Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Christmas Tree location

Breaking that 10lb barrier is easy. When you hold up that 8 pounder for the photos, extend you arms as far as you can towards the camera. All the advertisements do it. 8 is now 10!

It's a great start, and Sparkie, I did WAG it and couldn't believe the numbers so I ran 'em. (Holy #(*^, that can't be right!!! Yep, it is!)

You get more bang the buck so to speak for placing them near spawning habitat, but if the fish migrate to deep water during the coldest part of the winter, what do the forage fish have to hide in? Making highways from shallow to deep cover also helps concentrate the fish along those routes, making them easier to target.

The other thing that you are fighting is the decomposition of the trees over time. If you can source other things that don't decompose as fast, that will allow your yearly structure placements to last longer.

Seeing the WR turn around on the smaller fish means that what you are doing is working. After a year or two of doing the same thing, (small openings between the branches) you'll have to start working on placing cover that larger and larger fish will utilize. The larger LMB are not gaining WR because the food for them isn't of the correct size yet, and in sufficient quantity. As the little YOY fish survive year 1, 2 and 3, they will become better food for the larger LMB.

Don't discount the presence of aquatic vegetation - it will help fill in some of the open water areas and provide refuge for your BG to escape, graze, and grow.

Bingo!

And, quite possibly, it will happen whether you like it or not.

Picked up 20 trees today for a 1.5 acre pond. I don't have a lot of other structure in the pond yet.. Do you think the 20 trees is good or should I get more? If more, how many more?

I am not an expert but I am a fan of diversity. IMHO lots of different critters in a pond and not all want the same habitat. You can add more trees later if you think you are light. Have fun with it. For me, putting structure in is a lot of fun. You can really get creative! Cool plants, rock piles, homemade.....

I like a lot of structure spred out in lots of areas to give fish Dif. Areas to stay in . This gives the YOY a chance to grow up a Little and not be concentrated in just one area. Like Bill said get creative with it then fish it in the spring and see which areas the fish like then u can create more like that in different areas. I tie floats to it so I can fish the spots


Pat W

Thinking about it, I guess I have more diversity than I realized (4ft brick pile, 3 foot tire pyramid, 1 plastic barrel with hoses and soon to be Christmas trees)

I know there's the 20-25% structure rule but honestly is so hard to say yeah that's about 20% or not, you know?

From what I have learned here, the giant unknown is the vegetation. It can pick its own percentage and you need to constantly monitor it.

Haha, William, Congratulations! the posters on your thread quite literally wrote the book on such matters.

My personal experience is that I hate getting hung up on the trees and losing my tackle. I put all the trees in nearly the same location. As the fingerlings get older and bolder they sneak out and get eaten.

The trees that remain submerged completely have a really long useful lifespan.

So, if the forage fish can have a sanctuary to breed and grow they will become a sustainable resource for the entire lake.

And ultimately that is all our goal. I think...hahaha

Good luck!

One additional thought is that tannic acid from trees kills aquatic life...so, slow and steady is the course.

5-10 trees per year seems adequate to me.

but, to each his own.

DL

Thanks for all the suggestions.

We've done some PVC structure in the areas that kids bank fish from so they don't get hung up. We are planning more for this year. While the PVC won't rot, it does get pricey and time consuming when you look at large quantities.

The beauty of the trees for us is that we can send an email out to the whole neighborhood, and they will bring us about 150 trees, and drop the off at our community dock.

I'm exited to get them sunk, and see how things progress.

The amount of knowledge, and experience available here is incredible.

I'll post pictures of the sinking party, and see if I can get some good sonar pictures of the trees.

You can make PVC trees from 3" thinwall ag drain pipe, and use 1/2" to 1" rolled poly tubing for the branches. If you search, you should be able to find the poly tubing for $0.10/foot or so.