I like to build brushpiles for Lake El Butto out of stuff around the house. I typically have three different types of tree material to make piles.

1. The Christmas tree
2. Crepe Myrtle limbs
3. Live oak tree limbs

When I trim the trees in the winter, I always have great big piles of tree limbs tied together and think to myself, "man that looks like it wants to be a brushpile." So a couple times now I have tossed the crepe myrtles in. Just tied a bunch of old bricks around the middle of the pile and tossed in. What I'm wondering is, would the oak limbs be better? I know the Christmas trees don't last, but I've had good results when I've used them. I have not had great results around the crepe myrtle piles. I have never tried the live oak. So which do yall think will last the longest of the three, and which is likeliest to draw the most fish?

Live Oak Hands Down. Hard wood will allways outlast & out shine the other two in the Looong Run. A Bois D`arc would be Ideal.

Send me coordinates by PM and I will check them out for you! ...... OH LORD, Pearland??? .... nevermind, ain't no fish south of I-10!

Oak is the only one listed out of those 3 I would make a pile out of. I had a great pile on Fork and a guy loaded it down with bradford pear limbs and it's never been worth a [censored] since.

OAK ALWAYS

I have been thinking the same things regarding crepe myrtle limbs and live oak tree limbs. So are y'all saying that the crepe myrtle limbs aren't even worth putting out due to not attracting fish? Also, should the BP's be better laying horizontal or placed vertical?

vertical/horizontal doesn`t really matter. It`s where you place it that counts! Points,near creek channels,drop offs ,ledges,road beds etc.

Oak seems to be the consensus, so that is what I will do next time the live oak gets cut back.

Lake El Butto is a retention pond, its built like an oxbow. very long, thin, not very deep. So brushpiles would be the only structure.

Oak is good but you will stay hung up. I use willows or bamboo if I can get my hands on them. They don't last as long but you will hardly every loose a jig on them.

My trees are live oak and crepe myrtle, with a slow growing loquat tree that occasionally gets trimmed. I just like the idea of combining cleaning up around the house with creating fish structure.

I'll be putting out live oak limbs as well as building some BP's with crepe myrtle limbs mixed with bamboo. We'll see how those all work out. Now if I can just find those key placements in the lake!

I can show you some spots