Thinking about making a few more of these and putting them in the lake.
I know it may not be as good as natural brush but there a lot easier for me to do plus I enjoy making them.
I’ve heard some people say make them big and some say keep them small.
Any advice you have ? Also if you have any pictures of your own post them up !!
I've always figured these types are a lot better than sinking Christmas trees as pine trees tend to break down so quickly. Looks really good to me! Though I'm certainly no expert on them, this also seems preferable from an environmental standpoint to the PVC "trees" that people often sink. At least this won't be breaking into smaller and smaller bits of plastic over the years that will never go away as it wears down.
The one tip I do have is to add at least twice as much "anchor" to it as you think it'll need to stay put, particularly if it's going in a spot that might ever see any current. My dad and I used take a bow saw, rope, and a few cinder blocks out on our fishing trips to sink limbs pretty regularly. It's crazy how they'd up and vanish over the winter, even on reservoirs that don't regularly see meaningful current.
It's too bad this type of thing is illegal in MN. I get why, but with the lack of wood cover in our lakes they could be VERY productive.
If you're on Facebook, an awesome follow for this type of thing is "Fisheries Biologist Steven Bardin." His posts most often concern pond management, but he also posts regularly about artificial habitat like this including reviews of the commercially produced "brush piles". Scrolling through his page should provide a lot of useful info!
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360, Garmin 106 SV, LVS 34
In Iowa most if not all State park lakes have sunk cedar trees. It looks like they cable some of them to cement blocks or something as they seem to be staying put. Some are not tethered and they have moved for sure.
Cedar will last years
It would be awesome if we could do that in MN.Originally Posted by DrewFlu33
Why are they illegal in MN?
Not sure exactly. The regs just say you can't put material in public waters to attract fish. It's actually written such that it sounds like they're talking about chumming, but I emailed the DNR to ask about it once and they pointed to that clause as the reason for it being illegal. I'm guessing it's probably a combination of things...worried about people hitting them with their boats if they're placed too shallow, worried about them coming loose and creating a floating hazard, technically it could be considered littering since you're likely putting cinder blocks and rope into the lake, etc.
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360, Garmin 106 SV, LVS 34
Could be that they don't want people having an excuse to put all kinds of garbage in the water. Some people don't think or don't care and put things that could be toxic. You guys have the right intent but not everybody does.
A friend of mine put some out last fall, and built them from 6” pvc with a black water hose as make shift branches. They were shaped similar to Christmas trees when finished. He used a 1 gallon or 5 gallon bucket with quickcrete and tied a gallon jug at the top, so when it sank it would stand straight up. I don’t remember the exact size of bucket with concrete used. I believe it’s not legal to put anything in the lakes here in Texas also, but I have found many man made brush piles in the lakes I fish with my sidescan sonar.
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