I had a crusty old lady neighbor as a kid. Our farm had a lake on it and she absolutely was nuts over catching white perch, a.k.a. crappie. She would sink a brush top and affix a strand of bailing wire sticking straight up from it, through the water column, above the surface into the air. Then she would reach down with some clippers and clip it off six inches underwater. When she would go fishing, she would locate the top's general location by triangulation, then find its exact spot by peering down into the water to spot that piece of wire sticking up. If the lake fell, she'd clip it off more. If it rose, she couldn't find it if the water clarity was poor. The purpose of all of this was to hide it from the blankety-blank thieving other fishermen. She could cuss.