I just got 8 five gallon buckets from work. I want to make something out of pvc, in your opinion what would be the best use for these, stake beds, trees or something else?
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I just got 8 five gallon buckets from work. I want to make something out of pvc, in your opinion what would be the best use for these, stake beds, trees or something else?
I'll post a couple pics when I get home....but if you want Larger fish, you need to use Big PVC, big limbs, 2x4's/2x6's, or dense long lasting limbs.
I would use wood in 4 and PVC in 4, or in combination, and drop them together...8 buckets will make a nice honey hole in the right location.
The orange branches are Osage Orange (hedgeapple), they will last for a lifetime or more.
Gray branches are oak.
2x4's are untreated oak...always use untreated lumber...most contains arsenic.
You can use a 6 inch or larger middle pvc pole and put branches around it...or 2x4's, or more pictures.
Andrews (Josh) has a great post of a recent drop in the Louisiana State forum "St Johns"....they used BIG wood in buckets.
You can run rebar, or pvc, in the bottom of the bucket to form a X , then seal, and fill with concrete, to keep the buckets from falling over when they are dropped in the lake.
Intimidator, thanks for the info and pics. How far apart would you put these sets and is there any certain pattern you would suggest?
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http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...8f86a0f50d.jpg
If you're wanting to go the PVC route
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Sharpshooter
The mistake many people make is leaving too much space between cover or in the cover....Crappie need shade, ambush points, and protection...if the cover can also provide a feeding station for plankton, baitfish, and other forage, then it covers all the bases!
Look at some of the natural things that hold Alot of Crappie, or places where you would find a lot of Crappie....there are not a lot of spaces between the cover they like, I try to give then 6-12 inch gaps...they also like big stumps, posts, or BIG areas that provide shade and big things they can back up into for protection and ambush areas.
If you build something that is too spaced out it may only hold 1 or 2 fish....8 buckets like what you have, should be close, they should be almost touching at the top of the cover...we have many areas in our lake with up to 20 of the ones I made all together....this will yield the best Honey Hole....then you can work on other areas or adding to this one!:):):)
RK1, good looking trees!
Intimidator, thanks for the great info, I now look forward to cooler days ahead so I can get to work on my cover.
I wouldn't mix pvc and wood myself. I always thought the idea of using the pvc was that it was harder to see with sonar. Granted better technology may have rendered that idea moot, I still see no real value in mixing the two.
Cedar lasts a long time in water. I made these from cedar limbs that I had cut while making barn beams.
http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t.../daniel005.jpg
http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t.../daniel003.jpg
They were a pain in the rump to load in the boat.
These that I made were much easier to handle.
http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t.../daniel006.jpg
Agreed, if you are trying to hide everything, then pvc is the way to go, it is close to the density of water and being hollow will allow beams to be partially absorbed and pass through...if you have trenches/hiding places, other wood in the water, or don't care about stealth, wood is the ticket.Quote:
Originally Posted by smashdn
To hide things and still have the benefits of zooplankton, microorganisms, baitfish, etc., you can use wood lay-downs, close to your pvc.
Using both pvc and wood together allows for bigger beams, lighter weight, and a natural substance to feed organisms that fish feed on.
When I used Osage Orange, the doggone limbs were heavy from being do dense. There was no way to use alot of BIG LIMBS without having an army to drop them. Using a mix allowed me to really fill the bases with all BIG Materials and to sink them with 2 guys.
In all our SPECIAL areas, we only used plastic...and our members with top of the line electronics can't see it!
Water conditions, bottom content, transitions, vegetation, structure, etc., all help hide cover.
Very nice branch cover...perfect density, IMHO.
I perfer wood that are Cedar or Hardwood , less hang ups and last a long time . PVC seems to work less in waters with lots of wood . Double your buckets by cutting into and put lids on top half . You can spread boards out wider and still have plenty of concrete in them .
We like BuckBrush and rock's.Drop one every time out will be surprised how fast they accumulate in your favorite fishing hole.
Fish like wood better than pvc. I usually put some wood laydowns near the pvc. People can find stuff, but heck they can't find it all. I can find pvc with 2d. 2d has really gotten good too.
Coffee cans with some wood laydown on 2d. Cans on top of laydown.
Thanks for all the info fellas!! Always looking for ideas to use to catch a crappie or two, so if anybody else has any let's hear or see them.
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I had some buckets with out lids,cut in half like Nimrod stated and just screw the top half to scrap plywood. When the concrete cures, just pull the screws and repeat.Quote:
Originally Posted by NIMROD
That's a lot of coffee
Here's what I did with my buckets. Cut in half, half bag concrete a piece and added boards and fence panels.
Attachment 245526
Attachment 245527
Hmmmm, might have to look into that Nipster.
DrNip, hope you have a few more of these hiding out on the left gradually heading into the deep end of the pool...