Anyone here put out brush piles? I was going to build a few in Conroe this winter while the fishing is slower.

I've got a ton of oak and yaupon limbs and bushes from 3 to 10 feet long I can use. Is it as simple as tying on some weight and sinking them in a big pile deep near a dropoff or channel? I can't decide if it is better to leave all the little limbs and crap on them, or if I should trim them a little (clean them up) before I sink them. I figure if they are too dense, the fish won't settle into them so easily.

I was going to mold some concrete around some coat hangar wire to use as attachment points, then just wire masses of limbs to each weight and dump them in in good places. I guess the key is putting them where you can find them again, and where they will be well placed to attract fish.

I don't want to sink anything plastic if I can avoid it..we have enough garbage on the lake bottoms as it is.

Any design advice? Should I use larger, thicker limbs and brush so they last longer?

Look up Porcupine fish attractors...pretty cool design! Also, I saw a guy use a Pallet (sp?) that forklifts use. He took all the boards off of the top and re-secured them to look like a bunch of spikes. He weighted it down with cinder blocks. sent several to the bottom of Toledo Bend. The key is using enough weight to sink them to the bottom. Most guys I know use willow branches for some reason....I really don't know why they do that..I am sure there is a reason! Once your done, would you mind posting the GPS location of your brush piles....PLEASE??? Just kidding! Do you fish Conroe much? I am looking to start fishing that area this year!

For some reason I'm thinking that it's illegal to do that in public water but I could be wrong. I'd check on that if I were you.

Should have saved your X-Mas tree for this. They make perfect cover.

Yep, after a year of about every other weekend, I'm starting to learn it a little. I fish for about anything but largemouths, though I enjoy catching those, too. I want something for the table more often than not, and though bass eat just fine, I can't bring myself to keep them anymore with all the people that fish them catch and release. I figure brushpiles in 20-30 feet of water will increase my odds of finding crappie and schooling white bass, and maybe even some stripers.

If brushpiles are illegal in Texas I'd be surprised. I've never heard of anyone getting "busted" for placing them. You can't just throw garbage in the lake, but biodegradables like limbs, or inert objects like concrete blocks are fair game.

Xmas tree = pine tree. I can get those, too.

Small cedar trees work good too.

quote:

---

If brushpiles are illegal in Texas I'd be surprised.

---

Me too - that's why I'm thinking it might be. We put some in Somerville years ago (used cinder blocks to weight them down), then I thought I remembered hearing some time later that it was illegal to do that. Since it sounds ridiculous, I figure there's a reasonable chance that it's true. But if you're comfortable that it's not, have at it.

[This message has been edited by Ag83 (edited 1/14/2008 4:35p).]

They built a lake near my house and in a few places they took cinder blocks and stuffed them with as many pieces of 3-4 foot pvc hose as they could fit and then cemented them in. The things looked kinda like an octopus but seemed like a interesting idea for making cover. I think it was tpwd that put them in.

This what we have done in the past....

After Christmas gather up as many trees as you can, or want. Fill a bucket(anything 1-3 gallons will work.) with concrete and put a long eye bolt in the wet concrete. use trotline string to securely tie a tree or two to the bucket and sink the dude.

please post GPS coordinates

Have a buddy on Dauphin Island, AL whose dad and buddies bought an old rusty barge, a broken down school bus and about $1000 worth of 1/2" PVC pipe and fittings back in the day. Put the bus on the bage, knocked out all the windows in the bus and made a maze out of pvc sticks coming out of all windows......under the cover of darkness, they towed the barge out and sunk it in the gulf off Perdido Key in FL and have fished it ever since.......May be overkill on Conroe but who knows!

quote:

---

Litter Abatement Act
Revised Civil Statutes, Art. 4477-9a.

2.01 Disposing of Solid Waste.
(a) A person commits an offense if that person disposes of trash, junk, garbage, refuse, unsightly matter, or other solid waste on a public highway, right-of-way, other public or private property, or into inland or coastal waters of Texas without written consent of the owner, the owner's agent, or the public official in charge of the property or water.
(b) A person who commits an offense under this section is, on conviction, subject to a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $400.

---

I guess the questions is whether or not tree limbs or pallets would be considered "soild waste?" I imagine it is illegal.

considering the TPWD has references to bruchpiles all over the place in its fishing reports and other places, I'm sure at worst it is a wink and nod type thing...so long as you aren't throwing garbage in the water.

FYI:

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/1881262#Post1881262

i guess it depends where you are.

I would think leave all the small stuff on it as if it fell in naturally. Cover is good for large fish but also for tiny bait fish to hide from the larger fish. If the limbs aren't tight enough the bait fish won't be able to hide in them, i.e. the larger fish won't hang around and be feeding.