Here is what I am planning on putting in the very bottome of the lake. Five of these three bucket trees spaced out. They are ten feet tall when standing straight up. Is the tree idea viable?
We tied that first batch together at the top and couldn't pull it over! Maybe hard to tell but the triangular base is about ten foot. Pretty wide. Is it enough structure to benefit bass in deep water?
I think the bottoms will stick in the clay. That is 80lbs of sacrete in each one! Could make sure by tying the buckets together. Yea I might add some real brush to the whole deal to get it thicker.
Yes, I have sunk natural cover in my pond in straight lines out from the bank so that as the water level changes the fish can move along with it. They are flagged so that I have easy "casting lanes" between them.
My plan is for these five "pods" to be my deep water structure. I am placing them in the deepest portion of the lake-15'-18' of water. I've got 13 seperate large brush piles already located on drop offs and ledges and have three, 2-culvert pods added as well. Need to add rock piles and pea gravel as well. I have been desperately wanting to have a tropical storm come in to give is some rain but now one is a distinct possibility and I didn't get the brush piles anchored into the lake-ugh. My luck we will have a twelve inch rain and they will all float to one end of the lake! By the way since I have been advised to not puncture the clay liner of the lake my plan is to use three or four bags of sacrete wired to the brush piles to hold them in place. Will that work?
If you are planning on using them as deep cover for fish, will there be O2 down that deep during the time of year you think the fish will be using them?
Well I "think" so. The max depth is 18' but vast majority of the deep stuff is 15'. The tops of these "pods" should be about 9.5' which is 5.5' below the surface. The first branches start at 4.5'. It does get VERY hot. I am guessing that an aeration system would be recommended? Had hoped to not have to use one.
If the pond has water in it now, go check temp in 1' to 2' increments in the deepest part. If you see a 5°F temp drop in a couple of feet, that's where the thermocline is at. Water below it will normally not have enough O2 for a fish. Maybe right below it will, but the lower in the thermocline you go, the less O2 there is.