PVC Tree ideas

Attachment 228948

First one to make. I took a tiger disc and sanded the 6" PVC pipe and I roughed up the others. I know stake beds work great so I did it this way. I want to add about 6 of these in a row with cane in between. I know the cane will rot after a few years i think. I thought about adding cane stalks in between the PVC spaces. Just trying to make cover in lake that has plenty of bank cover but not much cover in deeper water. Max lake dept is around 12 ft and people ski in lake so I don't want to put in center afraid someone may jump out of boat on them and that would not be good. Do I need to add more PVC around 6" PVC or is this good enough?
Thanks

I also want to start putting dog food in a bag where it will attract bait fish but don't know how to do this since once I sink them how will I be able to add bait bag without just trowing it out in the water every couple of weeks? Any ideas?

Nice Bases...those will sit nice! I also like the center posts, GREAT SIZE!
For Crappie cover, think of a 12 inch or bigger slab trying to hide out in it! If the fish doesn't feel safe and secure, it will find something else. Making vertical cover should be the same as trees laying in the water, it has to be dense enough for the fish to hide in, with a Larger Trunk to be able to ambush prey from.
I would add more PVC around the Center Posts, just give the fish room to swim in and out.

Once you get your 'Boo out also, you will be fine...you can also lay 'boo down in the shallows close to your Crappie cover...the Crappie will move shallow at night to feed.
When You get all of your 'boo out, just get a couple burlap bags...I buy cheap 20lb bags dog food, poor food into Burlap, tie Burlap shut, attach to block or rock, and throw in the shallows on the 'boo or around the 'boo.
You only need to do this once or twice...you are just attracting baitfish etc. to the 'boo, once the 'boo starts decomposing and the PVC gets algae on it, this is what the baitfish will eat...plus all the organisms that the decomposing 'boo attracts.
You can add FRUIT limbs, soft wood, leaves, etc...like apple, peach, mulberry, etc...the soft woods, hold a lot of sugar, and this is a good food for Micro-organisms and baitfish! It just does not last as long as hardwood for cover!
Three stacked untreated wood or plastic pallets, tie strapped together with some weight on the bottom 4 corners, or sitting on 4 milk crates with weight in them, MAKES FANTASTIC shallow water baitfish cover.

Good Fishing!
Brent

Thanks for the advise. Now for the pallets I thought about taking three and making a triangle with them standing on their sides. Basically like making a box and put PVC around the edges, or boo. Or taking one pallet and lay flat, then take a couple more and break them down and stand the wood up on the pallets between the cracks making like a stake bed out of free material.

Attachment 229049 this is one I put in a couple of weeks ago be advised it took five standard concrete blocks to sink it.

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Originally Posted by Tucker Reeves

Thanks for the advise. Now for the pallets I thought about taking three and making a triangle with them standing on their sides. Basically like making a box and put PVC around the edges, or boo. Or taking one pallet and lay flat, then take a couple more and break them down and stand the wood up on the pallets between the cracks making like a stake bed out of free material.

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Pallets standing up like that are good FISH cover....
For minnows, baitfish, fry, etc., you want them stacked FLAT at least 3 high.....I have pics on here somewhere...you can use 4 milk crates as legs on the 4 corners of the bottom pallet...this keeps the pallets off the bottom....you can add rocks, etc., to the milk crates, then stack the pallets.
Or you can just stack pallets and wedge in weight, or tie it on....stacked pallets give the small baitfish and forage more compact places to hide and makes it harder for larger fish to get to them....this is how you increase your forage (food) population for the Crappie in the area.
When the forage populations swells, they will not all be able to hide, and will get picked off. Some will move off and start other schools or colonies of baitfish!
Most smaller fish will stay protected in the shallows, they can survive the heat and have less oxygen needs...that's why shallow cover works so well for them!

Long ago did 3 block pallets with hard wood and fruit limbs jammed thru and into the void between the slats and steel cabled to it. It allowed bigger fish under it, lost a couple of BIG fish on/ under it !

Here is how i do themhttp://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m.../image_18.jpeg

I used 400lb of sand to sink one, I just laid the bags on the bottom pallet and zip tied it down

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Originally Posted by Andrews

Here is how i do themhttp://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m.../image_18.jpeg

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NICE!

Looks good! Going to work on some next week. I can get a few free pallets from work.

Thanks Men,

Tucker

10 years ago did 1 very similar but with mulberry limbs. Rarely was able to fish it, someone (usually a boat) was almost always on top of it. Assembled it on the ice and surrounded it with a solid row of red bricks and thru the ice it cleanly went ! Regret we didn`t do more of them but from a boat they would be very unwieldy...

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Originally Posted by Tucker Reeves

I also want to start putting dog food in a bag where it will attract bait fish but don't know how to do this since once I sink them how will I be able to add bait bag without just trowing it out in the water every couple of weeks? Any ideas?

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Fill the PVC pipe with cattle cubes then glue on caps drill small holes in the sides of your pipes. I found some range cubes at TSC that fit perfect inside 3/4 pvc

Great ideas

:ThumbsUp

For weight get broken 10 hole red bricks and zip tie them upright inside the milk crates. This creates crayfish condos and hiding places for smaller creatures that add variety to the menu. Zip tie the milk crates to the corners of the pallets but ensure you have enough bricks in them to sink it...

TSC has some floating & sinking fish food (36% protein). I put that in an Onion / Potatoe net type Bag, use a brick for weight . I have tried the auto fish feeders, but the floating feed gets moist & stops up, so I only put about 10 #s in at a time.
Dog food, big chunks will work too. The best thing you can get is Raw Cottonseed or Soybean Meal is a regular grass sack, but unless you are close to an Oil Mill, it's hard to find. Any protein source probably would work.

Problem with the Pallets is handling them, too heavy & bulky for me. I use blocks, lay on edge, stand the bamboo/cane or Pvc
(which can get expensive, yard irrigation tubing is much cheaper!) up & fill holes with Quik Crete. One man can handle these.

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Originally Posted by haugboss

Attachment 229049 this is one I put in a couple of weeks ago be advised it took five standard concrete blocks to sink it.

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We sink pallets alot but use rocks in single pallets . Muiltiple pallets to hard to handle . We use stakes nailed to ours . Also if you use blocks look for old houses being torn down , many times they will give you the old style concrete blocks and many have extra concrete on them. The new style light weight blocks ( cinder blocks ) not heavy enough .

Here's what my friend has been making and putting out.
http://i68.tinypic.com/eu53yo.jpg
GTT

my crankbaits would love those standing pallets :fish