How To Build A Fishing Bait Launcher

Easy To Fishing Bait Launcher

A fishing bait launcher can launch frozen bait at over 200 ft/s. It is a propellant based gun that uses any propane based aerosol as a propellant (most experiments use hair spray, for it is inexpensive and easy to use). The way it works is propellant is injected into the combustion chamber and ignited with a BBQ sparker, as the gas expands it pushes the bait up the barrel and out of the gun.

Building a fishing bait launcher is fairly simple provided some basic tools are available. The most basic fishing bait launcher consists of three main components: a combustion chamber, a barrel, and an ignitor. The combustion chamber and the barrel are usually constructed out of pressure rated PVC or ABS piping and the ignitor can be any type of sparker, but most fishing bait launcher experimenter's prefer to use BBQ ignitors, for they provide a large and effective spark.

Parts
" 2 feet of 2 inch dia. PVC or ABS pressure rated pipe
" 1 foot of 3 inch dia. PVc or ABS pressure rated pipe
" screw off end cap for 3 inch pipe (note: clean out plug may be used)
" slip to threaded 3 inch fitting
" 3 to 2 in reducer
" PVC or ABS cement (note: do NOT mix PVC pipes with ABS pipes or fitting, only use PVC cement on PVC and ABS on ABS)
" BBQ ignitor
" 2 drywall screws
" hair spray
" plenty of spuds

Assembly Instructions
 
1. Cut pipes to correct length's with a hacksaw
2. Glue the barrel and the chamber to the reducer as shown in the diagram. (if PVC is used don't forget to apply primer first.
3. Close off the end of the chamber with the fitting and screw-on end cap or the drain plug cap.
4. Screw the drywall screws through the sides the combustion chamber so there is about a 1/4 to 3/8 inch gap
5. Connect the sparker to the drywall screw and make sure it fires properly, if no spark fires move screws closer and re-test.
6. Bevel the end of the barrel so that the potato will be cut to size when it is loaded. Beveling can be done with a Dremel or if one is not available a file can be used.
7. Let cement dry for about an hour (this time can be used to go buy some spuds!!)

Firing Tips
 
Caution: Only fire in open spaces far away from human life
 
1. Load the fishing bait launcher by loading your frozen bait puck by pushing it into the barrel of the gun and letting the gun cut the pucks shape. If the potato is too small the potato will not go very far, for most of the gas will escape. Providing a good seal is the key to distance spud launching.

2. Get a stick that can be used to muzzle load the bait. Measure out how far on the stick the bait has to be pushed down to be right before the combustion chamber and push it down to that level.

3. Unscrew the back and fill with propellant. I like using pure propane from a blowtorch, but if one isn't available then hair spray can be used. This is the trickiest part of all. The correct mixture of gas to air has to be present for the gun to fire. Experimenting is the best way. One thing that is important to remember is that the gas needs oxygen to combustion therefore after each time it is fired air must be allowed into the chamber.

4. For a better fishing bait launcher, click here and download our plans, or if you would like a complete fishing bait launcher kit with easy to follow instructions, click here. We also provide pre built fishing bait launchers here.