Watched a couple of videos where guys were using 12” pvc with 220’s for otter.. in my area, 12” pvc is unobtainable.. lol.. what’s a good substitute for the pvc?
To clarify, the set consists of a 24” long pipe with a 220 at each end, set underwater..

Build a box.

New sub developments under construction are gold. I even got a 24” X 6’ X 1/2” thick section of pvc pipe. The stacked green sheets of plywood aren’t garbage though, green is the treatment…..lol. A local thief told the cops that he thought it was rotten so he took them…..didn’t work.

Black plastic culvert.

This

I Set crossovers for the best otter action.

Cut the bottoms out of 2 -5 gallon buckets, screw them together . Set how you like. Some like blue buckets. old 243

Check to see if there are any companies near you that install farm drainage tile using plastic tile. Around here, the sizes range from 4" up to 12". You might be able to get some of their scrap or unusable pieces.

The heavy duty ribbed black plastic culvert pipe. The Alaska Zoo gave me the idea. They have a big pool with a floating 3-4 foot piece of pipe in the tank with the otters. It floats on top, it has air trapped in between the ribs, cut and smoothed on both ends. The otters go through the dang thing like a snake. Over and over, all day long. I watched them for a long time.

Add a 330 on either side, anchor it down, presto, killer otter traps. No bait, no lure, they will use it way more blind than they would with lure.

The hard part is that it is so simple, trappers want to add this and add that. Try them blind first, you will be much happier in the long run.

The one critical part is this. YOU MUST FLOAT IT BEFORE YOU CUT THE SLOTS FOR THE TRAPS. It will float only one way, the way it wants. It will have a slight bend to it and float the same every day.

Sounds like that would be a good option.

What about that black drain pipe ? Seem to be able to find that stuff everywhere pretty easy... That or really any thing to make a cubby they deal and add you so pontoons on the side.. heck you could probably make one out of wood ...would have to be the right kind for use int the water but

From another post
https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/6931327/lightweight-otter-float-tutorial-w-pics
This is an updated verison of the first otter pipe I made. 8" corrugated pipe and 220 RBG.

Materials you will need:
3' piece of 8" corrugated pipe
Two pool noodles roughly 4" wide cut to 2' long
Two pieces of 4" PVC pipe cut 2' long
Four 4" PVC caps
PVC glue and cement
Spray paint
3/4" or larger plumbing strap
A sack of 1" long lag bolts
Drill bit and impact driver
Two medium sized eye bolts
10" rubber bungee strap, approx. 13" overall length with the two hooks


First I take the pool noodles and place them inside the 4" PVC pipe. You'll need to possibly shave down the sides depending on the width you have. Then glue and cap both ends of both pipes with the noodles inside. After that, I then spray paint both pipes a camoflague pattern.

Attach the PVC pipes to the corrugated pipe at about the middle mark with the plumber's strap as tight as you can with the lag bolts. Having the PVC 2' and the corrugated 3', attach so that you have about 6" of no PVC on both ends of the big pipe.

An optional part is to screw in an eye bolt inside the trap on the top part 8" back or so. You can use the eye bolt to wire a piece of bait that'll be waiting just behind a ready trap.

Cut the bottom 2/3 of the end of corrugated pipe off about 2 ribs deep on both ends of the corrugated pipe. If you set your conibears dog down you'll need to cut a notch in the middle of the recessed crescent that you just cut out.


To load the trap in the pipe, place it into position and then hook the bungee through the same spring eye on each spring over the top of the overhang on the pipe's end. To be able to hook them together, you're springs will probably be have to be pointing up. If you pull the rubber strap back about 3 ribs deep on the corrugated pipe and then pull your trap springs down, it will pull the trap tight up against the pipe with hardly any wiggle. If you're setting dog down, the notch you cut out in the middle of the bottom will facilitate a good fit.


I've tested the trap's ability to fire in the water and it works no problem. When it goes off, the bungee cord comes off too, allowing the trap to fall away from the pipe, which I think is a good thing. So if you do follow this set up, it'd be wise to crimp one of the S hooks to the spring eye so that you don't lose it.

Here's an otter's eye view of the pipe. There'll be a piece of fish hung up behind the trap. This trap is undyed, but before actual use will be to help it disappear. On a different trap I have the triggers bent out into a "T" shape. The triggers are under the waters surface and would be unseen to the oncoming animal. That's a trigger configuration that I use on just about all my water conibears, I just hadn't done it to the trap shown yet.




Both ends of this float will be loaded and have a piece of fish wired up behind them. I have fairly high hopes for this set up and am even expecting an occasional mink as well.



The overall weight of this setup is probably in the neighborhood of 25-30lbs.

So, you don’t sink them??