Homemade SOS

[bmc2b]

Supplies from Super Wallyworld:

Ivy from crafts 2 X $3.00

48' cord from hardware 2 X $1.90

Orange cord holder 2 X $0.90

Quick ties from automotive 2 X $1.20

4.5 oz weights from fishing 2 X $0.69

Foam cupholders 2 X $0.25 on clearance

Generic superglue 1 X $1.00

Plus tax

45 minutes of my time........Priceless

____________________________________________________

2 homemade SOS $15.68........$7.84 each

I cut the ivy, connected it to the cord and wts to the cord with quickties. I cut the foam cup holders and rolled them into floats, glueing them with the superglue. They are about 5' high. We'll see how they work....

[18 inch Crappie]

What the H%$#@ is a SOS ?

[Ralph Wiggum]

Structure on a String.

[Paul Waldowski]

I really gave this some thought and it wasn't an easy decision, but wanted to give you guys some things to think about. Here is an e-mail that I received right after this topic started from the makers of SOS.

Sales this season have been phenomenal and we appreciate the support we?ve received from all. It is our top priority (and was from the beginning) to only market high quality products that will help fishermen enjoy their time out on the ice. Our products are intended (in part) to compliment much of today's technology, which a very high percentage of fishermen obviously own. Adding some structure to the equation to attract and hold fish provides opportunty to maximize the usefulness of our cameras and flashers. If the cameras and flashers aren't part of the equation then you still have some darn nice structure under you, and no matter what your set up, you will have underwater visitors. Build the field and they will come sort of thing...

With that said, we want to submit to you some general comments about the latest thread on a homemade SOS.

We want to raise caution to people who are attempting to make their own SOS. LaDredge Outdoors has spent countless hours testing artificial weeds in winter conditions. Over the counter weeds often contain spray paints and other potentially dangerous materials. There are plastic weeds, pvc weeds and combination component weeds with wires running through them, and the list goes on. Low-grade product can (and often will) go to pieces in winter conditions and such things as littering a lake gives us nightmares. They are not intended for submersion into our fisheries or any type of water. If they were, there would be no artificial weeds sold for fish aquariums because everybody would just buy their aquarium products in the garland section at Walmart.

You can't buy 3 feet of top quality aquarium weed for what a SOS costs. The exact type and make up of our weeds cannot be found at Walmart, or anywhere else. We work directly with a manufacturer of artificial weeds and have designed this specific type of weed based upon a combination of so many things, all of which passed our rigorous testing. They aren?t cheap but they are good.

We have nothing against people trying to make their own stuff because it is human nature to give it a try. We all do it and obviously it is how we have gotten to where we are today. But when somebody sees a homemade SOS on the ice and links it to LaDredge Outdoors, well, that is an association that we do not want. Its not about the sale, it?s about the quality, and we take a lot of pride in that. We custom make a lot of product for people with specific requests and would certainly consider marketing some "kits" for people if they want to save a couple bucks to make some of it themselves.

We are a small company and make every attempt to keep things at a reasonable price for our highly respected customers.

We sure don't want to create a forum ?battle? over making your own products. There have been some great comments about it actually. In all seriousness, putting anything but the best of the best down your ice holes is very important to all of us, and our fisheries. The last thing anybody wants to see is junky weed, leaves, tinsel, etc. lying on the ice this winter or floating to shore next spring when the ice goes out. We do not want to see something like this bring an end to what we (and hundreds of others) feel is a neat and unique addition to our arsenal.

Thanks again for all your support.

Very sincerely,

Chuck Eldredge

[Bob Horn]

Great post Paul!!! Most companies that care about there products do a lot of testing that the consumer will never see. I bought my SOS`s and they should be here in a couple of days. I am a DIY but I think this is one project that would be easier to just buy premade.

[Scenic]

Ok I will be honest here and too thought about building some of my own. But with time being a premium for me right now I placed an order for some of the LaDredge SOSs...well maybe more than some I suppose. I received my order in a very timely manner and also received an impressive box of structure.

Inside this box contained a BUNCH of weeds. Enough so as to make my wife think that I had finally got into the Christmas spirit mode and was going to decorate my entire office. Now she looked at this box only to realize that something just did not look right for these to be Christmas decorations. When she read the label she knew. She just knew and realized that some things just don’t change. I had just purchased another tool for fishing.

But I did put these to an out of the water test. I had some el-cheapo aquarium plant stuff that I picked up some place and I now had my LaDredge SOS’s. So last night when the temps dropped below zero I placed them both outside on the hood of my truck.

This morning I went outside with temps at -11 degrees. When grabbing both units, the SOS and the Cheapo’s, I found the LaDredge plant stems to remain flexible and when flexing the leaves they too remained intact and also flexible. I unwound the entire LaDredge plant from the holder with no problems at all.

The Cheapo’s plant stems snapped the first I time I tried to unwrap them. The leaves on the Cheapo also snapped off like twigs. The part that did not snap was like holding on to a piece of garden hose that you knew would snap the first time you tried to straighten it out.

LaDredge units will remain flexible in and out of the water to give a more natural presentation. Rolling these up on the holders that come with these units is very fast and easy. Each unit comes wrapped on a cord wrap system, it’s own ice free float system, and weighted bottoms. When I am fishing I want fast and easy to use equipment.

So this is one of them items that , “you get what you pay for”. Another good comparison would be the difference between a $1.99 extension cord and a $19.99 all weather extension cord. One stays flexible and one gets stiff and brittle.

So now the question is, “what kind of patterns are we going to set them up in”? Since I fish in a Polar 4-man house my thoughts are to drill a series of staggered holes the length of my sled before the house is set up. After the SOS’s are in place I am going to pull my house over the top of these holes. I will also put several other plants on the outside of my shack as well as use the Camera Cable Structure (CCS) for my Marcum VS-560.

This will put each fisherman fishing in a “hole” in the weed-bed. When we are fishing in open water we are trying to find that hole to cast into with in the weeds. Why? Because they hold fish! Fish relate to weeds and weed-lines no matter what the season.

So let’s hear some more ideas on how this product works best and how to set up your own weed-beds.

[Ice9]

Wouldn't it take a while--like a couple of weeks--for fish to gravitate toward a weedbed?

Isn't the primary draw of weeds under the ice (or anywhere) the delivery of oxygen and the accumulation of a food chain based on oxygen?

Do I not have enough crap in my sled already?

ie do these things have any documented impact on the fishing?

Pardon me for duplicating the dozen or so threads that have already explored this question.

ice

[Trouthunter]

Ice9 -

I thought about this question many times, while awaiting my order of SOS to arrive.

If fish are acustomed to looking in the weeds for a meal...I don't intend on using my SOS without having a minnow or a waxie hanging out in those weeds...I believe that the weeds can also offer important shelter for panfish from predators as well.

BD

[Guest]

I am really skeptical on how effective these will be. I could see them drawing in a few curious panfish, but I could see them spooking everything in the direct area when its dropped down the hole.

I have no doubt they are constructed of the highest quality.. but are they effective? That is the question. If they are not.. it translated to one more thing in the bucket or sled to catch everything it can floating round loose.

I guess seeing is believing.. and I would have to see being effective. It might be a magical must have item... I am not going to find that out until its a proven effective product.

[Kodiak]

i think they are a joke. i would never want that thing around my ice shack with my fathead minnows swimming around or a walleye shiner getting tangled in it. Imagine having a bunch of that $$$plastic weeds in my sled, no thanks.

good job on making your own though it is a really good idea and i hope it works for you, makes more sense than spending a ton of cash on them, also it isnt that cold under the water as it is in the air, the weeds will have no problem as long as they are under water. If they freeze up on the way home, bring them inside, keep em in a tote. good idea, and good job.

[Alphid]

It seems like this 'SOS' idea is a great gimmick that is making some believe that by putting some structure down your hole that fish will just come to it.

My questions are:

If I put a bunch of twigs, sticks, rocks, ….. on a rope and through it down a hole, would that do the same thing?

What proof do we have that this works better that just fishing the structure?

It seems as though if I get a fish on my line, the odds of it getting tangled are high, the last thing I need is get hooked on this thing and loose the fish. if you are telling me that you are setting these up around your holes, then why don't you just fish a true weedpile that will be natural?

It seems as though I would need to have this SOS down my hole for a long while before anything (if anything) ever really made it a residence)

These types of gimmicks are great, keep them coming, as there is someone that will defiantly buy it.

[Ryan Berger]

Quote:

---

What proof do we have that this works better that just fishing the structure?

---

did you miss out on the last couple of weeks reading on here,, they say that this stuff is good for lakes without structure,,, URL ect,, I bought some, some other people did some people made their own, in my mind and apperently a couple hundred others it looks like it is worth a try, if it doesnt work , oh well looks like I missed out on eating out a couple of times for the money.... big deal

[brian6715]

Even if it does work good for it. I personally can catch crappies just about as fast as I can reel them up here in southern minnesota. I believe staying mobile is a much more effective tactic, and you save money. First cameras, then rods that do the jigging for you, now creating your own structure... To me going out and finding real structure that holds fish is half the fun. It reaches a point where you have to step back and wonder if this is even fishing anymore? or is it catching?

[Bulldoggr]

Quote:

---

It seems like this 'SOS' idea is a great gimmick that is making some believe that by putting some structure down your hole that fish will just come to it.

My questions are:

If I put a bunch of twigs, sticks, rocks, ….. on a rope and through it down a hole, would that do the same thing?

What proof do we have that this works better that just fishing the structure?

It seems as though if I get a fish on my line, the odds of it getting tangled are high, the last thing I need is get hooked on this thing and loose the fish. if you are telling me that you are setting these up around your holes, then why don't you just fish a true weedpile that will be natural?

It seems as though I would need to have this SOS down my hole for a long while before anything (if anything) ever really made it a residence)

These types of gimmicks are great, keep them coming, as there is someone that will defiantly buy it.

---

I have never done this but i have heard that some guys take their chistmas trees, after christmas and will shove them down into the lake. they do it to create structure. where there is structure there is fish.

chances are you get a lake map on a lake you don't know and look for structure.

I have used a camera for the last 4 years, fish always come up to the camera and bump it or play with it in some way. I bought the S.O.S. from ladregde and the fish don't even pay the camera any mind.

[Dennis Steele]

I can honestly say the SOS does work.

Our staff, myself included, were given the opportunity to test them last season.

My personal findings were that they were effective in attracting fish to the area and holding them in the area.

In areas where there was no SOS, fish would move though and leave just as fast they appeared.

In areas where the SOS was placed, more fish moved through and held in the area.

The SOS was not succesfull 100% of the time but then again neither am I.

You will still have to do your homework, finding areas where fish will move through and you won't

have fish in your hole immediatly after placing the SOS, but the fish do come and they do hold much longer than without.

There is no doubt in my mind that the SOS does work.

Proof?

I can't give any scientific proof. I can only give my word.

Proof will come when many of our IceLeaders family give their reports.

Real plants do give off oxygen and host small organisms that attract fish to them. The SOS does not give off oxygen or hold small organisms, but does offer one thing that real plants offer. That is simply cover. And I beleive cover is extremely immportant in areas or lakes that lack cover.

[76k20]

I am a skeptic as well, I am waiting to see how the product does and hear testimonial from more average joes like me.

I do appreciate the original idea and think they may work well and look forward to further reviews before I buy anything.

Nice job on the homemades, I dont think they look like crap...

[ddsbyday]

I think they do work. Why would't they. I have never used one but I could see why a fish would relate to it. Same as the christmas tree illegaly sunk. It's cover. Put cover in a high traffic area and any fish or wild animal will gravitate to it.Does anybody else out there, when being seated at a resteurant prefer to have your back against the wall. Its nature. We do not have to worry every second about survival. Most fish and anything wild does. Not looking for food, just passing through. keeping a low profile. Makes perfect sense to me. Please remember I said high traffic area. I do not think you can drop one down the hole in the middle of nowhere and catch the fish flying out of the holes with a landing net. (Which will be the story at the legislature when someone tries to get them banned). If you find the right spot at the right time it may give you an edge. Good luck.

[iffwalleyes]

76k20 I personally get tired of the Marcum Vexilar debate as well. But every week a new person has a question about one or the other. Their question is a valuable question and needs a response. Could they just go back a couple pages and find there answer probably. The long and short of it is they want and answer and they should be able to get it. I myself think the SOS looks silly and I think most of the people that have them probably thought the same thing at first. But from the sounds of it the people that have used it say it produce more fish in the right situation and that is the key the right situation. Some lakes have enough weeds and structure others like Upper Red are lacking those. And if this provides and edge so be it. There is not miracle lure or miracle piece of equipment we all know that. Like I said I think it looks silly but I can see where it will have it's place.

[icehousebob]

The one point that hasn't been brought up is the copying of someone else's idea. A lot of thought, testing,and experimenting went into the developing of this product. To use that idea without compensating the inventor just seems wrong to me, even if you don't do it for profit.