Structure I can drop using a canoe?

A 3 acre lake I fish has absolutely zero bottom structure. It does have a decent amount of shoreline deadfalls but the water is fairly shallow along the shore. The lake depths vary from mostly 11 feet up to 18 feet - all with very gradual contours. The crappie seem to have pulled back off the shore structure by late Spring and are seemingly scattered without any mid-lake structure to suspend on.

I'd like to drop a couple fish structures but can only access this lake with a canoe. The best I can think of is an old christmas tree with a cinderblock foot - I can get that into the canoe and over the side (hopefully!). I like the bamboo stuff but doesn't seem feasible given my small watercraft. Any other cheap, natural ideas?

I don't have a GPS setup and think i will have a hard time getting back on the structure to fish it. I do have a portable depthfinder in the boat but worry I'll be paddling back and forth back and forth trying to find it on future trips. I don't want to mark it with a buoy as other fishermen will be all over it. I guess I can try to triangulate from shore but that gets hard once out on the water. Any other ideas to help get back on small pieces of structure?

Thanks

Hi wasabi! I would be extra cautious tring to wrestle a fishbed of any type in a canoe. Sounds pretty dangerous to me. Please wear a life jacket! :)

i'd borrow another canoe or small boat and tow it behind me with my stuff i was going to sink. canoes flip too easily for me. you'll be shifting a lot of weight around dropping cinder blocks.

Putting the stuff in is just step one... you have to be able to find it again or what good is it?

Small handheld GPS units are pretty cheap. Trust me, triangulation ain't what it is cracked up to be unless you are out there with an accurate bearing compass (pelorus).

Tom

What about a gal. bucket with a 3 or 4 in. 8 to 10 ft stock of pvc with some holes drilled in it to run some 1/2 to 3/4 pvc thru it. Don't take much to sink pvc. Could you put something like that together on the bank, then site it to the back and drag it out then drop without having to toss overboard?

Get you one of them little GPS's before you do all this work.

Ya got a scaled down boat so You will have to scale down you size brush you can use. You could cut the top out of a gallon milk jug leaving the handle part attached and fill with concrete. stick in pvc or small branches to create a small bush. May have to drop several in one spot to make a creative brushpile but you should be able to handle them in a canoe. May be able to carry a couple at a time. CF

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by crappiefarmer

Ya got a scaled down boat so You will have to scale down you size brush you can use. You could cut the top out of a gallon milk jug leaving the handle part attached and fill with concrete. stick in pvc or small branches to create a small bush. May have to drop several in one spot to make a creative brushpile but you should be able to handle them in a canoe. May be able to carry a couple at a time. CF

---

EXACTLY ;)

Tonight I found one of my old xmas trees and fastened half a cinderblock to the bottom. I'll be able to easily manage one of those. Still interested in other ideas. I do have some lumber and PVC scraps and buckets.

The half blocks will work good for small structure. Even more weight. Be aware of the current in your area if it exists. Using too big of a piece of structure with not enough weight may be moved in a current. The current may only have to be slower than you think to move it. If no current, then bombs away. If there is current, then keep your brush more sparse but use bigger diameter stuff so it will last longer. Just drop more in the area than you would normally do with bigger brush and you will be O.K..CF

Any hard wood limbs will work good and last a long time. You may have to cut some down for the smaller weight. You do need some density to the brush, just find a good balance with the weight your using. I have used oak limbs, cypress limbs, and my favorite Myrtle bushes. the Myrtle bushes don't last quite as long but crappie sure find them in a hurry. CF

A trick I onced use when i was using line ups (triangulate) was after I put the bed out I would put a marker in the middle of it and then back off and take a picture with the marker and treeline on the bank behind it. Then after a few trips with the pictures in hand, you'll have the line up memorized.

I was able to get back over it a few days later and found it on the depth finder. Nice 5 foot tall xmas tree in 12' of water. No fish on it the other day. Wish I could put a marker on it permanently but others would fish it out.