I have the chance to get several old concrete man-hole or meter tubes. They are about 3' long and 1.5' diameter. I think I'll have to put them in 9-10 feet of water so that they don't grow over with weeds.
My question is should I lay them on their sides so that they act as horizontal caves, or should I try to stand them up. I think if I lay them over I'll run them parallel to the bank so that jigs and lures will slide over them instead of hanging up on the lips. If I stand them up they could make for some nice vertical jigging spots. Target species will be large mouth bass or crappie.
There are catfish but they aren't a concern for me as I can catch all the catfish I want on the creek. I want big bass. If I can put these in in a way that either helps bass get bigger, or attracts the biggest bass in the lake to them then I'll be happy.
No need to put them all in the same orientation. You could put some vertical for Crappie cover, and some horizontal for catfish. Push the horizontal tubes into the bank to close off one end. They won't snag because they're concrete and won't hold a hook, IMO. Place the vertical tubes onto a solid plastic barrier (garbage can lid) to prevent them sinking into the bottom mud. If there is any swimming in the pond, be sure they're out of the swimming lane, or put them deeper than 5' so swimmers don't kick them.
"Live your life so that when you sing your death song, you will die like a hero who is going home with no shame to meet the Creator and your family." - Tecumseh; April 9, 1809
No need to put them all in the same orientation. You could put some vertical for Crappie cover, and some horizontal for catfish. Push the horizontal tubes into the bank to close off one end. They won't snag because they're concrete and won't hold a hook, IMO. Place the vertical tubes onto a solid plastic barrier (garbage can lid) to prevent them sinking into the bottom mud. If there is any swimming in the pond, be sure they're out of the swimming lane, or put them deeper than 5' so swimmers don't kick them.
Interesting that I had it in my head to do them all the same. Mixing it up is always a good idea! I guess I was just looking for "best" from experienced people. We do swim in the pond a lot but there is a section that I tell people to stay out of due to the habitat we've sunk. These things will go strictly into the no swim zone.
I put several dump truck loads of old pvc pipe that I got from a pipe supply place from 6 to 12" c900 waterline, heavy wall pipe, I cut it with a chain saw into 4 ft chunks and just dumped it into the edge of the pond, I didnt have it in time to place it before the pond got full. the fish seam to love it, I catch fish in that area quite a bit. this is in anywhere from 3ft of water to 10 ft I would guess.
All the really good ideas I've ever had came to me while I was milking a cow.
Grabbed some of the concrete today. Next question is how the hell do I get it on a boat and placed? The tubes aren't light... but are awkward as hell.
Rope through the tube with a barrel on each end to float them?
I think you can find an approximate weight for the concrete tubes on the net, as well as the buoyancy provided by each drum. The weight of the concrete in water, should be reduced by about 36% due to their displacement.
Other option: Draw down your pond when you see a good rain coming and plant them using a tractor, skidsteer, etc.
Third option: Put a chain through the tube and tie a rope on each end of the chain. Could you roll the horizontal ones in place down the slope of your shoreline using 2-3 guys for muscle?
This is going to be tough and potentially dangerous.
A jon boat may not be stable enough.
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
If you could get them onto the pontoon boat, you could maybe roll them off, but then you'd be hoping for the best on placement and orientation.
Do some of those go 100 lbs or more?
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
I've done lots of stupid things.....so I'm not sure how much help I can lend here.
I'm certain I would end up under one of those pipes at the bottom of the pond.
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
The full pipe sections could be rolled into 2 to 3 foot of water. I'd put a rope through them first (not tied, just through the pipe) to use as a method of control so they don't roll deeper than you want. All the while have a buddy holding onto the two ends of the rope. Then, approach it with the pontoon and see how easy it is to lift off the bottom. 100 to 150 pound should not be to bad to lift up a few inches and tie it off to the boat....back the boat out to where you want to place it, lower it down, then let loose of one end of the rope and pull up on the other.
Horizontal versus vertical placement might be difficult, but I'd go for the hole being horizontal (pipe laying on it's side) and if a few ended up vertical...so be it.
Consider leaving the rope on the first one placed with a milk jug tied to it so you know where it is for bunching more around it if bunching is your plan. Remove the jug once done...or tie a cheap duck decoy to it so you know where there are.
I would hesitate doing this with my 12 foot boat (hesitate...lol), but a mini-pontoon and a buddy for driving the boat and ballast weight would work well I'd think (given the pipes don't weigh too much).
FWIW I have found that milk jugs have a half-life as a float of around 6 months, before breaking up into multiple pieces that distribute themselves around the pond.
2-liter bottles emptied of Diet Mountain Dew have lasted two years and still counting.
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
Quarter Acre and Fishinrod win the most logical and safe methods (ie - boring) introduced so far. They may have ruined any chance that a video would be worthwhile.
If I were to mark them it would be with boat buoys. I don't want trash floating around.
You could try to incorporate some explosive propulsion methods maybe??
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
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