Will condos help me?

[treeguy]

Hey guys, I have been lurking here for a few weeks and thought it was time to join in. With bow season over I have spring fever and am ready to catch some slabs.

I have been thinking about building some condos and sinking them, but was wondering if it would be a waste of time and energy. I mostly fish Truman Lake in Missouri. It has tons of standing timber and cover available for crappie. Would sinking condos with all of the available cover be a waste of time? Or would they prefer the condos if I was to put them in prime spots. If so should I try to put them in areas where not much cover is present or just try to enhance the existing cover? Would one type of condo work better than another for my situation?

I have fished crappie quite a bit, but not near as hard core as you guys. Although I am wanting to. I usually hit them when they are spawning then do a little nite fishing in the summer. I am wanting to be able to take my girls out during the summer and have decent luck. I thought some condos might provide that. Thanks for your help in advance.

[FalconSmitty]

So what are you waiting for? Get busy and build them. Use Jerry's article on how to build them. Drop them on a ledge in 20'-35' of water. That should give you a place for the girls to have a blast after the spawn is long gone.
The condos are the best thing I have done to improve my success. It makes it easy most days. I haven't tried it yet but I plan to night fish over 2 I dropped on the edge of a creek channel.
so get to cracking the whip and make them. You and your girls will love them too.

[Big Zig]

That's a good question Treeguy. It's written (whatever that means) that when faced with acres of standing timber, to look for the small differences between trees.
Now, if this is true, by adding condos to the area you may just be adding something "different" that will draw and hold a population of fish.
The only way you'll know for certain is to build a few and drop 'em. If you are unsure if the benefits outweight the work involved, do a few to start and see what they do for you. If you find you're pulling fish off them on a regular basis - have at it, and build to your hearts content. If you see that the natural trees still hold the bulk of your fish, well, then it's time to think about future work.

There is quite a bit of information here about how and where to drop condos, it may be worth your time to look through the archives.

Good luck, keep us informed as to what you come up with.