I’m making some, using a 11/2 gallon bucket,concrete and pvc pipe in 7-8 lengths.

Any advice, on making em experience, how many should I put in a area and how deep of water?

Notch the pvc in numerous places in order to produce algae growth faster.

We have placed similar buckets in 17-20 ft , usually 5 buckets per spot,

your mileage may vary

MO

Do you add cedar limbs, or anything to them?

for me , the beauty of pvc is not hanging up and it lasts forever If you are going to use brush , then use brush, IMHO natural cover
is better at holding fish than pvc, but it does rot away and the hang up issue.

MO

https://www.fishiding.com/shallow-transition-fish-habitat-combo-five-pack/#product-reviews

These are pretty cool. Little pricey but appear to work well

I agree with Mo. if I’m making PVC that’s all it’s going to be. And put 4-5 together! If you can find where they’re replacing plastic gas lines they’ll usually let you take the scraps so they don’t have to haul them off! At least that’s what I’ve been told!

And drill holes in the curved stuff once it’s cemented in so it will sink! I was told that as well!!

Another thing that seems to make a difference is the height of the condo, We have put out some that are only 3-4 ft tall and
these do not attract as many fish as the ones that are 6-8 ft tall.

your mileage may vary


Mo

Yes, rub the pvc with 100 grit sand paper and drop some hot dogs down the pvc prior to sinking

I am fairly new to crappie fishing but from my experience it doesn’t seem like PVC is the best choice alone. I’ve never seen just a ton of fish in PVC structures. I like to use pvc but only as a Skelton to zip tying actual branches to the pvc stick ups. I sank some a month and a half ago and it’s already loaded with fish just in a single structure but prefer to sink 2-3 in a spot side by side

To save a bit of money, don’t use a 5 gallon bucket and just use cardboard boxes you get from Amazon

I have done as many as 10 sticks coming out of the box but think it’s excessive so started doing like 6 and put a ton of brush on it

They weigh around 40-50 pounds when I’m done with them. A trick I learned is to assemble them up high in the boat so once all assembled you just push it and goes off the side vs trying to lift it plus all the branches up and toss it out. The cardboard box it is in will help prevent scratches to boat too if worried about it

Another cool idea I do is building A Frames out of wooden pallets. I remove some slates so I can stick branches in it. Even if brush goes away you’ll have solid 2x4s and such as a frame. Takes 2 if not 3 cinder blocks to sink. I have heard a friend sinking the pallets without brush with great success but hat lasts for years but I think the brush is an added bonus:

As far as depth, I have read in numerous infisherman magazines that 10-15 foot is probably a good year round depth in many lakes but I try to sink some up in 10 foot in back or cove for some pre/post spawn crappie. Maybe out in 15-20 foot for some hopefully summer and wintering crappie and such. Maybe one group in 20-30 foot. I’m trying to focus on a cove and put 2-3 areas to target them during different seasonal patterns before I move on to a different area

I have heard that pallets are hard to sink . Have you put those out yet ? Wondering if two cinder blocks will do it


good luck

Mo

Honestly with side scan and the new electronics it’s too much work. There’s more than enough natural and/or manmade structure for everyone.

Two cinder blocks is usually enough to sink them. But to be safe I put 3 cinder blocks on them if the pallets are heavy duty and cut some pieces out