Fishing Buoy

thingiverse

I went through over a dozen different design iterations before coming up with this 'final' version. I live on a very large freshwater lake with high seas that are the norm. Store-bought buoys are too small to see and find in high waves and at a distance. Plus, they take forever to 'wind in'. And, they are very expensive! So, I designed and printed these. The embossed name is mine, so you can either use as-is, remove, or put on your own. I print these at 115% with 7% infill. Size matters! Use the brightest filaments you can find, fluorescents are my favorite. PETG is preferred, but PLA will work too. Be sure and put at least three coats of clear exterior polyurethane or varnish on them to keep them waterproof. For string, I use Fluorescent Pink Nylon Mason Line String from Lowe's. It also comes in red, yellow, and green. For the sinkers, on my 115% prints, I prefer at least 8 ounce lead bank sinkers to get it down fast before it can move off the exact spot I threw it at. If you print smaller, you can get by with less weight. These can also be printed with luminescent filaments for night-fishing use. I've also toyed with the idea of putting LEDs inside with a battery and waterproof switch, but haven't done anything with that idea. Good luck and happy fishing!