Does cedar trees have that souring process that other trees goes through. Our corp here loaned some of us there boat for putting out brush and a local lake has got a new load of them. How long will it take for the fish to move in.
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Does cedar trees have that souring process that other trees goes through. Our corp here loaned some of us there boat for putting out brush and a local lake has got a new load of them. How long will it take for the fish to move in.
Hey Tim - to the best of my knowledge all hardwoods and pines will sour, some more than others. But, at any rate, cedar makes for really good, dense cover for both panfish and baitfish. Don't work too hard. The fish should find it rather quickly and will use it as long at it suits them for the conditions. Depending on how much it might sour and how long it takes for the moss and/or algae to take hold, they'll get back on it. Pick some really good spots and appropriate depths (end of points with deeper water on three sides, bottom and top of primary and secondary creek channels on or near inside bends, etc.) and they should be productive for you for several years.
We've never done as good with Cedar ,lots of small fish and stayed hung. Oak works good but some such as Willow Oaks are to many small limbs and sour bad. We perfer Persimmon , they have few limbs and not as much time soured. I've caught slabs same week as Persimmons sunk. I have over 100 tops in Nimrod made of everything. PVC , Oak , Bamboo , Persimmon,and various other trees. The persimmon and older Oak tops(over 1 year old as Oak sours bad) produce more slabs for me.
Good luck p.s. Did you dry the cedar out and knock off the needles? That seems to help and prevent moss'n over as bad.:D
I'v been told by conservation dept guys that it makes a
difference if the cedar is green or not. if it is green it will
take longer for fish to utilize the trees,
John B.
I have found that I have a preference for the more open types of cover such as large oak limbs or persimmon trees. The only way I would use cedar would be to find one that is leaning over and void of all needles. These trees are usually 4 to 6 inches across the trunk. Before I use them I think that I would trim all the limbs back until the ends of all the limbs are no smaller than a quarter. This will make all the limbs a little more open and also hold the trunk up off the bottom.
I have a cedar tree such as this located and may try to sink it soon. Tomorrow NIMROD and I are planning on sinking several brushpiles. May have a few pics to post tomorrow.
Whatever type of natural brush you choose to use always try to support it up off the bottom a little by tying it tight to the top of your buckets or have a couple of the stronger limbs on the bottom. This will keep the weights from smashing the bottom limbs down flat. This allows the crappie to use all the structure.
Sometimes dense cover is necessary for the protection of smaller baitfish and fry which also attracts crappie and increases recruitment. With bamboo the small branches seem to last a good deal longer than wood and when using an extra lightwire hook you can pull out of it easily if you get hung up. With wood the small stuff will rot away in short order leaving it less dense anyway.
You make a good point Slabbandit about getting your brushpile up off the bottom. The rule of thumb we like to use is build your pile so that it consumes half the water column you're sinking it in (ie: in 24' of water, an 8-12' tall brushpile is perfect).
The corp were the ones putting in the cedar trees here, i marked about 45 different piles. I have been putting out bamboo condos in the same lake and wouldnt you know it they put some of the cedar piles on two of my bamboo spots. I have put out about 30 different condos in the last two weeks. I thought that i would mark their piles and try them sometime.
Could someone explain what you mean by a tree souring? I've never caught a crappie near a pine tree, any idea why?
Went today and fished about 8 of the piles caught fish in two of them, didnt have any keepers caught about 12 i couldnt believe the fish were in them already. The fish were in about 6-8 foot of water.
Hey there TAP -- When you sink live organic material in the water it will begin to decompose. The decomposition process adds gases to the water most of which are not oxygen, thus not attractive and offensive to the fish -- souring. Once the decomposition process slows when moss/algae (oxygen emitters) begin to grow on the brushpile the fish will return and be attracted to it not only for natural covered protection but also because it's comfortable to them -- kinda like us standing in the air conditioning in deep summer, so to speak. A well established brushpile for panfish is much like bass being attracted to grassy or mossy areas that emit oxygen. And, algae in its microscopic stage is called plankton -- http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plankton -- which is the food source for baitfish and fry. Attract the prey, catch the predator. Build a condo along the underwater highway and offer free room service.Quote:
Originally Posted by TapOut64
for what it's worth. i take cedar cuttings and let them completely dry out, to the point that needles fall off when you pick them up. then i put them in the water . i use them to keep the canes off the bottom by tying them underneath the cane mats. a week later fish are on them. lolQuote:
Originally Posted by tim
I have always burned the cedar trees to remove the needles and this really speeds up the souring process and also removes the smaller branches. Cedar is flamable even when green and burns very fast. This has caused many fires when used for christmas trees with faulty lights.
i have a lot of oak and hickory limbs that have been on the ground since last august (from Katrina). would they go thru the sour stage if i put them in the water this fall?
They might sour some later but not so much that they wouldn't be good for this fall. If you sink it they will come. As it matures, if it's in the right spot it will only get better. You'll be telling stories years from now how you've caught crappie on that spot upteen years ago. You can never go wrong by giving our favorite fish a livable habitat.Quote:
Originally Posted by willsjwills
well darryl, you just answered my question of "What to do with all that trash". My wifie has tried to make me burn it, but something kept telling me to hold on to it. I've been making mats from cane and bamboo and putting them out in areas that have produced fish, some of which are producing now after a couple of weeks. thanks , man.