Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Natural vs synthetic cover

I would like to build some cover in my pond that would attract crappie but would not be a pain in the rear getting hung up all the time. Have any of you placed the pvc or similar types of cover and been able to attract crappie to it? I have been told that wood is the best cover but I am getting tired of getting hung up all of the time. I would just love to catch crappie without the hassle of rerigging every five minutes.

james, i've placed old tires, pvc 'trees' of various sizes, and bundles of cedar trees. all have worked for crappie, but the cedars really seem to work the best.

Yep James we sell both porcupine and honey hole. I feel the number one reason this is better is hangups. I think cedar holds fish just as good but will only last certain amount of time and for sure is difficult to fish around.

I am no expert on artificial fish attractors, but perhaps the reason why cedar works so well is the thickness of it? If you could build an artificial fish attractor using different size PVC pipes, different sizes down to pipes that are as small as pencils in diameter. Angle them so that it would be difficult to snag up on? I think the big difference between most artificial fist attractors as opposed to cedar trees is the thickness, so by using many small PVC pipes, you can create that thickness crappies would like but the PVC would lead to less snags...

I agree with you cj I just am not the diy type and like the easy setup on the ones we sell. Yes the more dense the better for the crappie.

I think if you took several of the prefabbed porcupine attractors and sunk them very close together, you could get a similar affect.

Maybe something like this would work with the smaller flexible tubing.
This was posted by jakeb back in january.

Nothing works for me. I could get snagged on duckweed.

lol dave

Me too Dave!

I'm using some cedar in one of mine. It has lasted for many years. One of the tricks is to sink it and lay it on its side. When you cast, throw towards the stump part. That way you are coming with the branches instead of against them. That will work better, maybe. I believe I could hang up and lose a Roadrunner in a dry bathtub.

On bass, I've started using a spinning reel with 8 lb line, a Texas rigged worm and no weight. It makes a softer presentation and doesn't get hung up.

Yep that is a more dense cover, nice work. Good idea Dave that will for sure help. Dave hey I say the "good" fisherman gets hungup more; if your not getting snagged every once in awhile your not fishing tight enough to cover I say.

Greg, by that definition, I ought to go on tour.

While fishing, I get snagged on oaks, pines, cedars, logs, bushes, all sorts of stuff. And that's just what is outside of the pond. Don't get me started on the stuff I've hooked, besides fish, inside the pond's borders.

I recently went with someone that had an old sparkplug he had put a clip swivel on just by closing the gap on the plug around the circle part of the swivel. He could then clip on the line when it got hung up and unsnag the line by jigging it up and down. It may work better from a boat when you can get right on top of where you are snagged but it worked most of the time.

James, why do I get the feeling that you posted that just to see if you could get photos of me fishing with a spark plug?

Signed,

Hoping to Hook a Hemi.

I will try to get a picture of one that I am planning on making.

Studies consistently show natural cover/structure works better than artificial for fish use and congregation. Come to the PB III Conv and I will tell you more including how to place cover.

Okay - I'm really looking forward to the cover - habitat- strucure presentation at the convention. It should be a good informative presentation.

Eric I will be there!

question for whomever can weigh in. I have a bunch of 4x4 pressure treated left over from a project. Any problem of using it to build structure in my pond?

Anything harmful in the pressure treated that would hurt the fish?

If it is old stock it contained significant amounts of Arsenic. Most childrens play areas had high levels that leached out into the surrounding mulch when some public playgrounds were tested. I don't know about the new PT lumber but it quickly corrodes zinc plated screws.

I think that you are more likely to get hit by lightning while typing on this forum than to suffer ill efects from the old pressure treated lumber (unless you are a beaver who likes to eat the stuff). You need to eat a lot of arsenic to hurt you, and small amounts eaten over time actually make you mor tolerant of the stuff. The new treated lumber eats up fasteners and will probably cause more personal harm from structures failing. The EPA in action...