has anyone here tried barrels in place of buckets cut in it with a hole saw and put pvc out of it with cinder blocks in the bottom and secure some bamboo coming out of the top of it it seems you could make it alot bigger and it would hold more fish just don't leave the top to exposed as it may make a new home to bigger fish but if done right it would seem it could be really worth while


i got permission from the corps of engineers a few months ago to start doing things like this on beach fork lake just outside huntington wv im only gonna use things i can get for free i also am very familiar with the areas on the lake they gave me permission to do crappie condos but they gave me permission to make structure for other fish like catfishin a larger section of the lake i plan on using barrels for this with holes cut in it with a hole saw i know this will work for them as this is about the same thing burnsville Darryl brown does on burnsville and the flathead population has really grown there in years past for anyone who don't know Darryl brown look up his catfishing video muddy bottom monsters its a really great video done by a really informative fisherman

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is that a bite...YEAH FISH DONT HAVE HANDS

My son sinks them & then dives down & get catfish out of them with his hands,Although he ain't bright,Takes after his mother I guess,
P.S. If I want her to know that I'll be the one to tell her,Thank You.
But you are right Slab, they should hold & provide cover for all kinds of fish.I know the Cats lay there eggs in them.

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Fall 2007 Richland Chambers.....

we should be doing it with 2 boats and its gona take awile 1 at a time and im keeping in mind if i build it they will come

and i have noodled a couple cats couple flats and a smaller blue that broke my wrist so now i stick to noodlin for snapin turtles its fun fun also just grab them by the tail they go in their holes head first havent ever been bitten by them yet but its coming lol

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is that a bite...YEAH FISH DONT HAVE HANDS

Ive built these with 55gallon barrels.

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TacoBender
On The Spot Guide Service
"Catchin Crappie Year Round"
www.onthespotwithscott.com

looks good have to keep this one in mind

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is that a bite...YEAH FISH DONT HAVE HANDS

I am new to this site so first, hello to everyone from Texas. I fish on Lake Livingston which is known for it hugh catfish population. The state has actually doubled to daily limit on the lake because there are so many catfish. Enough of catfish, here are my thoughts on some structures I am getting ready to build for crappie. I am going to use some 35 or 40 gallon plastic barrels. I'll stand them upright, cut some holes in them, stick a piece of 2" PVC about 8' long down to the bottom and concrete it in so I end up with a barrel with a piece of pipe sticking out ot the top of it. Then I am going to cut some branches about 4' to 8' long and zip tie them to the PVC pipe and sink them at different depths to see what works. If anyone has any suggestions or experience on Lake Livingston, I'd love to hear from you. Once I get several built, I'll post some pictures.
Thanks,
Robbie

I saw this a few months ago on another sportsmans site and just thought I would share it with you.

Start by finding an area in 15 to 30 feet of water near a creek or drop off not necessarily on the edge of it… just close. Being close to deeper water gives the fish a sense of safety that they have deep water to retreat to. You need an area about 60ft to 80ft. in diameter of good bottom with not a lot of snags or brush. Start with three to six plastic drums depending on how many you want to use. For this were going to say six for a big area, take two barrels and cut nickel to quarter size holes in them all over the sides and top. Make them look like Swiss cheese. Poor about two or three gallon of cement in the bottom of all six barrels and let it set up hard. The cement helps them sink and stay on bottom. Place these two barrels on the bottom on the outer edges of the plot. This gives your small bait fish, grass shrimp, and hatchlings plenty of safe haven. Take two more barrels and cut holes the same way in it but this time the size of the top of a coffee cup or say 2 to 3in. across… place them on opposite side from the other two barrel's in the plot. These two barrel's will provide a place for the older hatchlings, small bream, and other bait fish. Take the last two and cut large 5 and 6 inch holes in it and place one on opposite end from each other. This will provide cover as they get larger. Take about 10 to 15 five gallon buckets cut in half and fill the bottom half...half way with gravel. Place them in groups of 5 to 7 fairly close together in two different areas well away from each other. This makes a great place for your bluegill and goggle eye to start beds. Which in the long run they will move gravel out of buckets and make there own beds around yours to form huge beds sometime 100ft across. Now in the middle of all this that you have been placing around perimeter of your plot you want to put several PVC trees various heights. Here’s how you make them. Take a gallon bucket and stand a 3” piece of PVC pipe upright in it with cement in the bucket till it hardens. PVC can be any length your comfortable with from 4 to 12 ft tall depending on the depth of the water your putting it in. After cement has dried, drill holes in it across from one another to slide ½” or 1”PVC horizontally in through the pipe till it stick out equally with about 3 to 4 feet sticking out each side. Do this all up and down the 3in. PVC till it looks like a tree. After you have made the trees, place them all throughout the middle of the plot standing vertical like trees. If you let them down preety fast the bucket of cement will do down into the silt and mud and help them stay standing vertical. White Perch love these trees. They stage at diff depths around them. They spawn in and around them and it provides a natural forage for them.

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Leave two for seed. Bruce