How To Build A Brush Pile.

[taxidermist]

Ok I have never dropped brush in the lake for a brush pile some years ago we just wired some rocks on cedars and dropped them under Grandpas boathouse, but never really did anything else.

With Crappie being the goal do any of you really know whatit takes to make a great crappie pile?

I have seen three and four cedars wired together while scuba diving but never see any reall fish around them. is there a size thats better. say twenty trees? or is that to big? I have a hillside full of cedars so have way more than plenty.

Anybody have any ideas?

John

[crappiefisherman]

taxi, I think the fish hold to say large clean limbs then anything.I catch more fish off of tree and rootballs floated in then any cedar piles.Have you noticed the large trees the conservation dept dropped into bs?They just cut sycamores and let them drop from bank to lake.

[Phil Lilley]

I bet ya they weren't cut by MDC... local fishermen probably. I know of several anglers who take chain saws with them when heading to BS. Just don't let the Corp catch you.

I do think fish hold better to hardwoods rather than cedars. I think that's one thing MDC is missing when they take time and $$$ to put in Christmas trees in Table Rock.

May be I'm all wet.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Best crappie pile I ever saw and fished was a wood pallet hanging under a dock. It was hung by one end like a ladder from the bottom of the lake up. Fish stacked in each level like a condo. Guy told me he would change the pallet every 3 years or so.

SIO3

[Chief Grey Bear]

I do think fish hold better to hardwoods rather than cedars. I think that's one thing MDC is missing when they take time and $$$ to put in Christmas trees in Table Rock.

May be I'm all wet.

Well I don't know Phil. Jokes aside about the recent pontoon incident, not much money or time is involved other than a days work in placing them. In my area anyway the towns and cities provide a drop off site for used trees and the MDC will haul them to the area of need and distibute them accordingly.

What I would also like to see them do is on the numerous CA's cut the cedars and use them also. Maybe they already do that in some areas. I just haven't noticed in mine.

The best that I have seen and tried is using 5 gallon buckets and PVC. You can make them as elaborate as you like or keep them rather simple. With the PVC hangups are a thing of the past.

[Phil Lilley]

You mean build a tree-like structure using PVC? You'd have to drop it on a fairly flat surface or it would tip over... but it's a good idea all the same. I know they sell artificial trees for fish cover- seen some in Long Creek high and dry after the water dropped last spring.

All I was saying about the cedars... if they don't work well at all, then any money and effort spent with cedars is a waste. If they work fairly well, then there's a debate. But I really don't know- that's why I asked.

[Dutch]

Sycamore. Don't need weights.

[Trav]

I pull drift wood off the bank and sink them with big rocks by putting eye bolts in to the timber and connecting them to cable.

[Chief Grey Bear]

You mean build a tree-like structure using PVC? You'd have to drop it on a fairly flat surface or it would tip over... but it's a good idea all the same. I know they sell artificial trees for fish cover- seen some in Long Creek high and dry after the water dropped last spring.

All I was saying about the cedars... if they don't work well at all, then any money and effort spent with cedars is a waste. If they work fairly well, then there's a debate. But I really don't know- that's why I asked.

There are a couple of ways to drop them in. But of course as with any real brush you drop in, nothing stands on end but you will have more control with your structure with PVC.

If you make a structure that is simply just some PVC sticking up like a pin cushion, it helps to use a hook and rope to lower it to the desired placement. Now in lakes with underwater topo such as TR you will have to be very careful about where you place this type of structure for they will be apt to fall over.

For TR I would use a different type of PVC structure. It is a little more time consuming in the construction but will work. Instead of 5 gallon buckets use empty coffee cans or something similar. It will only take 3 or 4 but you can build as an elaborate structure as you want. I like to use the smallest PVC for crappie but if you are looking for bass you may want to use a larger size. I don't really think it will make a difference though. I like the smaller so I can make a "brushier" structure.

Cut your PVC in to 1 or 2 foot lengths and using a combo of elbow's and T's, start connecting it all together in a 4 x 4 x 4 square with the coffee cans on the bottom corners. This type won't fall over. It will land on its feet. But even if it did, it wouldn't matter.

I like to use this size as it more manageable in the boat. It you want a larger structure in the lake, just build as many of these as you like and drop in the same area. Or if you really want something different, build two structure as stated but on the second one, don't use any weights and cap off all ends so water cannot enter the PVC. Then use a nylon line or any type resistant to decomposition, tie the bottom corners of the second structure to the top corners of the first one at whatever length you desire. This second structure will float above the first. In a deep water lake like TR, that could be 10 or 20 feet above or whatever you desire.

I think the reason cedars are a desirable wood for brush piles is their resistance to rotting. They seem to out last any other type of wood. That was a main reason that in the early days of railroading, all poles along the tracks were of cedar. Many of them lasted 50 to 75 years.

[lonkm]

I have been reading is some of the top magazines thet cedaf and pine put of a oil and cent that turns fish off. It takes several years for the needles to falloff.