I am building some artificial trees. I take some old reclaimed 4x4's, stick them upright in a 5 gal bucket and concrete them in. I also put 2 pieces of sucker rod in an "X" pattern on the bottom and a jug on top so it will stay upright. I drill 1' holes in the wood to stick 1" PVC pipe through to make the "limbs". They are about 10-12' tall. Gonna sink them along submerged creek channels in about 30' fow, and a couple in the deepest part of my lake along the creek/main channel for winter fishing. Also put brush tops in about 15 fow. Key is to put attractors along the travel routes they use to go back and forth from deep to shallow. I try to keep them isolated from existing standing timber. The willow tops referred to above work great, and are cheap and easy. Only downside is they don't last but maybe a couple years.