Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Wooden Pallets

I'm sure this topic has been discussed, but being new to forum, I was wondering if wooden pallets are adivseable for structure. I have a bunch and was planning on using them. Also do they need to be weighted to sink them, if they can be used.

Lots of us use pallets for structure - general purpose or FH spawning in shallow water.

If you just put them in the water, they will of course float. I suppose they might eventually waterlog and sink, but I kept some in for 8-9 months for surface structure one year and it did not happen in that lentgh of time.

For shallow water, I tie a stack of them together, float in place, and put weight (rocks or field tile) on top. For a bigger stack in deep water, I think it would be preferrable to use weight you could affix to the stack so they don't fall off the pallets while being placed.

Here are some previous threads with pics. :

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000130#000003

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000132#000002

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=20;t=002120#000008

Since I have an undetermined number of bass, it was recommend that I not put FH minnows in the pond becaue it would be a waste of money. Should I go ahead with the wooden pallets anyway? Do they benefit other species. Recommendations please and thank you.

Typical pallet spacing should be quite amenative to BG or other forage species. I'd just put them in deeper water for this application than if they were for FH.

If you have a lot of pallets, stacks of them leading from deep to medium shallow (2'-3') might be best (attractive to me if not your fish).

Heybud,
Pallets are great for fathead minnows and golden shiners. AKA Bait fish! I would place stacks of 4-5 in water somewhere between 4-8 ft. I usually will have people cluster them in areas so you are creating some good habitat instead of spacing it throughout your whole pond. If you don't know what your bass are like, well catch some and get back to me what there sizes are. If there are a lot of them at the 8-12" range then start by harvesting them and also stocking bait fish. This way you are reducing your competition for food, but also increasing the availability of food.

BJ,
Just got back from Zephyr Pond. I did a little fishing and caught a bunch of 8 to 12 inch bass. I finally caught one about 3 lbs. I took the 8 to 12 inch bass out. I pulled some old junk out of the pond and a really small CNBG came with it. I don't know if this means they are reproducing or not. I plan to add about 450 CNBG in a few weeks. I have quite a few big CC in the pond that I might need to get out.

I was just talkin about my pond project with one of the guys at work that gets involved with operations (steel service center). He got a laugh outta my quest for junk to create structure. When I mentioned skids/pallets, he said that there will be a mess of 'em available in the near future. I told him I wanted about 10 or 15, but I preferred oak over pine for longevity in the water. Was this an accurate statement? I figger oak being the denser wood will last longer...?

I would certainly think oak would last a lot longer.

Around here, pallets are usually Heinz 57 hardwood - oak, ash, beech, etc. I don't recall ever taking good look at one that was pine.

We have both pine and hardwood ones around here. Most are hardwood and they last longer in our ponds.

The heck with those wooden pallets. I screwed them together, pushed them out into the water, lugged a truck load of big rocks and put on them. They then kind of sank on one side and tilted up on one side dumped all the rocks and floated off in the sunset. I dragged myself out of the pond,went to the nearest shade tree, grabbed a beer and saluted them as if I had launched a ship. I'm gettin' too old for that crap (not the beer drinking).

Now that was funny....same thing has happened to me. There is good news, however. After a few days, they get water logged and sink anyway...usually near shore where the wind has blown them. You can tell the prevailing wind at my ponds by where the pallets are located.

...this is how most Texas weather-men get started.
(good stories)

It's never happened with pallets, but I get a half dozen or so pieces of black plastic field tile floating to the surface each year, out of the dozens of pieces I have used for structure. They keep getting recycled back into the pond, with (hopefully :rolleyes: ) better methods of keeping them submerged.

Brettski, Just three words are required to be a Texas weatherman now days. HOT AND DRY!