Will this work?

I have been sinking brush piles for a few years now with good results. I have seen pictures of some of the crappie condos on here and decided to try something. I have access to hardwood strips, about 1" x 2" x 8' that is left over from ripping rough wood at work. The lake I fish is currently down 10' from normal pool. I was thinking that I would load up about 75 of the strips and drive them in the lake bottom in a rectangle shape measuring about 10' x 15'. I was thinking I would space the strips about 2' apart. This would require the 75 strips, so I know it would take a while. I thought I would find a spot that is currently 6' deep and drive them down even with the water. This would mean that the strips would stick up 6' off the bottom and would be in 16' of water once the lake fills up. I have a spot in mind that is a flat with the creek channel near by. This spot would also be away from boat traffic that could hit the strips. Would this work as well or better than the brush piles I normally sink? Is the spacing of 2' good? Should I go closer or farther apart? Thanks in advance for the feedback.

I would prefer to fish a stake bed over a brush pile any day. That should work great and two feet apart will be fine. It's all in how a person wants to put them in. I have drove tons of stakes in the mud where I fish and made several huge stake beds this way. Put some in back in the summer waited a couple of days and fished them and they were already holding fish.
I would say if the lake is that low you better get to drivin.

Thats my two cents worth.

Also welcome to the site from IL.

CX.

Stakebeds are my favorite beds by a long shot,it sounds like you've got a great plan.....drive em and they'll come.

Should work fine.

Sounds like a really good stake bed to me.

I got the stake bed put out this afternoon. I was surprised at how easy this was. The stakes ended up being 10 ft long (that was what was running today at work). I put the stakes on a flat next to a secondary creek channel in 8 ft of water. The lake is down 10 feet, so they will be in 18 feet of water when the lake is full. I probably put out close to 100 stakes in the spot in about an hour. I can't wait to see how it produces. How long does it usually take to hold fish? The lake will be up to normal pool in 6 weeks or so. Should the stakes hold fish by then, or do they have to grow algae first? I think I will put out a few more before the water goes up.

ufoa314:
I have a source of sticks to.... you might want to try this type of condo...
I put 6" of concrete in each bucket and insert sticks... very easy....;)
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/c..._Condos001.jpg

I get bundles 16' x 4' x 4' and there is several hundred sticks to a boundle....:)

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/c..._Condos004.jpg

Good fishing.............

I just wanted to add an update on this post from last year. I ended up putting out 3 of these stake beds. One of them ended up being my best spot on the lake. A lot of times, I go straight to this spot and get my limit without ever going to another spot. The 2nd stake bed is usually good for a few, maybe 5-10 crappie, so I can't complain. The last stake bed didn't produce at all. I have no idea why, but I guess the location wasn't right. the tree tops are still hard to beat, but that one stake bed is by far the best spot. Its also easy to fish because I don't get hung up as often.