Crappie bushes?

[Iglow]

What's y'all's most productive crappie bushes u put out? I'm gonna make some loops of cardboard about the size of 1/3 bottom of 5 gal bucket and pour concrete in it to put some slats or some plastic stuff I've got.
What kind of places you've put them out do best in winter?

 

[chimneyman]

Edge of creek channels especially on inside of a bend that has a flat bottom 15-25 ft deep

 

[redblood]

I have made all kinds. The porcupine kits work great but become expensive. I saw a youtube show that have me a great idea. Guy just carried 3 concrete blocks with him everytime he fished. He also carried a cordless saw zall with a long wood blade, and a roll of thin wire. He would drive his boat under low hanging limbs and cut a few 4 to 5 ft limbs and wire them together and then wire the other end to a block. On the opposite end, he would wire a 2 liter bottle that had the cap on and dump em in. Super easy and on livescope you could clealy see the brush standing upright. Said he has about 50 cents in each one. He gets the broken blocks from construction sites

 

[Harold Money jr]

Someone put 5-6 corrugated pipes in 5 gallon buckets, they looked about 5' tall on my sidescan in about 10' of water. I'd idle by and check on em a few times a day when I got to go. When the "grape shadows" were positioned on the tops of the pipes it was lights out casting grubs to them. They were very good about not hanging my grubs on as well.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

My FIL makes them out of 8' cane sunk in 5 gallon buckets of concrete. Puts them in coves 20-35' deep

 

[RDub]

I used to make crappie condos out of cane anchored in quickrete. Instead of using a plastic bucket I would just dig a bucket sized hole in the ground and put in 10-12 8' pieces of cane and fill with the quickrete.

Just dig them out when the quickrete sets and take them to a good bend in the river or creek.

 

[mike243]

I would do some checking before building stuff, https://www.tva.com/environment/shoreline-construction-permits/section-26a-regulations

 

[WTM]

yeah all you have to do is call TVA and theyll tell you not to block navigation and boat docks at least that was 20 years ago. one thing you dont want to do is cut anything off the bank to use as a brush pile or half cut a tree to make a laydown.

COE requires a permit i think.

 

[rsimms]

What's y'all's most productive crappie bushes u put out? I'm gonna make some loops of cardboard about the size of 1/3 bottom of 5 gal bucket and pour concrete in it to put some slats or some plastic stuff I've got.
What kind of places you've put them out do best in winter?

Check out this article by Steve McCadams, one of the best crappie guides in Tennessee (if not the Southeast): https://crappienow.com/MAG/2023/12/01/build-your-own-ace-in-the-hole-by-steve-mccadams/

 

[redblood]

yeah all you have to do is call TVA and theyll tell you not to block navigation and boat docks at least that was 20 years ago. one thing you dont want to do is cut anything off the bank to use as a brush pile or half cut a tree to make a laydown.

COE requires a permit i think.

I called TVA since i didnt know the rules and they told
Me basically the same thing. Hardest part was getting through phone maze. Some lakes are not TVA lakes so keep that in mind.

 

[WTM]

Edge of creek channels especially on inside of a bend that has a flat bottom 15-25 ft deep

i like the creek channels adjacent to flats too, especially if the flats has mud and gravel.

 

[redblood]

Amazon shipping boxes poured with a few inches of concrete work just fine. Barrels and buckets are not necessary

 

[Sako]

Please whatever you do... weight it down good... I like on Melton Hill and I have already seen Christmas trees floating by that were not weighted down properly....

 

[Iglow]

I emailed to Corps and they gave me the info I gotta get to them to get a permit. Real easy and not complicated at all, simple rules ,no pressure treaded wood, don't cut from banks, don't make a hazard to navigation. I'm gonna go ahead and put out a couple but I'm not gonna put much effort into it. The days of putting out bushes and lining up that tree with that phone pole at 20' depth are over. There are no secrets, it's impossible to hide the hard work of putting them out, another example of technology taken too far and ruining something it was intended to make better. It's the equvilant of planting tomato plants on public land.

 

[WTM]

I emailed to Corps and they gave me the info I gotta get to them to get a permit. Real easy and not complicated at all, simple rules ,no pressure treaded wood, don't cut from banks, don't make a hazard to navigation. I'm gonna go ahead and put out a couple but I'm not gonna put much effort into it. The days of putting out bushes and lining up that tree with that phone pole at 20' depth are over. There are no secrets, it's impossible to hide the hard work of putting them out, another example of technology taken too far and ruining something it was intended to make better. It's the equvilant of planting tomato plants on public land.

do they still make you give them the GPS coordinates of the piles so they can put them on the public map?

 

[Iglow]

do they still make you give them the GPS coordinates of the piles so they can put them on the public map?

They had something about that(GPS) but I'm too unskilled with this stuff to know what to do. If I gotta figure out that and then give them the coordinates.. well screw it then. I'm not gonna fool with that so everybody in creation, all 8 billion people on earth, has easy access to them. Do they put them on a website or something?

 

[WTM]

They had something about that(GPS) but I'm too unskilled with this stuff to know what to do. If I gotta figure out that and then give them the coordinates.. well screw it then. I'm not gonna fool with that so everybody in creation, all 8 billion people on earth, has easy access to them. Do they put them on a website or something?

lol yep, but nothing is secret anymore with side imaging and FFS.

 

[themanpcl]

What's y'all's most productive crappie bushes u put out? I'm gonna make some loops of cardboard about the size of 1/3 bottom of 5 gal bucket and pour concrete in it to put some slats or some plastic stuff I've got.
What kind of places you've put them out do best in winter?

if one were to work with a Christmas tree seller and offer take what they have left after season... GREAT to tie a couple together to a brick o block and drop

 

[WTM]

They had something about that(GPS) but I'm too unskilled with this stuff to know what to do. If I gotta figure out that and then give them the coordinates.. well screw it then. I'm not gonna fool with that so everybody in creation, all 8 billion people on earth, has easy access to them. Do they put them on a website or something?

who says the coordinates has to be accurate.

 

[Iglow]

who says the coordinates has to be accurate.

like I said…I'm unskilled ….

 

[WTM]

just dont do like an old timer did on birdsong a couple years ago. he put out some cedar trees by the bridge which is a pretty good spot. only except they stuck up about 3ft outnof the water at winter pool. those trees were probably 20ft tall.

i will say the youtube star from 3 pound crappie caught a couple of nice blacks out of those trees during a crappie tourney.

 

[redblood]

do they still make you give them the GPS coordinates of the piles so they can put them on the public map?

The sites are posted on the website with coordinates and descriptions

 

[Iglow]

The sites are posted on the website with coordinates and descriptions

Well , I'll forget this project.

 

[hammer33]

If you decide to make these, ask some plumbers for their PEX & PVC cut offs/scraps. Stick them in an amazon box, fill with concrete and you have a great no snag stake bed.

 

[Harold Money jr]

Red

Amazon shipping boxes poured with a few inches of concrete work just fine. Barrels and buckets are not necessary

I'm embarrassed I never thought of this, you don't need the bucket just the form. Dang, great point Redblood.

 

[redblood]

Red

I'm embarrassed I never thought of this, you don't need the bucket just the form. Dang, great point Redblood.

I didnt think of it either…..i watched people donit on youtube….but it works great. Just peel of box after 2 days

 

[Iglow]

I went out there today and even as much of a caveman as me with this garmin, I found 3 in 30 min! I got to thinking we don't know how many bushes are down there cause if I'm putting them out and you are putting them out and Joe is and Sam is and Billy is and none of us knows the others there could be who knows how many! I would guess too many isn't a good thing cause it could scatter fish all over all of them?

 

[JRC1]

I went out there today and even as much of a caveman as me with this garmin, I found 3 in 30 min! I got to thinking we don't know how many bushes are down there cause if I'm putting them out and you are putting them out and Joe is and Sam is and Billy is and none of us knows the others there could be who knows how many! I would guess too many isn't a good thing cause it could scatter fish all over all of them?

I remember listening to a podcast where Chase Petty alluded to the fact that too many man made structures were scattering the fish on Kentucky Lake.

 

[bowtechgump]

I have thought about this for years and know the best and easiest way to get them in place but.....to share I need to know where you place yours......in case I need a new spot

 

[Wooden Arrow]

i've put out wooden skids with pvc pipe/branches/tobacco sticks etc attached, and caught fish on them that afternoon