# Building your own brush piles??



## Arrow3 (Jun 24, 2005)

What do ya'll like??  Im gonna be working on mine in the next couple of weeks getting ready for late summer/early fall tournaments...Having your own brush piles realy improves your catch...Especially if your the only one that knows its there....Do you do anything special when you sink your trees?? I know alot of ppl like to sink them where they will stand up...I usually tie my blocks in the middle of the tree..I used to sink cedars but I have found that the bass in Russell prefer hardwood trees or pine...I plan on making some new places to fish plus freshing some of my older ones....Im gonna get me a GPS to mark my spots....

That is if I get some time off during the week of the 4th.....


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## elmerpud (Jun 24, 2005)

Use oak pallets instead of trees.  The pallets will last for years.  We make Trangles out of them, sink several together.


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## gaboy219 (Jun 24, 2005)

you can also use bamboo. makes a pretty good brushpile by putting 10-12 stalks in a 5 gallon bucket and putting concrete in the bucket.


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## SmittyCrappieMan (Jun 25, 2005)

elmerpud said:
			
		

> Use oak pallets instead of trees.  The pallets will last for years.  We make Trangles out of them, sink several together.



I caught a few small crappie under your boathouse dock monday.


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## little rascal (Jun 25, 2005)

*I used to*

make trees out of cheap 1/2"PVC  and a small flowerpot pored w/concrete. Didn't get hung on them very much either.


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## Beagler (Jun 25, 2005)

little rascal said:
			
		

> make trees out of cheap 1/2"PVC  and a small flowerpot pored w/concrete. Didn't get hung on them very much either.



Good idea. I have a pile of thin wall PVC that we tore out of a chicken house. It's been piled up up for yrs. Just waiten for a project. Thanks Rascal.  
Now I know what I'm goin do with it.  

Beagler


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## Arrow3 (Jun 25, 2005)

What's the law about getting trees from the shoreline on a Corps lake??


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## Beagler (Jun 25, 2005)

Arrow3 said:
			
		

> What's the law about getting trees from the shoreline on a Corps lake??



I can't say for sure. But I beleive the property around russel is private owned. However the corps have a easement. I have heard it's 100 yds.
 So it may be trespassing. Be interesting to know for sure though.

Beagler


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## Arrow3 (Jun 25, 2005)

Beagler said:
			
		

> I can't say for sure. But I beleive the property around russel is private owned. However the corps have a easement. I have heard it's 100 yds.
> So it may be trespassing. Be interesting to know for sure though.
> 
> Beagler




The land around Russell is owned by the Corps of Engineers....


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## elmerpud (Jun 25, 2005)

SmittyCrappieMan said:
			
		

> I caught a few small crappie under your boathouse dock monday.




I wondered why I wasn’t been catching many fish lately.  You’ve been there and caught them all.  
Have you caught any stripper lately and have they moved to the dam?  Hope to be down the week of the 4th.


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## gabowman (Jun 25, 2005)

It's illegal to to cut trees from the banks around the lake. Atleast that is what I've always heard.


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## SmittyCrappieMan (Jun 26, 2005)

elmerpud said:
			
		

> I wondered why I wasn’t been catching many fish lately.  You’ve been there and caught them all.
> Have you caught any stripper lately and have they moved to the dam?  Hope to be down the week of the 4th.



lol I only tried it once.. The stripers have hit the deep water humps. Try the humps across from Chambley or the humps just past the power lines on the way out of the creek. I watched a few striper boats land some in those areas. The dam is always hot when the water is moving. The whites are schooling around the island near the long bridge.


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## Arrow3 (Jun 26, 2005)

elmerpud said:
			
		

> Use oak pallets instead of trees.  The pallets will last for years.  We make Trangles out of them, sink several together.



Are they heavy enough to sink on their own or do you tie concrete blocks to it??


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## elmerpud (Jun 26, 2005)

Arrow3 said:
			
		

> Are they heavy enough to sink on their own or do you tie concrete blocks to it??




You have to tie a couple maybe up to three blocks on one of the pallets to sink it.  Tie the block to the bottom pallet and a rope to the top of the trangle and lower it to the bottom.  If you have the money chicken coops/transporters work great, use to be able to get them at Tip-Top in Marietta.


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## AAADawg (Jun 26, 2005)

I have found that there are so many brush piles on Lake Russell that he best thing to do is remove some...fish seem to be attracted to any type of change in structure and since the bottom of lake russell is covered with man made brush piles a bare spot would be a nice change!!!!


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## Arrow3 (Jun 26, 2005)

AAADawg said:
			
		

> I have found that there are so many brush piles on Lake Russell that he best thing to do is remove some...fish seem to be attracted to any type of change in structure and since the bottom of lake russell is covered with man made brush piles a bare spot would be a nice change!!!!




I happen to like my brush piles...They produce a lot of fish for me....I'm planning on making a good many more over the next few months....


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## Beagler (Jun 26, 2005)

I have a pile of metal shutters  piled up. THere about 3 by 4 ft. You all have any idea's how I can use them to make  a fishing spot. I have a welder so if nesseary I can weld several together .

Beagler


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## SmittyCrappieMan (Jun 26, 2005)

I have dropped a dozen of these bamboo condos in Halawaka and making more to go out into the main lake. I was sitting over one when I ran into you elmer. I love these things. I've caught crappie, LM bass, spotted bass,Hybrids, catfish and yellow perch over them so they attract all kinds.Stake beds and these condos are all I will ever use from now on.
Jerry Blake, Arkansas fishing guide wrrote this article.
http://www.crappie.com/condo/ 
We’re using freshly cut bamboo that is about 12 to 15-feet tall or only the top 12 to 15-feet of taller bamboo but you could use other lengths to make the condos the height you want. The bushier the better and we leave the branches and leaves on. We don’t use any bamboo larger than about 1¼-inch in diameter at the butt end because larger ones take up too much room in the bucket and are too buoyant. 

We cut the bamboo with a chain saw a couple inches below a “knuckle” (to secure them in the concrete) and carry it to the lake in the boat by placing the butt ends towards the front and packing the tops down in the back and securing them in the boat with a couple ropes. 

I can carry enough bamboo for three condos and still get in to motor to our building spot. It is much easier to transport the parts than the completed condos so if possible you want a building area close to where you are going to sink them.

We put about a dozen stalks in a 5-gallon plastic bucket with 60-pounds of Quickcrete. We start with about 3-inches of water in the bottom of the bucket and stir in about 1/3 of the QuickCrete before adding the other 2/3. We make the Quickcrete a little soupy and make sure it’s stirred up all the way to the bottom of the bucket so we can get the bamboo down all the way down. 

The biggest problem we’ve had is keeping the condos standing up until the QuickCrete sets, especially if there is any wind. To stabilize them we have four 3-foot pieces of 3/8-inch rebar driven in the ground around the buckets to just below the rim with a rope tied around the bucket AND to each rebar so they can’t spread. 



We have these setup near some big trees for additional support and we start with two stout bamboo stalks placed in the bucket at an angle so the butt is at the bottom edge of the bucket and against the rim on the opposite side. We put one on each side of our support tree and secure them to the tree with a bungee cord about 6-feet off the ground, which is about halfway up the stalk. 







We then add more of the bigger stalks at an angle like the first ones around the bucket and then put the rest at different angles with a few of the shorter ones standing straight up. 












Since we’ve been doing it this way we haven’t had any problem with them tipping over. On land they are quite top heavy but in the water the bamboo is buoyant so it keeps the condos standing straight up. I don’t know how long the bamboo will remain buoyant but some bamboo condos put in Lake Greeson almost 2-years ago on a steep bank are still standing straight up and still holding crappie. I suspect that by the time the bamboo gets waterlogged the bucket has pretty well settled into the muck on the bottom.


We let the concrete set over night – longer in cool weather - before sinking the condos. When we are ready to sink them we remove the bungee from the support tree and lift the buckets out of the rebar and leave the rebar in the ground for the next batch.

If you are taking the materials to a building area by boat it is easiest and less messy to handle the QuickCrete by putting it in the buckets first. It only takes little bit of moisture and the QuickCrete bags come apart, which makes a big mess in the boat. 

Of course you’ll need an extra bucket or two to get started – it’s real hard to get the QuickCrete stirred all the way to the bottom if it is in the bucket when you add the water. For stirring up the QuickCrete we use a small garden rake with a long handle – works real well and takes less than a minute.

We put the condos in the boat so the bucket is in the bottom and they lean out over the sides or back because it’s real hard to keep them standing up while motoring, even going slowly. I can carry three condos at a time in my 21-foot boat – two in front and one in back. 

Once over the drop zone we just lift the bucket over the side and drop it. Don’t have to worry about dropping them straight because they go down like a parachute with the bucket at the bottom. 

This is what they look like on a graph -

                                 Coming over:






                                 Over:






                                 Going off:







We're placing the condos in 20 to 35-feet of water so we can fish them year around. On points we are dropping them in a row at different depths down the ridge of the point. On sloping banks we are putting them in sort of a triangle at different depths and far enough apart so we can make the rounds fishing each of them without disturbing fish on the other ones. 

We've caught fish on our bamboo condos in less than a week and they don't seem to go through the "souring" stage like hardwoods with leaves on them do. We are also planning to place some in the deepest part of the channel in the mouths of coves and at different depths going into the coves.

Even after the leaves fall off the branches provide a lot of cover. 




They are easier to get a jig un-hung from than wood too.

Once set up it only takes a couple hours to cut, haul and build three condos and just a few minutes to drop them if you don’t have to motor very far.

This type of crappie condo has been very productive for catching fish and it also provides cover for small crappie to hide in and grow.


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## bukhuntr (Jun 27, 2005)

Anyone know where I can get a bunch of bamboo?


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## Lawnmowerman (Jun 28, 2005)

*bamboo*



			
				bukhuntr said:
			
		

> Anyone know where I can get a bunch of bamboo?


Do you have any access to a River?    It's everywhere along the banks, well, here 'round mid-Ga. anyhow. Just be on the lookout for No Trespassing signs,,


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## SmittyCrappieMan (Jul 3, 2005)

It is easier to have your supply on or near the river. Transporting these huge things on the highway is loads of fun. I put 3 on the boat and I look like a moving island. I drop during the winter or at night in the summer. It is best to find an out of the way place on the river to do the work.


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