new fishing project

[Zod]

So I want to make a few of these, take the boat out after dark, and sink them somewhere secret. Should be great crappie beds for next year. Would it work?

[Johnny Rockets]

Sure why not......another good thing to do is gather up all your neighbors old Christmas trees in January (unless you live in an all Jewish community) and tie some cinder blocks to them and sink them. Good to go come Spring.

I also have some bodies that we could do the same thing with but they don't hold up well under the water and usually find their way up to the surface.

[Zod]

I read christmas trees don't last long though like hardwoods do. Not even a full season. Something like this I would imagine would last a decade.

[Johnny Rockets]

I just looked again and realized they weren't plants. Are they rubber hoses or steel? Either way....much better idea.

[Zod]

I think its rubber air hosing. Pretty cheap at home depot.

I can't take the boat out in January unless I want to have it winterized twice. I figure I will drop 4 of these in October, mark the spot, then head back in April and reel in the fish. Want to help?

[Johnny Rockets]

I think its rubber air hosing. Pretty cheap at home depot.

I can't take the boat out in January unless I want to have it winterized twice. I figure I will drop 4 of these in October, mark the spot, then head back in April and reel in the fish. Want to help?

You betcha..sounds like a good Saturday project....any excuse to get out on the lake. How you gonna mark it? You have a GPS?

[Zod]

Yeah my phone has a GPS. Have a fish finder to. Been reading it should go down about 20ft.

[dimbee]

I found this on the interwebs:

Reasons for Crappie Cover:

Aging reservoirs -- "As our reservoirs get older, their submerged wood cover disappears," Morgan said. "Trees and brush rot away, get broken up by wave action and scattered by anglers who hang lures and anchors in it, or wash away in current. No new reservoirs have been constructed in years, so the cover in our aging reservoirs needs replacing."

Wood cover disappears from reservoirs over time -- a good reason to sink your own.

Baitfish magnet -- "Wood cover draws baitfish. They feed on the algae which coats the wood, and find shelter from predators in the shadows of the cover. More baitfish means more crappie."

Current break -- "In rivers and river-run reservoirs, wood cover provides a current break which can draw in scores of crappie."

Spawning aid -- "Crappie spawn around submerged wood. I've seen females press against the forks of branches to help them lay their eggs."

Secret spots -- "By sinking cover and carefully noting its location, you can have your own secret honey holes and catch fish even when other anglers are hauling water."

So, what I glean from that is that the cover becomes not just a gathering spot for crappie but also a shelter and feeding place for smaller bait fish as well as a spawning place for crappie bitches.

Which Wood Works

In their attempts at luring crappie, some anglers plant stake beds; others sink brushpiles; still others drop Christmas trees. Morgan uses dead trees or large branches for crappie cover. But, according to Morgan, not any trees will do.

"I prefer sections of hardwood trees, plus willow and fruit trees," he says. "These all last a long time in the water -- I'm still fishing some trees today that I sank over 12 years ago."

Christmas trees and cedar trees? No way, Morgan insists. "The single biggest mistake I see crappie anglers who are sinking cover make is relying too much on pines and cedars. I believe these trees put out an aroma that can repel fish. Their bushy branches get mired down with silt so the tree gets pressed down flat; this explains why you often can't locate the Christmas tree you sank last winter once spring rolls around. And their branches are so full, fish cannot move freely within the tree, and you stay hung up constantly when fishing them."

Never put out any tree or large branch with its leaves still attached, the guide warns. "The leaves stay there for a surprisingly long time, and grab silt like a catcher's mitt."

That's good stuff right there.

Morgan searches for wood on the banks of Priest and Old Hickory when these reservoirs are at their lowest level, usually from December through late February. "Two winters ago we had a massive ice storm, and we're still picking up dead branches and entire trees that were downed. There's usually plenty of dead wood on the ground, so never cut down live trees," Morgan says.

Although it is often necessary to trim a large branch to make it more manageable when dragging it to the water's edge, Morgan always leaves at least a couple of primary limbs attached. "These elevate the trunk off the bottom, so crappie and baitfish have plenty of room to roam about freely underneath. A tree whose trunk is elevated will produce far more fish than one laying flat on the bottom."

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?catalogId=10001&langId=-1&mode=article&objectID=28881&storeId=10151

[thefuzz]

Why do you winterize your boat?

Second question....do you actually eat the crappies, or just fish for them for fun?

[BMorgan]

The attractors do work. We (Gaston County Piedmont Area Wildlife Stewards) have put some in on Lake Wylie, and there are some on Norman and Mountain Island that the other North Carolina Wildlife Federation chapters put in. Let me know if you want coordinates to them.

[Kurb]

Why do you winterize your boat?

Second question....do you actually eat the crappies, or just fish for them for fun?

I think he stores it outside, and its notably colder in the Charlotte area than here at the beach.

[g5jamz]

Use something that's hook-resistant (dense...not soft) so jigging is easy.

[thefuzz]

I think he stores it outside, and its notably colder in the Charlotte area than here at the beach.

I hear ya.

I have never, and probably will never "winterize" my boat, we really don't need to in NC. Not to mention, I use it every time I can when we have warmer than normal days in the winter.

[PhillyB]

i never got the whole crappie/brim/panfish obsession... bass and trout are so much more fun