PVC, the truth

So how many of you that have put out pvc structure have actually caught good numbers over them? I was reading some old posts and I got the impression it doesn't work that well. Makes me wonder if I'm wasting my time building them.

I build my own pvc, and use it at a lake where there is very little cover. I used to use cedar but is harder to put out, I lost tackle and a lot of people fished on the cedar I put out. I didnt mind so much but it was just that people always seemed to get to "my cedars" before i did. I use pvc now and they don't show up on depth finders, at least not mine. I catch fish off of them and have no complaints, wood may be better, i dont know, but i am old and lazy and pvc is a lot easier to put out. Just a thought

John Brower

I've caught more crappie off of the brush I hung on our docks two months ago than I have off of the PVC I put out three years ago.

I've had very little success on the two PVC beds I put out. The Bamboo worked first year and not much after. Nothing works better than wood for me. I love Persimmon trees as the have few limbs and easy to sink. My favorite is stakebeds either drove in the bottom or built of frames. With everything verticle and widely spaced. The stakebeds we put out are short and hard to spot on the deprth finders. The slab Crappie hold better in the wide spaced ones. The dinks love the tighter structures where bigger fish have trouble moving through.:D

I sank two big PVC structures about two years ago. I have never caught a crappie off either of them. I did catch a small bass once, but that's it.

I think your beginning to see the answer here.................

It depends on the lake, where you put them and how you build your condos. On Joe Pool it took a while (up to a couple of years) on some of them to begain to produce. In other lakes that I guide on I've put condos in and within two weeks they had fish on them. I'm not talking a few fish but ALOT of fish. Check out these condos they have produced for me.
GoodLuck
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We sure would like them to work here as they appear to last for many years unlike wood. Do you think clear verses dingy water or amount of structure in a lake makes the difference ?:confused:

I have put out alot of PVC. Some work some don't. They are all sunk on the same lake. Wood does work better but I am sick of loosing my jigs and people always fishing the wood ones I sunk.
Bill

I think it's more location and type of lake than water clairity. If the lake you're putting them in is a old lake with very little structure in it location isn't as critical as with a lake that has some structure in it allready. I think that location is more important. The type of structure is important also, I don't think the type of condos where the pipe is standing up vertical works as well as the ones that are stacked. The stacked ones provide more shade and the pipe sticks out like a limb on a tree which fish like to get under to hide from the sun.
GoodLuck

One thing that will help pvc produce faster and more is to take sandpaper or a file and rough it up as much as possible. Being roughened will give the algae something to grasp and grow on. algae is the main factor to any structure, it is the 1st stage of the feed chain.
Tim

Bambo is the way to go.............it works.