Thought I'd pass along a few tips for you guys that I've found when looking for cheap ways to build structure. It was garbage day today and if your neighborhood is like mine then people seem to throw away all kinds of "good" stuff.
Today I found a 6 foot tall plastic tree. The kind of fake trees you find in office buildings and such. I often see these things thrown out and it's perfect structure since it will never rot away. Fake christmas trees would also be an idea.
I often see wooden kitchen chairs and tables thrown out. Sink them standing as they would normaly and it should work well.
Those large wooden spools used for cable would also be a good item. Drill some 1" holes threw the center "body" so small fish can get in and hide.
I still need to sink more "brushy" structure in the shallow and depths for the bait fish to hide in. Be interested in hearing your ideas and such for unique structure items.
We ripped the plastic white latice from under our deck when we bought the house. I put it together with pvc and I really holds the fish.
I took solid skids from a local factory and bounded them together with nylon rope and put a peice of concrete side walk on top of the skids.
Cracked plastic lawn chairs work when you add a little brush with them.
One of my favorite subjects and some great ideas so far! I went with PVC trees along with 3 pallets in a triangle shape, both anchored with cinder blocks. I'm also building the mother of all reefs (as Greg can attest) mostly out of 4"x4"x8' beams, but haven't sunk it yet because it'll need 2 people just to get it near the water.
Here's another idea. How about snow fence? The ones made from wood and wire. Roll it up 5 or 6 times like the form it's in when being bought and then tie it to keep it closed. Now sink it standing up. The small spaces it provides should give small forage fish good places to hide, and I bet it will last longer than a christmas tree. I need more ideas for good forage hiding structure.
i am a new member, hope i'm doing this right since this is the first time i've posted a message. i built about a 7 acre lake recently. and i also built about 1300 feet of vinyl pvc fence. the fence posts are 7 feet tall, and 5 by 5 inches square. well, up here in mtn. home arkansas, we got a few rocks, and so rather than digging really deep holes, i had to cut the bottoms off many of the vinyl pvc fence posts. then i drilled a 1/2" hole thru them and threaded them on a 1/2' piece of rebar...anywhere from 4 feet to 10 feet tall. then anchored them in 5 gallon plant containers filled with quickcrete (bend the base of the rebar so it won't pull out of the quickcrete) then placed them in the pond. should never rot, and your fish hooks will slide off pretty easily. in case you don't build a fence!...you might want to check with your local fence company and see if you can have their scrap pieces of pvc fence material. if you are interested in pics, email me at ilovefishingmark@yahoo.com and i'll send you some thanks, mark
I have been interested in finding an alternative to the plastic fish cribs, and thought of those plastic crates that you can get from the soda bottling companies, or you can buy at Wal-Mart for a buck or two. These could be weighted easily and fastened together to form larger structures. They would snaga alot of lures though.
Robert B
Robert, the crate idea is great...never thought of that. i think i will do that also. as far as snagging some hooks....we can buy more hooks, but ahhhh, the pleasure of catching quality fish....a man might need to sacrifice a few hooks!!
I was thinking about fish excluders that were mentioned in the plant section. I was wondering if anyone had made pens or boxes with fence that was big enough for forage but not for the bass? Maybe out of chicken wire? Many people have said that fat heads and Golden Shiners will both be exterminated by bass predation with out enough cover. Maybe you could sink cover that is designed to protect your forage? Would this be a good idea?
when choosing fish structure is it best to shy away from anything metal? is rusting a problem for the fish or the lake? just thought I would ask to make sure.
In the ocean iron is the limiting factor, adding iron fillings ussaly produces an algae bloom. Unfortunatly this is not the case for fresh water. That really has no point, I just think its interesting.
Another idea I've read about and am about to build is a tire structure. Piles of tires can work too, but this sounded better. It requires 12 old tires with some consideration for the size of the tire as you will see.
Take four tires and screw the sidewalls together until you have made a cylinder of sorts with them. Do the same to the other 8 tires so you have 3 cylinders of 4 tires each. Lay 2 of these cylinders side by side and screw the treads together. Take the third cylinder and put it on top of the other two in the middle where it should sit on its' own, and screw through its' tread into the tread of each of the other two cylinders so that you have a large, stable triangle or pyramid of sorts. That's it.
Well, almost. You still have to get it where you want it and sink it since it will float if left this way. One way would be to put a little concrete or rocks in the bottom of the two lower cylinders. I'm also toying with a silly idea I dreamed up using a portable drill and strategically drilling holes once I have it where I want it, to get it to sink there. But I'm not sure it'll work so I won't go into that.
Fish would be able to swim through all three tubes created by these tire cylinders and hang out in the shade inside and out. I gotta think a big one or two will claim the inside of these cylinders as their castle!
I have a local concrete culvert dealer that gives away damaged product because it can't be sold. FREE! If you have such a business nearby, look into it. It's a win-win. I only paid $25 for delivery for a truck load. The culverts can be simply rolled into a full pond. Obviously, they will sink easily. In my case, I'm still waiting for my pond to fill.
I'm going to look into that!
Thanks for the idea.
Ric
I have also gone the some local goodwill store and gotten wood wire spools and put them in. The Bluegill and Shad seem to love them.
I took old C Band Satellite dish and put it on top of 1 55 gallon drum. I wired old tires together and dumped out of my Jon boat next day they were all in the shallow end...air trapped inside them floated them.
Snow fence cut short and staked in shallow waters cutting off a corner or section of your shoreline will allow minnows and fry to swim in nad out will keeping big fish out.
I have a large supply of concrete block seconds, not good enough quality to sell for construction but will work good for structure when stacked in the pond prior to filling, that is my plan for the next pond here.
Friend of mine gave me an absolutely wonderful idea, one that is so simple I hit myself on the forehead and said, "Why didn't *I* think of that?!"
If you happen to be short on vegetation or if you want to nuke all your vegetation and still have some plant-like cover for forage fish, this is for you.
Take a plastic garbage bag. Throw a brick or two (or rock, or cinder block, or whatever) in the bottom. Cut the top (open) end down toward the bottom in strips (whatever width you wish). Dump in lake.
The plastic strips will undulate, algae will grow on said plastic strips, hooks and lures rip through without snags. Presto! Cost is next to nothing, effort required is next to nothing.
Plastic garbage bag ribbon habitats will work for a short while. Once algae starts attaching to it and the layer builds up any sort of thichness the strips/ribbons will sink and no longer stand up. Typically one will usually place these bag habitas in shallower water where light penetrates and stimulates algae growth. Be aware the ribbons will not rot but they may not stand up for very long. Been there done that.
Another thing that is a similar sort of fish habitat is the plastic banding that is now used in many pallet or box binding applications. Cut the banding in lengths and weight them to the bottom using one of many different methods. Banding is more durable and will float quite a bit longer with algae build up than the plastic bag ribbons.
Tires holding an air pocket won't sink? With the tire in the water where you want to sink it, insert one end of a two or three foot (for ease of handling) length of garden hose into the air pocket while holding the other end above water. The air will escape through the hose and the tire will sink. Hey, cut me some slack! If you want real genius, ask Bob or Bill or Cecil, or Mark or...
We also get concrete block seconds meaning blocks that are defective and can't be used for anything else. I get a pallet of blocks at a time in my old pickup. I will form a reef by throwing 4-6 pallets of blocks into the lake. The reef starts at the bank and goes out in the lake as far as I can throw the blocks. Occassionally I will carry blocks out with a boat to extend the reef.
There are many advantages to these concrete reefs. Of course, they attract a lot of bait fish. It is easy to fish along the sides of the reef. Also, we tend to not get snagged on these blocks. And, certainly, they last forever.
Is there any problem with using chain link fencing that could be shaped into a cylinder (tubular) formation, with the open ends facing up and down, and staked into the pond bottom with a metal post? Or how about green vinyl covered chain link fence? Or, that orange or green plastic snow fencing? Would chicken wire also do the job, or would the algae and other plants clog up the spaces too quickly? I know Bill Cody suggested the smaller the holes in the material the better. I just might be checking out a few barns and some other places for these materials and was thinking of using them if available. I would think the minnows and fry could go in and out of these materials for needed protection, while also developing a place for bass to hang out to cast a line towards. Thoughts? Cons?
I would still like to hear from anyone on whether my ideas up above sound good or if they have some flaws. I enjoy and appreciate PB member opinions.
Check wooded areas near old barns for rolls of wire fence. You may try asking around old farms for rolles, they tend to accumulate with time.
The only problem I would see with Chain link is that it would collect fishing lures! I'm not sure how long the metal would last, but it would probably be good for a few years at least. I like the snow fence idea, the longer, flatter slats might allow lures to de-snag better.
Question on the brushpiles that are suggested for cover. I have some hardwood tops down in my woods, of which I limbed quite a few of them. They have no leaves on them. I was going to tie a rope around a bunch of limbs that are about 8 to 9 feet long, and position piles along the bank of my pond to extend out into the water. Is this the right way to do this with brushpiles, or should I take them out to deeper water and sink the? I want cover for my golden shiners when I stock them as well as fish fry. Just hope I'm not adding a lot of troublesome organics. I also plan on making wire fence "pilings" and placing them upright in various places to allow the small fish to go in and out of them. Are there any depth suggestions or nearness to shore requirements? Thanks for your advice
Current placement of brushpiles is best for small fish cover / hiding places. For the vertical fence cylinders, I think clustering them together in large groups will be the best arrangement. Placed individually willnot provide much of a refuge area. Depth for fence columns should be just so tops are under water no more than 12"-18"; shallower is better. Sounds like you are making lure "grabbers". However I think "no fishing" areas are very beneficial in ponds.
Thank you very much, Bill, for responding. So far I have laid down five brush piles in various places along the banks of my pond and hope to get all sides of the pond done this month (it has six sides since it is L-shaped like a boot). They look like a bunch of limbs that have naturally fallen into the water extending out about 8 to 9 feet. I agree with you that they should be good places for my shiners and fry to hide. I will be making my wire mesh fence pilings in my garage this week and hope to get them into the pond, soon for added small fish refuge. I will follow your advice on the clsuter approach. Yes, they will be lure grabbers, but at least I know where they will be at and so will my invited guests. The uninvited may end up donating their lures to me. Seriously, though, I do want to have some areas for fish development as you mentioned and hope they will work. A $50.00 experiment
Thanks again!!
Could anyone post some ideas not to try from experience so newbies like myself don't make mistakes.
The very best structure we can have in our lakes in that which can be carved into the bottom of our lakes. Mike Otto has shown some excellent ideas in his articles. Having a backhoe making a series of ridges and channels or flats and basins really provide the best structure.
Stay away from fresh oak. Too much tannin. Also, if your water level varies, expect natural materials to rot from exposure to air.
I have been working over a 20 acre pond after the drought of 99. The dam was leaking and had 90 years of mesquite growth. Using a skidloader with tree shear and grapple attachments was able to make several long brush piles from the deep part of the channel up to normal level. Bait fish and bass hang in these as the water level fluctuates through the year. For the most part these piles have stayed together, the drift will collect on the down wind side at the high water mark. Last week I caught a 4.6 lb bass that was stocked 20 months ago.
Back when I was gathering up rubble for my pond I used to have in PA (described here,
http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=20;t=003610) I got a lot of it delivered right to the side of my pond for free.
Here is what I did, when ever I saw a project going on near my place I would stop and talk to the foreman. Most were quick to say, sure take what you want but I actually as I said often got it delivered for free. How you ask? The art of the deal my friends. Goes like this.
Me - So if I don't take this stuff where are you halling it to?
Foreman - County Landfill or County Dump, etc.
Me - really how far is that?
Foreman - About 18 miles
Me - My place is only 5, 6, 7 whatever miles away. Wouldn't it cost you less to drop it at my place?
That is so often all it takes if you show a person how doing something for you is better for them often they will do it. A few looked at me like I was crazy but talking 4 people into delivering several tons of concrete, stone and cinderblocks was a lot less work then talking to a few more and doing all the halling myself.
One more suggestion don't drive a truck when you try to cut these deals if they see a car your success goes up. Some would call this being shifty I just consider it being smart. Honestly if a guy can hall less distance it saves him money, he wins and you do to. Nothing shifty about that at all,
Here's a new idea for pond structure:
Sue :
Is that an airplane in the bottom of that pond ? If so it would be easy to put there but hard to survive. The gas and oil might be a problem.
They make great Golden Shriner structure!
The pond belongs to a customer of mine who is in the aviation business in Texas. It is a lot of fun for his kids to dive and explore the jet. He put it in place when he constructed the pond.