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Thread: Brush piles

  1. #1
    Caprandy Guest

    Default Brush piles


    Whats the best thing (christmas trees etc)to make brush piles out of and is there a best depth to put them at?

  2. #2
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    Lightbulb brush piles (IMHO)

    Actually, the "name" may be a bit misleading .... it might be more accurate to call them "branch piles" ...LOL!!
    Many people swear by pine & cedar trees, others swear at them. I've caught Crappie from a lot of different types of wood. But, the best (non-natural occuring cover) I've encountered, so far, has been a large portion of a Sycamore tree ... that hung off a rock cliff over deep water. This scenario produced many 2lb fish, from a lake that normally produced hand sized fish from other wood cover. There are a couple of pluses to Oak (and other barkless hardwoods) ... one being there are few small branches and no bark to hang into ... another being that the branches are larger, thus creating a larger shade factor.
    One problem with "brush", is that after a while underwater - they start breaking down, and your 4-6ft high pile of wood eventually becomes a 1-2ft pile of trunk carcasses and muck.

    How deep you place your wood depends on several factors - how deep is the water in this lake, how much fluctuation does the water level go thru in a years time, what season do you want the fish to occupy it, how deep is the water in the area where you intend to place it, and what other features are in the general vicinity (channels, points, docks, etc). A lot of the answers to these questions depends on the region, state, lake, or type of body of water that you're planting your "piles" in. Typically, however, Summer & Winter piles should be in relatively deep water ... Spring & Fall piles should produce better in more shallow waters. That's not to say that a shallow (or deep) wood cover pile won't produce in all seasons. It's just a guideline based on the "normal" habits of Crappie, as I interpret them to be. I'm sure there will be others that have their own ideas & interpretations - and I'm sure they work for them. The great thing about Crappie, is that they will adapt to the conditions in which they exist ... so don't rule out any possible form of cover. I've caught them from a single stickup, barely as big as my finger ... to cedar tops in 1-2ft of water ... to floating mats of tree branches ... to all manor of standing and fallen trees of hardwood and softwood varieties. And if I ever find them ... I hope to add PVC structures, stake beds, brush buckets, rubber hose "bushes", and any other "hand-made" forms of cover ...LOL!! ...............luck2ya ...........cp
    Last edited by CrappiePappy; 01-03-2005 at 08:03 AM. Reason: wrong tree mentioned ... sorry, my bad

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    Quote Originally Posted by Caprandy
    Whats the best thing (christmas trees etc)to make brush piles out of and is there a best depth to put them at?
    I want to say up front this is not a proven way to do a brush pile but is what I am planning to tire this year for myself.
    I am collecting used Christmas trees and cutting of the branches so they have no green on them, most are 18" to 24" long still. Then I am going to tie 2 trees one on top the other, If the trees are 8 footers this will give me 16 foot of a brush pile. I may try one or 2 of them adding a third tree to make it longer for deeper water.
    I then am going to sunk them in a cove between two large bluffs that have an old creek channel going in the river channel that runs along the bluff. Going to look for 40-60 foot of water. I will be dropping these tree tied to a bucket filled with concrete so the top of the tree is 5-10 under the water which is a pool stage now.
    I should be able to fish these brush piles in both summer, fall and winter. We will see if they work the way I think they will.

    Duane
    Duane

    My soon to be ex-wife calls me a CrappieHead

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    Here in Illinois on Lake Shelbyville, the Illinois Depatment of Conservation puts out alot of Christmas trees. They even serve lunch to the volunteers who put them out. It can't be a bad thing but I prefer hardwood branchs.

  5. #5
    PGottshall Guest

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    Hey Guys!

    Question - Does anyone know how long a typical evergreen will last before decomposing? One yr? Five yrs?

    My dad owns a Christmas tree farm here in cental-IL, so trees are abundant.

    Another thing I was thinking with the evergreens is to slice them top-to-bottom down the center of the trunk. I think I'd then have a structure holding less weight, so more likely to hold together. Does this make sense, or should I just drop the whole trees?

    I did slide onto the ice a week ago four "trees" I made from hardwood branches shoved into cardboard-boxes full of concrete. With our warming trend, they're now at the bottom of 12ft of water, near a breakline. Marked on the GPS, hopefully I'll ice-fish them in a couple weeks, & will see if the fish like the cover without growth on it yet.

    Thanks for the advice,
    Paul
    Last edited by PGottshall; 01-02-2005 at 10:02 PM.

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    Hey Paul,
    Thing I noticed about xmas trees sunk around here is most don't stay sunk.
    About 20 years ago put some in a pond upside down gallon w/ plastic jugs full of gravel and sand. Not much happened we could tell. I do know that beaver appreciale the help and will swipe them as they do at Evergreen.
    That xmas tree dropping has been stopped as well I think.
    There is one or 2 pallet spots around the local scouts did 3 years ago. Fish were on them real soon.

  7. #7
    Wardy Guest

    Default Brush piles

    Quote Originally Posted by Caprandy
    Whats the best thing (christmas trees etc)to make brush piles out of and is there a best depth to put them at?
    As far as natural stuff... I have found Hedge and Locust will last a long time. X-mas tree will break down quickly. Location may be determined by the lake and when you plan to fish. Another consideration is "How many people do you want fishing your pile?"... Look for drop offs.. You can place at the top and the bottom. Corners of channels are great also. The PVC stick up work good below the surface. Most depth finders can't spot them... If they can see it... it will be fished. Make sure you anchor your brush well. I have seen plenty of piles float off or have bass/catfisherman hook them with heavy line and pull them off. Duck hunters get their share in the decoy line...

    Tight lines!!!

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    pvc sticks out as good as anything wit smartcast sonar so am sure any would find it.

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    If you are going to use x-mas trees it's best to burn the greenery off before sinking them. Be careful however because they go up fast with a match or lighter. The oil in the leaves causes them to burn very quickly.

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    I would think that it all depends on the type of PVC pipe. Some pipe has thinnner walls. Also the direction of the sound waves hitting the surfaces of the PVC Pipe will make a difference if the sound waves can bounce of the PVC pipes surface's and be directed back to the transducer.


    if you look at the PVC pipes surface you will find that it's curved. Sound waves hitting the curved surface may not be directed straight back the way they came and may be bounced off the pvc pipes surface so that they can't be picked up by the transducer.

    The guy that was quoted in the Crappie World Magazine said that after algae grew on the PVC's pipes surfaces that he could see it on his Depth Sounders display but that it didnt' appear like a normal brush pile.

    It also would depend on if the PVC tree is standing upright and how it's made. There are many ways to put together a PVC tree and a lot depends on the type, size diameter, wall thickness and the lenght of the PVC pipes and how they are put together.

    We need to talk apples and apples here.


    Maybe some PCV pipe trees can be seen by the depth sounders and some can't. I would suspect that is depends on the depth sounder also. Different sound frequencys may behave differently in the water and bounce differently off different types structures.


    I do know that we can see the fish suspended because the fish's air bladder will refect sound waves better than the fish's flesh. Well I read that somewhere in a magazine some time ago. Not really sure if that is true or not but is sounded good to me.

    Quote Originally Posted by blufloyd
    pvc sticks out as good as anything wit smartcast sonar so am sure any would find it.
    Regards,

    Moose1am

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