Crappie Structure

I was reading through some archived threads and found where several of you guys hooked up and planted a lot of different crappie structures in Gold Creek on Lake Conway some time back. Of you all that put it out and know the coordinates to where it is, I have some questions for you. Now that it has had plenty of time to age and attract fish:

1. Of all the types put out, i.e., PVC, real wood, etc., which seems to produce the best ?

2. Of all the types put out, what seems to have held up the best and held it's location ?

3. In comparison to the natural structure out there such as the old tree and the pads: Do you catch more, less than, or about the same number of fish off the stuff y'all put out ?

Very curious to hear your answers. Thanks !!

There's no telling what you'll get for replies to this one but I can just tell you what our luck has been. I heard cedar was best at a young age so we dumped a bunch of it in brushy coves where we'd managed a few singles in the past thinking it would bring em in, but it didn't. We heard rabbit pellets, dog food, and other types of feeds work well when used in bait stations so we've built bait stations and managed a few fish doing that but nothing to brag about. It was hard to tell if it worked since we put them in places where we'd caught fish to begin with. I've tried pallets, don't do that, it takes an enormous amount of weight to sink pallets. We've tried PVC buckets out at the mouth of brushy coves where we've caught a few in the past but never caught fish on them, like 4 or 5 in same area so coverage should've been plenty.
Of all that we've tried the fish we've found were in natural brush where we'd just managed to find them. Really puts a damper on sinking brush. This season me and my dad, my buddy and his dad plan on trying to sink some privet hedge since it's so bushy, needs to be cleaned off dads place and won't be real heavy. I think between the 4 of us we can really make some brushy places and plan on trying some open water area's close to depth changes. Hope all this helps, know it ain't much but I don't sugar coat things. We've had way more luck just picking the lakes that have the better numbers of crappie, search for brush, wish we lived closer to better fishing and load the boat while we can. Now you mentioned Lake Conway which from what everyone says is a great crappie lake so you shouldn't have as much trouble up there. Good luck and good fishing to ya.

Wooden stakes or hardwood pallets beds are #1 in my book.

I have to agree with Nimrod on this one. I like it when I find someone replacing a privacy fence. Those old fence planks are great. We have some private lakes that are shallow and I shoved a bunch of them in the bottom and we have caught a lot of fish off of them. I also like sunken willow, but you have to replace that too often.

Rookie, we sank several stake beds on pallets 2 years ago in the pool made of oak and they did produce that year pretty good but last year I went back to the coordinants and they weren't there. I'm thinkin too many anchors being dragged in the pool tore them up or moved them. If you want the cor. I'd be happy to give them to you. Their where 8 stake beds and some pvc beds made but I don't even use the cor. I have anymore.

those in the pool are easy to find, just easy around with your depth finder. i was there a couple weeks ago and found several !!!!!

That's what I do, I don't even mark em, I cruise till I find a structure then I fish it if it don't produce I move on

Rookie, I kinda organized that big operation at gold creek a couple years back and had a lot of good guys that volunteered their help and efforts, I went by a different screen name then, the structure we put out Is no where to be found, I like sorelipnofish think some of it is still there, but anchors being dragged in the cove has moved it. In open water like the cove that has no trees or stumps or logs, the man made and man place structure is productive at times, however the cove is not real deep so the more people that are there the more impact they have on the structure. Anchors are the worst enemy to brush piles, stake beds, and PVC structure. In my opinion brush piles are the most productive and they do last a couple of years. I catch as much if not more off of the structure put out, that was as long as it was in the same place for more than 2 days with out being drug around by anchors.

Right there with guru, the thing is stake bed uprights can get trashed by one anchor being dragged then they lay flat on the bottom, on the other hand a brushpile that was placed out will get beat around but will eventually get scattered across the bottom. They will take the abuse a lil better

Thanks for the thoughts and results. Sorelips, I appreciate the gesture offering me the cords but that not where I was going with that. I was most curious to hear 1. If the effort was worth it and 2. What seemed to work the best. And it sounds like it does work just need to a way to bulletproof it !! Ha !!

The reason for my asking is I like to do stuff like that but if/when I do it, I'd like to think I'm doing what's most productive. I'm fairly certain I've found some of the stuff y'all have taken the time to put out in my few trips out to Gold Creek this year, but spent very little time fishing it. With the way they stack up in the pads and that thick grass, I haven't had to do much searching elsewhere.

I may be fighting an uphill battle but I'm determined to make a few decent spots out at Beaverfork. I've put cane pots out in a couple places out there but haven't been back to fish em since I dropped them back in July.

Guru, if you think the effort was worth it and ever organize another drop, hit me up. If I can, I'll be there.