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Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
#12575426
01/12/18 05:08 PM
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,097
SLABXPRESS
OP
Extreme Angler
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OP
Extreme Angler
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,097 |
I see a lot of posts this time of year about dropping brush and other forms of cover for crappie. Let me add two main points I feel are important, and that seem to get lost in these discussions: 1) Your main goal is NOT just to create cover for the crappie. Your main goal should be to create structure that will draw and hold BAIT! If you sink something that will draw bait, you will catch fish off of it...period. Does sinking something that creates shade and cover for the larger predatory fish help? Absolutely! That's just not the only, or even the main, reason. The best brush piles, in my experience, are ones that create shade but also have many areas for bait to hide as well. One of the reason many people have early success with bamboo and willow is the fact that they both create a lot of moss and growth in a short amount of time and have many small limbs for bait to gather around. That starts the food chain quickly and before you know it the larger predatory fish like bass and crappie are on it to feed. Larger diameter hardwood limbs may take longer to draw in those baitfish, but they last longer and create more shade. Either way, it's the bait fish holding on the structure that keep the crappie coming back. Think about it... The best fishermen, even commercial fishermen, will tell you that if you find the bait you'll find the fish. 2) Location, location, location... Be thoughtful about placement of cover, regardless of what material it is. Study the maps of the waterbody you plan to drop it in, and be strategic. Crappie love drop offs and depth changes. They use channels as highways moving from shallow to deep and back. For whatever reason, they will often gravitate to that one lone tree or BP that is on a point or even a flat. Bottom line...if it's an area on the map that looks like it would hold fish, it probably will. There are tons of good articles and videos on the web, so do some research if you're unsure. When I first started focusing solely on crappie about 10 years ago, I had no idea how significant man-made brush piles could be. Now, I have about 2000 of them marked on various lakes in NE Texas. With good electronics, a little knowledge, and good techniques, a fish that I once thought of as elusive is now the easiest to catch almost any time of year. You can even get that same production on lakes that you've never been to before. I attribute much of that to my awareness and appreciation of what man-made structure can really do. So go ahead, sink whatever you got! Just think it through a bit first. Just my
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: SLABXPRESS]
#12575475
01/12/18 05:34 PM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 7,027
Fishbonz
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 7,027 |
HAMMER ON THE NAIL
HE aka Fishbonz
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: SLABXPRESS]
#12575566
01/12/18 06:26 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 4,872
moonriver
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 4,872 |
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: Fishbonz]
#12575618
01/12/18 07:05 PM
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,097
SLABXPRESS
OP
Extreme Angler
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OP
Extreme Angler
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 2,097 |
HAMMER ON THE NAIL We've been saying it for several years now, but this is the year....late spring Horace...me and you need to go fishin!
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: SLABXPRESS]
#12575725
01/12/18 08:17 PM
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,517
The Crappie Guy
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,517 |
"The Crappie Guy"
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: SLABXPRESS]
#12575959
01/12/18 11:52 PM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 7,027
Fishbonz
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 7,027 |
HAMMER ON THE NAIL We've been saying it for several years now, but this is the year....late spring Horace...me and you need to go fishin! If the GOOD LORD says the same let`s do it E !
HE aka Fishbonz
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: SLABXPRESS]
#12575969
01/12/18 11:57 PM
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,439
Gamblinman
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,439 |
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: SLABXPRESS]
#12576027
01/13/18 12:44 AM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 7,027
Fishbonz
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 7,027 |
HAMMER ON THE NAIL We've been saying it for several years now, but this is the year....late spring Horace...me and you need to go fishin! If the GOOD LORD says the same let`s do it E!
HE aka Fishbonz
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: SLABXPRESS]
#12576314
01/13/18 04:27 AM
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Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,628
ACAMS
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,628 |
I thought you put brush out so you will have something to get hung up on!
I put it out because my buddy says ... "GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND COME HELP ME SINK BRUSH!!!!"
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: SLABXPRESS]
#12576502
01/13/18 02:20 PM
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 7,009
leanin post
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 7,009 |
I see a lot of posts this time of year about dropping brush and other forms of cover for crappie. Let me add two main points I feel are important, and that seem to get lost in these discussions: 1) Your main goal is NOT just to create cover for the crappie. Your main goal should be to create structure that will draw and hold BAIT! If you sink something that will draw bait, you will catch fish off of it...period. Does sinking something that creates shade and cover for the larger predatory fish help? Absolutely! That's just not the only, or even the main, reason. The best brush piles, in my experience, are ones that create shade but also have many areas for bait to hide as well. One of the reason many people have early success with bamboo and willow is the fact that they both create a lot of moss and growth in a short amount of time and have many small limbs for bait to gather around. That starts the food chain quickly and before you know it the larger predatory fish like bass and crappie are on it to feed. Larger diameter hardwood limbs may take longer to draw in those baitfish, but they last longer and create more shade. Either way, it's the bait fish holding on the structure that keep the crappie coming back. Think about it... The best fishermen, even commercial fishermen, will tell you that if you find the bait you'll find the fish. 2) Location, location, location... Be thoughtful about placement of cover, regardless of what material it is. Study the maps of the waterbody you plan to drop it in, and be strategic. Crappie love drop offs and depth changes. They use channels as highways moving from shallow to deep and back. For whatever reason, they will often gravitate to that one lone tree or BP that is on a point or even a flat. Bottom line...if it's an area on the map that looks like it would hold fish, it probably will. There are tons of good articles and videos on the web, so do some research if you're unsure. When I first started focusing solely on crappie about 10 years ago, I had no idea how significant man-made brush piles could be. Now, I have about 2000 of them marked on various lakes in NE Texas. With good electronics, a little knowledge, and good techniques, a fish that I once thought of as elusive is now the easiest to catch almost any time of year. You can even get that same production on lakes that you've never been to before. I attribute much of that to my awareness and appreciation of what man-made structure can really do. So go ahead, sink whatever you got! Just think it through a bit first. Just my GOOD post Eric, I have also wondered why some rock dams hold crappie and baitfish in shallower water and some dont, one day I read an article that addresses this issue. It states that the size and orientation of the particular rip rap used can be a big factor. if the spaces are large enough for baitfish to swim in and out of as they feed on algea growth near the water line, it is more likely baitfish will congregate and even spawn around these rocks. If the rocks are small and fit tightly forming a barrier, the baitfish tend to stay away from it. Sometimes we must remind ourselves, that it is all about the food chain in a lake, as we learned as youth.
COMING SOON! .. THE STICKLE HOOK " the stay level sickle hook". sits level in the water with all knots.! Provides better hook sets and more natural jigging motion. No more adjusting the knot, gluing , or tying loop knots that cause the hook point to tangle in the loop, or worse knick the line.. The jighook that will make all others obsolete !
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: SLABXPRESS]
#12576549
01/13/18 02:54 PM
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,526
DFW-fisherman
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,526 |
Thanks for the focus SLABXPRESS! Oh yea, if you are not getting hung up, then you aren't fishing for crappie in the right spots!
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: SLABXPRESS]
#12576589
01/13/18 03:19 PM
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Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 215
RWCAT
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 215 |
Well Put!!
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: SLABXPRESS]
#12577943
01/14/18 04:06 PM
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,773
serj5150
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,773 |
Even though I've haven't messed around too much with sinking brush this is a very informative post.. Thank you SLABXPRESS!!
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: SLABXPRESS]
#12579496
01/15/18 04:36 PM
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Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 107
zig-zag
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 107 |
acams: those are some of the best looking jigs ive ever seen good job. wish I new were one could get some of the supplies you used to tie those jigs?
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Re: Do you know "WHY" you are putting out brush piles?
[Re: zig-zag]
#12579730
01/15/18 07:09 PM
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Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,628
ACAMS
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 3,628 |
acams: those are some of the best looking jigs ive ever seen good job. wish I new were one could get some of the supplies you used to tie those jigs? THANKS ...... I got my vice and some supplies from Skip on this site, and most of other stuff came from Crazy Angler.
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