Thread: what is the absolute best cover to drop

I think any of those will catch fish....as to which is the best, it may be the location that determines that...the time of year...water temp, etc. The more locations you have, the better.

I've heard guys say that a good pile will have fish on it within 2-3 days of putting it in.

Good luck!

what lake you going to ?

I have been thinking of this for a while and figure now is as go a time as any. I have never placed anything in the water to make structure. I get the reasons why and that fish do benefit from having structure to hide in and to search for food. I just wonder at what point do we begin doing harm from all the stuff going in the water. I would think the smaller the lake the greater potential to do that. Plastics and other no biodegradable material can last a long long time. So should we as a community of fisherman take the lead and start looking at what we are dong closer. Perhaps those with technical back ground or scientific or fisheries experience be involved so that a certain type of artificial structure can be endorsed for use. I know this will get some upset because nobody likes restriction or being told what to do but I for one would certainly not want to do anything to harm what we have left. Maybe this has already been done and all is good or maybe not. I know the road to hell is paved with good intentions and don't want to be the one standing by and saying nothing.

Originally Posted by Knot2Bad

I have been thinking of this for a while and figure now is as go a time as any. I have never placed anything in the water to make structure. I get the reasons why and that fish do benefit from having structure to hide in and to search for food. I just wonder at what point do we begin doing harm from all the stuff going in the water. I would think the smaller the lake the greater potential to do that. Plastics and other no biodegradable material can last a long long time. So should we as a community of fisherman take the lead and start looking at what we are dong closer. Perhaps those with technical back ground or scientific or fisheries experience be involved so that a certain type of artificial structure can be endorsed for use. I know this will get some upset because nobody likes restriction or being told what to do but I for one would certainly not want to do anything to harm what we have left. Maybe this has already been done and all is good or maybe not. I know the road to hell is paved with good intentions and don't want to be the one standing by and saying nothing.

These studies have been done and the only restrictions that have resulted from them, as far as I know, is where drinking water is involved. Some of those lakes allow artificial only and some allow none. I assume that the added brush poses filtration problems due to chemicals released during decay process, as well as other things that they would rather not deal with. As for harming the lake, I don't see how it would do that. The cover actually provides added protection and algea for baitfish, which means more food for predator fish, ie. Crappie, Bass etc.

If I may say so, vic`n is correct; the different types of cover all attract fish, but except in cooler months and the immediate spawn time mostly it is used by juvenile fish. Bottom type does affect it`s performance as does depth. Everything else being equal, natural FINER cover seems to attract and support a greater biodiversity than artificial cover simply because it is biodegradable (think of them as `slow release food ` for the lower food chain organisms). while the artificals with sparser bigger cover tends to do better for bigger but fewer fish, ESPECIALLY if they are placed on the deep ends of shallow to deep lines of natural attractors. No 1 type always `works` best, and some, no matter how nice just don`t seem to produce much at all, for reasons unknown...basically it`s trial and error.

dont mean to be a stickler but I was just looking for a simple answer, not a thesis report.

I will make 40+ of these and they will be dropped in lines from deep water to shallow on hard bottom surfaces, with 2-3 at each drop spot

Didn't give a thesis just ask a question. Short answer - A structure that is a min. of 4-5X taller than its base with lots of cover for bait fish. The taller the better. Base needs to be big enough to anchor and support the structures ensuring it remains upright. I would not use non biodegradable materials. This means you will need to reestablish these over time as they will loose there effectiveness. Cheers

My opinion is stakebeds driven or pallet stakebeds are best here. Great for jig fishing as less hangups. Here thick brush or bamboo holds more small fish and some like it. I pefer to use minimum of 8'' spacing to allow bigger fish access and I catch fewer small fish in these. Research posts on stakebeds and if you can find pallets , scrap boards or mill scraps , and rocks only exspence to build would be fasteners. I even get those given to me alot but remember to share any extra catch . You will find folks eager to help gathering supplies to build your stakebeds. I build more every time I go to the lake and have a few extra minutes. Can't have too many spots. I don't waste alot of time on a spot if it's not producing but perfer to hit 20 to 40 each trip..