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So been pondering this for awhile now. But based on your experience, how long does it take crappie to start using brushpiles that you have put into your local lake/pond? So if I put in brushpiles in early March, would crappie be on it by now or does it take several months? I placed them on a main channel that is close to gravel spawning banks. Mostly cedar trees. What do you think?
I've caught them as soon as two weeks after sinking them. Then other times it seems like almost a year before the use it. I guess it depends on how much other available cover there is for them and the population of crappie where it is placed
I've had piles the never produced and others that I catch fish off of with in a few days.
what they said
There are many variables to considering when placing beds, but location has more to do with the numbers fish and how soon fish start hold on it. I've sunk 30' dead cedar that I found floating and came back the next weekend and caught a good mess of fish. I think location (creek channel at the mouth of a good spawning cove), the time of year( mid February), weather ( high 60's for 3 days) and the fact that the cedar was dead and already had algae growing on it, probably were all factors in the fish gathering so quickly.
I feel that green cover takes longer to hold fish due to the leaves or needles decomposing. Any cover placed will hold more fish once it is covered by algae.
Check out the forum here on crappie cover, structure and pond management. Although you may need your rubber boats, because the bs sometimes gets a little deep.