Thread: Put in charge of 210 Acre Lake- I know nothing about Crappie- Need your Magical Minds

That is why `suggested` the shad as a base prey fish; EVERYTHING will eat them from the time they are fry until they get as big as they can get. As far as the rubble/ block and 10 hole brick piles, YES they ARE labor intensive to place, BUT they will last FIFTY YEARS if sited on anything but mud bottoms. With attractors on their lower ends they will become crawfish magnets and what feeds on crawfish ? EVERYTHING...likely these will become THE #1 spots on the entire lake. Find a gentle slope from 8-16 fow and drop 2 marker buoys about 20` apart at the same depth. Have loaded buckets of concrete rubble chunks ready and drop about 80 buckets of this stuff in a rough rectangle between the two buoys, off both sides and the front while holding still then creep forward 2-3` and repeat. The idea is to create a rubble chunk `base`. It will require excellent boat control and remembering where you started gauging from the buoys. Then add between 80 to 120 8" CLEAN (unpainted) blocks on top of the rubble, topped by 600- 800 10 hole red bricks. If done correctly it should end up about 1- 2` high up off the bottom and visible on sonar. Ask Sir Intimidator about fishing this "experiment" !!! (evil laughter sound effect here...)

Eagle 1,

I am trying to organize fishing derbies for everyone's Children and Grandchildren @ least twice a year, as well as telling everyone to Catch and Keep, Not Catch and Release.

Lowellhturner,

I think I will place two marker buoys out as you suggest, but sink them three feet under the water so I can see them, but no one else can. This way I can work on building this rock pile over time and it won't be in any boaters way. I have an area that is exactly 8-16 Feet deep, that eventually goes to 24 feet and then back up.

I guess I should sink 2 nice brush piles or bamboo condos beyond this rubble pile in 20 and then 24 feet of water to create he highways everyone has mentioned.

Does anyone know where I can by these shad in South Carolina?

It took us 8 boatloads to SAFELY build ours, using a large pontoon boat. I GUARENTEE you you will not regret spending the time doing it. And if I may further `suggest, place HARD WOOD "BB"s (blocks stuffed with 6-8` long limbs going the opposite direction on the other side) about 8-14 fow either side in rows changing to the "C" trees going deeper and end each row of naturals with 2 PVC attractors deepest of all. The reason for the "BB"s shallow is #1: they should last 10-20 yrs depending on the hardwood used and #2: so you can easily cast over them; if properly built they should be only 2` tall. Between all the crayfish, minnows, and juvenile panfish that will be present this set up should be a MAGNET for the bigger predators...as far as shad, find a nearby reservoir that has them and cast net them during COLD weather to maximize their chances of surviving the trip; get them into the lake PRONTO after netting...they will feed everything else in the lake...

The Black Crappie won't reproduce as heavily as Whites and won't overpopulate the lake...at 250 acres you have plenty of space...make sure to invite plenty of Bream fisherkids...you'll need to take out the big ones that cannot be eaten by the other fish.

You can find shad and other baitfish at Fish Farms or Pond Supply Farms in Tenn, GA, SC, or NC...just find a local one and call! Don't take a chance of introducing any other lake diseases into yours by netting your own! They won't be that expensive to get started!

Don't worry about highways...just put cover where it will do the best, when time or money allows just keep adding...the lake is big enough to handle the fishing you want, but small enough that fish will find and migrate to cover on their own! Like Lowell just posted Cedar lasts longer than Christmas Trees...but it's whatever is cheap and plentiful right now...the idea is to just get in as much as possible...then you can add more or switch later!

Just read an article that Shad are making a huge comeback in SC and the fishing is exploding...except in the Edisto river and a couple others!

Originally Posted by foodeefish

Eagle 1,

I am trying to organize fishing derbies for everyone's Children and Grandchildren @ least twice a year, as well as telling everyone to Catch and Keep, Not Catch and Release.

Lowellhturner,

I think I will place two marker buoys out as you suggest, but sink them three feet under the water so I can see them, but no one else can. This way I can work on building this rock pile over time and it won't be in any boaters way. I have an area that is exactly 8-16 Feet deep, that eventually goes to 24 feet and then back up.

I guess I should sink 2 nice brush piles or bamboo condos beyond this rubble pile in 20 and then 24 feet of water to create he highways everyone has mentioned.

Does anyone know where I can by these shad in South Carolina?

Originally Posted by foodeefish

Does anyone know where I can by these shad in South Carolina?

my latest list of commercial aquaculturists these farms sell threadfin

Quality Lakes, inc, 843 812 6844, located in bluffton
southland fisheries 803 776 4923, located Hopkins
swimming rock fish hatchery, inc 843 889 2622, located megget

not sure if any of these places are even close to you but they could point you in the right direction for your area.

PS don't accept golden shiners as a "bait fish" and don't ever stock them if trying to manage a balanced lake.

He IS right about getting the shad from a dealer...just wish he`d of spilled his guts about hooking `something` on top of that rubble pile. Gets a power run and WHAT happens to his 20 pd braided line ? "SNAP !" If anyone else had told such a `fish story` I might have doubted them, but Sir Intimidator has a `talent` for understatement...he would tell you RMS TITANIC had some paint flakes scratched off by an ice flow, which I`m fairly certain DID happen...actually, do the cover highways 1st about 50` apart and add the rubble/ block/ brick pile at your leisure between them ! (Gives you an `excuse` to fish them...)

Lowell's right...THE KRACKIN has taken over our new little "Freshwater Lobster Reef"!
I was Bass fishin on it, thinking I might pull a nice Smallmouth....I had got hung up in the rubble and tightened down the drag to pull the swimbait free. Re-bent the hook and casted back out...forgot to set the drag....something just smashed the swimbait and as I went to set the hook, it bout pulled the pole out of my hand, when I caught the pole and tried to reel, it turned and the 20lb braid popped like 2lb mono.....Something big is dining on fresh lobster on our reef!

Well I hit the jackpot tonight as I found a 1/4 Acre of Bamboo and I can take what I want. Soooo, Tonight was spent cutting Bamboo and hauling it to the
house. The Bamboo condos are much lighter once their made than pallet pyramids and are easier to handle when it comes time to sinking them.

The bamboo condos also have a farther spread than a Pallet pyramid, so is it better to concentrate on sinking the Bamboo pyramids and rubble after I will have sunk 10 pallet pyramids stuffed with tree branches, 6 single pallets covered with 1/4" Mesh fencing (in shallow water for the fat head minnows), and 15 Crappie stake beds?

This is turning into a part-time job but I think it will be worth it from what you all are saying. This weekend will be spent getting rubble from an old foundation of a double-wide trailer to start building my "lobster reef" and making more Bamboo condos.

Thnx