Good one DP. I am hoping they will just voluntarily swim in and I take them out. We checked the cage today. The concrete is not setting up in the cold weather as quickly, so a few more days will be better. I was pleased with it's stability. I did the numbers on paper first then we conducted a test of bamboo stalk bottoms like used in the cage to determine if it would sink correctly. You just gotta love the honesty and lack of hypocrisy in mathamatics. Bamboo is 1/3 the density of water. So, adding 2/3 more weight will sink it irrespective of its diameter (of course a larger diameter stalk of bamboo weighs more needing more weight to sink it). The test was successful. When the concrete is completely set, the weather is tolerable and the barge is available, we'll sink her.

She might get sunk but she might be the only one in the lake. Later I started to calculate more precisely the cost, time and manpower of such a structure (so many volunteer but not many report). Too much for my taste. So, since I do nothing but eat, drink, think and dream about all aspects of crappie fishing, I came up with another design that is more economical and manageable. One double post in the center with a two blocks, one filled with concrete (60lbs.). The attach four layers of horizontal "X's" Easily managed by two men, able to stack on the habitat barge in greater numbers. They are no more than 5' tall but cover an area 20-40' in diameter. Superbly build for shallower water. Plain stalks can be used but using a 20' stalk of bamboo (10' bushy head with a 10' butt stalk) would add so much more density for fry and young bait fish. I will post pictures later. We built the post bases today. Six were formed in less than 30 minutes. ---- to be continued.