where's the fun in that. Better to find a grove of golden bamboo somewhere. You can find them everywhere since somebody decided to import bamboo to America as a low cost building material more than a century or so ago. There's hardly a part of the country now where bamboo doesn't grow wild somewhere. The free poles you find growing in a stand of bamboo in some grader ditch are much more fun than store bought ones. You get to brag that you found this one growing wild and you “cut it yourself”. Hey, we take our bragging rights where we can get 'em these days.

Choose a pole about 3/4 inch in diameter at the base. The pole should be 8 to 10 feet long and about 1/4 in diameter at the tip. Golden bamboo is the best. There are other varieties, but the yellow-green “golden” variety makes the best fishing cane poles. The joints tend to be close together at the base of this variety, adding strength and little indentations that make for a perfect handgrip. Cane poles have long tough fibers that will support a surprisingly large fish, while providing the flexibility to work him on the end of the line without losing him.

If you do cut your own pole, saw it off down close to the ground where the base is heavy and strong. Once you've cut it, give the taperd end a quick whip back and forth to insure there are no cracks or splits in the shaft that you didn't see before.

The next step is to dry your pole since it's going to be too green to use after it is first cut. Drill a hole in the base and run some wire through it to make a hook or loop. Hang the pole upside down by the hook in a sunny warm place on the side of a building, tower or tall tree. Make sure it gets plenty of sun every day. Tie a brick to the tip to weight it down so it will dry straight. The pole should hang for 1 to 3 weeks.

When the pole is dry use a torch, hair dryer or open flame to heat the pole. Be careful not to burn it. The heat will drive any oil or wax within the pole to the surface. Heating will leave a greasy grey waxy film over the pole. Let it coola dn when it turns clear, you can wipe away the residue with a dry rag.

Next, use steel wool or fine sandpaper to rough up the surface. Then wipe off the dust and stand the pole in a warm dry place for a few hours.

Next, brush on a couple of coats of marine spar varnish, allowing the finish to completely dry between coats. The varnish helps keep moisture out of the pole, protects against water damage and cracking and gives the pole a dark sheen that looks nice.

When your pole is ready, tie on enough fishing line so you can wind an extra 10 or 20 feet from pole to tip. That way, if you break the line, you've always got some extra you can unwrap so you can keep fishin'. Another secret is “duct tape”. Tear off a few strips and wrap it around the line along the shaft and that way your extra line doesn't creep off the end and tangle up. Tangled lines are a fisherman's mortal enemy. With the cane pole, simple is best.

Leave enough line hanging from the end of your pole so that from the tip to the hook end of the line reaches just short of the end of the pole. Tie on a fishook large or small enough for the size fish you’re after. Six inches above the hook, tie on a 1 ounce weight. Figure out the depth you want the hook to hang and attach the float or “bobber” to the line. If you find you need to shorten your line for some reason, simply roll the excess up onto the poll.

Now hook on a worm and drop the line into a likely spot. Watch the bobber and if it goes under, give the line a quick tug to set the hook. When you have a fish on the line, simply lift the tip up till the hook comes out of the water with fish attached. Since the line is actually shorter than the pole, all you have to do is bring the pole up vertical and the fish will swing right into your waiting hand. Easy peasy!

Flat Canoe Rack

Easy Canoe Rack for Lakeside

This easy to build canoe and kayak rack is simple to build and use, though it does take up a little more space than some of the other designs I've posted here.  It's pretty easy to build:

1.  Dig 4 post holes.  Each pair to which you will bolt a cross member should be as wide apart as you want the rack to be (3 feet times the number of canoes you have).  Put the pairs about 9 or 10 feet apart. That's half to two-thirds the length of most canoes and kayaks and supports well enough so that summer heat doesn't cause the boats to sag and distort the hulls.  Use treated posts. They should stick up about 2 to 3 feet depending on your comfort level and be treated.  Pour concrete around them to set the posts.

2. Lag bolt a 2x12 pressure treated cross member to the posts as shown in the picture.  Pad the cross member to protect the boat.  I like to buy used fire hose from local volunteer fire departments and screw it on top of the cross members n accordion pleats. The pleats keep the canoes from sliding around on the rack.

3. The canoes sit upside down on the cross members. You can mix canoes and kayaks. If you get more canoes than you planned you can nest them and get more canoes on the rack.

4. To make tie-down easier, screw some eyelets to the face of the cross members to create attachment points for bungee cords.  Tying down the canoes prevents them from taking flight in a wind storm.

Rope-Making

This is how the pros do it. This UK factory makes ropes and cables for the British Navy.

The ancient art of rope-making is a skill that not many people possess anymore.  It’s not really hard to do though once you get your head around the principle.  First you’ll need a a rope-making machine.  Here’s how to build one.  Once you’ve you’ve got one you can whip up lots of rope from light cord to massive hawsers.  It’s actually a lot of fun, especially if you drag a couple of grandkids into it.  You’ll need three people to make a rope.

The Sleds

You are going to build two sleds as shown in the pictures to the right.  They are simple wooden sawhorse-like affairs with skids on the bottom and a seat for the rope turners who act as both rope twisters and ballast.  Build a frame on one end of the sled with a 2 foot by 2 foot flat ¾ inch plywood plate for setting the hooks and cranks.  Build both sleds alike.  One will have 3 hooks and one will only have one. Start with the 3 hook  individual strand twister.  Drill 3 holes at the corners of an equilateral triangle with 10 inch legs.  Make sure it’s centered.  You’ll need room to turn the cranks.

The Strand Twister.

You’ll need 3 steel rods about 12 inches long.  Bend them into a ‘Z’ shape with equal length sections.  The rods must be identical to crank together.  The center section must not be more than 4 inches in length in order to crank freely without bumping into each other.  Insert one end of the “Z” into the three holes in the end plate so the crank part is on the .  Allow them to hang down. 

Next you’ll need to thread about 3 inches of the crank ends so you can bolt the crank plate in place. 

Cut a triangular plywood plate about 12 inches on a side and cut 3 holes 10 inches apart.  They must match the holes in the end plate for this to work.  Thread bolts and washers over the end of the cranks and slip the crank plate over the ends.

Bolt the plate in place with a double nut so the plate will turn freely. A double nut are two nuts on the same side twisted against each other. It's advisable to also put a washer between the nuts and the wooden crank plate.

Finally, you’ll need to a attach a handle to the center of the crank plate in order to turn the hooks.  When you crank the plate, the three hooks will turn together at the same speed.

Now you need to heat and bend the other end of the cranks to make 3 hooks.  These will turn when you crank the opposite end. You'll need a torch to do this. Another way to attach hooks to the end is to thread the ends of the crank rods and screw an eye hook onto the rods backed by double nuts to hold the screw eyes in place so it turns with the crank rods. You can do the bending of the rods and threading ahead of time, but you'll have to enlarge the holes in the hook plate so the Z ends can negotiate the turn. To do this you'll need a piece of pipe to act as guide for the rods. To pull that off you'll have to figure the size of the pipe that will fit the rods, Cut three pieces to match the depth of the holes. Slide them on the rod before you bend the Z ends of the rods. Slide the rods through the holes then slide the pipes into the holes behind them. That way the crank will turn easily, especially if you squirt a little oil into them before working the crank. 

The Rope Twister

For this you’ll need another 3/8 in steel rod bent to an identical “Z” as on the first sled.  Drill a hole in the center of the end plate, insert the crank, thread the crank end and screw on some sort of handle. Fashion a pipe guide like the ones above. Slide it on the rod before you bend the crank. On the opposite end, bend the rod into a hook facing away from the sled seat. Insert the Z end of the crank first with the pipe guide on the hook side. Once the crank is in, pound the pipe into the crank hole and Voila!  Now you have the two sleds.  You only need one more tool.

Spreader

Make another ten inch equilateral plywood triangle with a notch in the center of each side. The spreader separates the strands into their individual parts. It guides the rope strands as they are twisted while you walk beside the ropes keeping them apart as they twist together naturally. You'll start from the hook end and walk toward the triple crank end.

 Rope-Making Materials

You’ll need nylon or grass/hemp bailing twine from which to make the strands.  Tie one end of the ball to the single hook and start stringing loops back and forth to one of the three hooks.  10 strands of twine per hook is a good thickness to practice on.  It will make a thirty strand rope. 

Depending on the thickness of the rope you want, string an equal number of strands of twine between the single hook and each of the three twister hooks. Fit the spreader board between each strand and push it back next to the single hook.

Tensioning the Strands

 

You’ll need 3 people to make a rope - one on the 3 strand crank, one on the single hook and one on the spreader board.  Place the sleds about a third farther apart than the length of rope you want to make. Begin cranking the three hooks clockwise as you face the crank.  Continue until the strands become tight and begin to twist.

 While the person on the 3 hook sled keeps steady pressure on the crank, the person on the single hook needs to gently begin turning the single crank counterclockwise rotating toward the same direction the strands were twisted.  As he turns the single hook, the person on the spreader board moves the board toward the three hook sled allowing the rope to twist itself from the single hook end.  Both crankers should keep steady pressure on the cranks turning them so the strands lay themselves naturally and evenly. The tighter you keep the strands twisted as you you put them together, the tighter the rope will lay up and the better quality it will be.

When you’re close to the end, remove the spreader and tighten all the way down to the triple hooks.  Wrap the ends of the rope with duct tape to keep it from unraveling or wrap fine cord around the end.  Cut the rope loose from the hooks with a sharp knife and coil it up for storage. 

Make yourself a big old hawser if you want and take it to the next family reunion for the tug of war competition.  Brag on it if you want. After all, who else do you know that can make his own rope.

© 2009 by Tom King