Bamboo Fish Trap (Bubu / Bubo)

Bamboo Fish Trap (Bub / Bubo) - one of the few trap for fish that don't use any bait to lure it's catch.


It is very effective in catching quality fish with high price in the market, like grouper, snapper,  lobster, crucifix crab (charybdis feriata), cattlefish and all sorts of sea foods.  Sustainalble and eco-friendly fishing method, it uses bamboo, and with big hole it is safe for smaller fish, it uses natural materials and low at cost but needed some skills and talent when creating and using this kind of trap.


Methods on how to make:

You needed to choose big and mature bamboo, it must be cut to size, the length will depend on the desired size of the fish trap you're planning to create.


Cut it in smaller size


You have to further cut it into smaller size, around 8 mm wide.


Separate the skin of the bamboo from its flesh, using only the skin will make your fish trap durable and last for a long time, but for economic reason you can also use the bamboo flesh but it will have a short service and will be prone to damage cause by bigger fish.


You need to remove the skin from it's flesh as fast a you can, when the bamboo is dry it is difficult to do so.


When the separation of skin and flesh are done, you can start the bamboo weaving.  (lala - weave method)

The bamboo fish trap has three parts, the main part is the back or the body of the trap.


The stomach or the bottom area, here is the opening part to get the catch when completed.


Mouth or opening part (Galaw)


One of the hardest part of weaving a bamboo fish trap is where to start, generally it is started at the pronged area of any part of the trap.



When every part is done it is ready to consolidate, you need three pieces of bambo with 1 1/2 or 2 inches in diameter to serve as flange or as backbone, you need to twist or arc the body to attach it on a bottom part. and tie them using nylon rope.


The entry part (galaw) the opening area needs to have some thorns made from bamboo strip with sharp point, by means of this, any fish can enter but it will difficult to get out.



A finish bamboo fish trap


It needed some stone sinkers during it's first time on the water, it is dry and will be underweight using sinkers will increase it's sinking time so it won't be wash away by tidal current, you can reduce the sinker when it is immersed for quite some time.


Mouth / entry part of the bamboo fish trap.

  

Generally bamboo fish trap (bubu/bubo) is use by fisherman in pair with no buoy, using only the mountains and other man-made structure on the area in horizontal and vertical marker to remember the trap in a deep of 20 up to more than a 100 meters, two traps are bound to each other by nylon rope approximately 40 meters in length, drop the first one run the boat up to the length of the rope then drop the second one. 

Using surrounding as a marker, they will find the exact area where they drop the trap, hard to believe but this fisherman know how to do it.  To retrieve it, they use a steel claw with long rope, they will try to hook the nylon rope and bring the bamboo fish trap to the surface. 


Using the opening area at the bottom it can get it's catch by just removing the long bamboo stick, and put it back again to close.