Question for LOZ regulars

[BuckCreekMike]

After reading a recent entry on CDC I saw that a guy had been hanging PVC trees off his dock. Does anyone else do this? Is it more effective than having brush or pvc on the bottom, or is it just the fact that his dock is over really deep water that it necessitates suspending them shallower. My dock is about 18-20' deep at the deepest, so I guess it may not be needed, then again, the more structure the better, right?

[PineappleSlap]

your dock is about the same as ours, i know a little further out it gets DEEP but we cant cast that far from the dock so no need.

we sink all our brush, some of our brush comes 7 feet up from the bottom so there is plenty of height to make up for the depth.

i guess it just depends on your locale. if you are on the main channel on the osage then i would think hanging your brush would be far better then sinking i know it can drop off to 75+ feet right there.

we are starting to sink the pvc condos, first one is going in in a couple weeks. we already have the bill dance porcupine fish attractors all over our dock and they produce great! cant wait to extend our beds and nail the crappie

[bugman]

I have some hanging off docks but i will tell you that wood will outproduce pvc (at least it always has for me) the depth of water around your dock allows you to have brush on the bottom as well as having some hanging stuff i'd put both out as they will suspend shallow on some days......load that succer up you can never put out too much brush.

[PineappleSlap]

I have some hanging off docks but i will tell you that wood will outproduce pvc (at least it always has for me) the depth of water around your dock allows you to have brush on the bottom as well as having some hanging stuff i'd put both out as they will suspend shallow on some days......load that succer up you can never put out too much brush.

just make sure you dont put any underneath the diving board on the swim platform

[LOZcrappie]

I have some hanging off docks but i will tell you that wood will outproduce pvc (at least it always has for me) the depth of water around your dock allows you to have brush on the bottom as well as having some hanging stuff i'd put both out as they will suspend shallow on some days......load that succer up you can never put out too much brush.

We have both PVC and wood off of our docks and wood outrproduces for us, too. I hang all of my brush from the docks so it goes from about 8 feet deep down to 20 feet or so. That helps it stay productive as the fish move up and down the water column throughout the year.

Using wood also has necessitated my move to braided line -- I run into a few more hang-ups with brush and it saves a bunch of re-tying. The outcome is worth it, however, based on fish caught on wood vs. PVC. Just my two cents...

Good luck -- I love dock fishin! Of course, that may change if I owned a fishin' boat. :D

[Jackpot]

I have some hanging off docks but i will tell you that wood will outproduce pvc (at least it always has for me) the depth of water around your dock allows you to have brush on the bottom as well as having some hanging stuff i'd put both out as they will suspend shallow on some days......load that succer up you can never put out too much brush.

We have both PVC and wood off of our docks and wood outrproduces for us, too. I hang all of my brush from the docks so it goes from about 8 feet deep down to 20 feet or so. That helps it stay productive as the fish move up and down the water column throughout the year.

Using wood also has necessitated my move to braided line -- I run into a few more hang-ups with brush and it saves a bunch of re-tying. The outcome is worth it, however, based on fish caught on wood vs. PVC. Just my two cents...

Good luck -- I love dock fishin! Of course, that may change if I owned a fishin' boat. :D

Any recommendations on material to use like rope or chain? Weight to hold it down/upright? We need to do some work this winter. Docks and brush have shifted somewhat over the past year or two, so we need to "refresh" our brush. The irony is that they will be cutting a number of trees down along the water at our complex in the next couple of weeks. Sure wish I could be there to help them with the "removal".

Mike
"Jackpot"

[LOZcrappie]

I used some 200-250 pounds capacity 1/2" poly rope, Mike. We've had some other brush hanging from our docks (that I did not put there) with even smaller diameter poly rope and it's lasted for at least three years. So I figure what I'm using should be AOK for quite awhile.

I tied it off to the dock and drilled a 5/8 hole about 8 inches up from the bottom of the trunk to tie off the other end that will be underwater. As a result, my trees hang upside down when they're underwater.

For weight, I tied off a medium size concrete block about half to 2/3 of the way down the suspended tree. I try to do it where the trunk still has a little thickness to it so the weight doesn't easily snap the trunk at that point due to rotting, wave action, etc.

Bascially, picture a tree hanging upside down and a block tied to it part of the way down. That's how I do it anyway. Always open to new ideas....

[Jackpot]

Thanks, Scott. Looks like I have a project to take care of.

Mike
"Jackpot"

[bugman]

I always use copper wire and thankfully i hoarded a bunch before the prices skyrocketed,make sure you remove all the smaller branches and make the larger ones 3' or so the bigger fish like open piles to move around in.

[BuckCreekMike]

Thanks for the info, do you guys like to put them inside the slips as well as outside? I have found that the majority of fish I catch off my dock are on the insides around the lift floats and in front of the boats. This could also be because other fishermen can't get to those areas as easily. I've also heard they just like the shady areas.