Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Tires for stucture: your vote?

Pallets work great. It can be a lot of work. Personally, I enjoy creating the structure. We weighted ours down with concrete blocks, which created even more structure. They will be easier to handle if you tie them together on both sides.
I have had a pallet slip out from underneath other pallets fly up and almost take my head off.

I use pallets also. They are also very good for suppressing weed growth from the bottom while providing shelter for crayfish and such. I also sink them with rocks and put a lot more rocks on them. Usually, I'll lash 6 together in a 2x3 matrix and tow/float them out to where I want to place them.

I actually had several that I set out to float which were anchored to individual bricks w/ rope to keep them in place. They've since sunk, but while they were there, a lot of bigger fish hung around them. Turtles also sunbathed on them. I never saw the herons on them, but that would bother me after what I've heard about herons spiking bigger fish.

I'm now stockpiling empty plastic water bottles (8-10oz size) to attach to more pallets that I'll put out so they stay afloat.

I'm also planning a simple structure of two pallets joined so they form a "V" and then putting a X-mas tree under it, with bricks in the outermost edges of the pallets to sink 'em. Sort of like a pallet pup tent.

Out.

Personally I like for my structure to be anchored. However,you can further enhance your floating pallets by using laundry baskets. Put your bottles in the basket and add hair curlers to the mix. Attach the basket to the underside of pallets so that the bottles and curlers can't escape. The curlers will serve the same purpose as bio balls, except they are much cheaper. They are great for growing biocultures and minnows and other small fish love them. Most laundry baskets will allow them to swim in and out freely.

Is this site living proof or what that most of us men simply refuse to grow up? I'm 47 going on 15! I can't imagine why my wife does'nt understand me.

Thanks for all the input on palets as structure. Since we are frozen solid up here now I may use the ice as opportunity to place structure and then have it sink as the ice melts in the spring.

Mr Tuzz Do not even think of putting pallets in that pond use natural structure. I have many reasons for not using pallets from exp.

Wood D. Chuck

Scott would you elaborate on the reasons for not using wooden pallets

Hello Don
Wooden pallets is a tough subject to disscuss on this board with out the permission of Mr.Bob Lusk. I have had some exp over the years I sent Bob a private e mail a couple of months ago and he has not read it yet.

Pottsy:

I'm looking at making a triangle type structure with one tire sitting flat on the bottom weighted and two on each side secured together at the top. I just need a few along end side of my 60' dock out to the island. Last winter I used three wood pallets the same way and weighted down with concrete blocks secured on the horizontal pallet lying on the bottom. The tight slats were good for attracting the perch and bluegill. I just thought if using tires the opening would be bigger and therefore attract the predator fish? A niche area for my LMB and SMB. Therefore, just toss out a line from the dock and catch a few big ones.

Rowly

Scott, I'm gonna need to hear your comments on the pallets for structure thing. If you'd rather not post them here, could you email them to me at:

zuludawn4u@aol.com

Thanks.
Sunil

Another possible thing to do with wooden pallets is useful if you have threadfin shad or other similar forage. Threadfins lay their eggs on flat surfaces, so take a pallet, put a half cinder block under all four corners, and dump it somewhere fairly shallow. This provides four surfaces (bottom and top of each set of slats) for the little fellers to lay eggs on because the cinder blocks keep the bottom of the pallet off the bottom of the lake, effectively doubling its effectiveness.

We have lots of pallets in our ponds. We love them because the forage loves them and we catch a lot of fish around them. If there is something we don't know that we should about pallets we would like to know what it is. We are planning on building even more structure using pallets. We have had pallets in our ponds for years.