# brush piles



## ConspiracyMike (Oct 5, 2009)

is it illegal to place brush piles in the lakes in texas?


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## slabnabbin (May 25, 2010)

*brushpiles*

yes but you need to contact the resevoir controlling authority to ask what is allowed for the particular body of water you want to put them in
i callled tpw about placing brush piles in conroe and they referred me to the san jacinto river authority and they said you could place what ever you want as far as brush/pvc structures. the guy even told me " if they were to drain the lake it would look like a junk yard" and i would have to agree bc last time i fished a brush pile i had hell getting my anchor up bc it was hung in the middle of a tractor tire.


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## slabseaker (Dec 7, 2009)

*answer to your question*

Im really not sure myself. I heard you have to have a permit. but not really sure where to get it. I was out putting some out in Conroe last yr and had two game wardens come to check us for safety and had a hole baot load of brush and they never said anything. just checked us for life jackets and safety stuff. was afraid to ask them. they never said anything. so not sure myself. I will see what the other responses are. hope we find out.SS

It seems like its only a good thing to ad habatat to the system....


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## ConspiracyMike (Oct 5, 2009)

I have a bunch of yaupon brush that would make a good pile in about 20ft of water a couple 100 yards from my dock. I didn't want to draw attention looking like a duck blind headed across the lake.


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## slabseaker (Dec 7, 2009)

thanks for the info SN. now we know. I do use conrete center blocks to sink mine.I bet it does look bad down there.....I also use hardwood if I can get it. I never thought the x-mas tress really worked good, to small and easy to get hooked on. I like the big lims to fish threw....SS


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## slabnabbin (May 25, 2010)

the brush pile talk makes me want to go slab nabbin, can't wait until it cools down a little. i have to patience in the heat.


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## ConspiracyMike (Oct 5, 2009)

how big should I make the bundles?


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## slabnabbin (May 25, 2010)

i made some out late this spring made out of bamboo and they were about 6' wide at the top and 8' tall concreted into a 5 gallon bucket.this was the first time i tried it i put three buckets per pile bc i like to have a good size pile that is easy for me and the fish to find. i personally don't worry as much about someone else finding it bc soon o r later they will and i plan on putting new ones out every year.


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

The trick with brush piles is to create adequate cover for the small bait fish that attract the crappie. I do not think you can build one too big. Any tight brush that can be weighted down will work. We once built one that was about 100' X 100' in an Oklahoma lake. We caught crappie off of it for six years while I lived there and I believe they sill find a few around the remnants.
As long as you do not create a safety hazard or use any toxic material no one will say a thing.
Call the TRA site office and tell them what you are going to do and how you intend to keep it in place. 936-365-2292. Ask for the site manager.


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## ConspiracyMike (Oct 5, 2009)

Thanks for the info everyone...just what I needed!!!


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## SV_DuckBuster (Sep 18, 2007)

We built and sank several crappie condos on Lake Nacogdoches. Made them out of pvc with concrete feet and they still produce great fish 6 years later. You can make them as big as you want and all kinds of crazy designs. I always thought they marked on the depth finder better than brush, they last longer and you don't get hungup on them while fishing. Add a few around your existing structure each year and before you know it, you have a huge area holding quality fish.

Can't find my pics of the ones we made, but I'll try and descibe one for you. Roughly 8'x6'x6' with at least 4 concrete feet to hold them down. We used cinder blocks and quickcrete poured into 2 gallon planters. The pvc was a mixture of 1", 2" and 3" pieces assembled into all kinds of crazy shapes to mimic a brush pile. The design was dense in the middle and had lots of long pieces hanging out and sticking up all over. They worked so much better than brush because you could fish inside them without getting snagged on anything.


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## ConspiracyMike (Oct 5, 2009)

how long till the fish start showing up.


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## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

Nice idea, bet it does work well!


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## Tall1 (Aug 3, 2009)

Mike, just let me know when you want to build and sink one. I'm thinking out near the channel in front of your house would be a good spot. Maybe we'll put a second one at the honey hole.


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## slabnabbin (May 25, 2010)

ConspiracyMike said:


> how long till the fish start showing up.


i put mine in an area where i already catch fish. the ones i put out this year i fished them 5 days later and caught fish but they were about 75-100 yards from spots i have caught fish on for years. the closer the fish are to it the faster they will move into your crappie condos. little do they know eviction could come any day.:rotfl:


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## ConspiracyMike (Oct 5, 2009)

I was thinking about a large square pvc grid system with 1/2 pvc stems attached pointing straight up from the grid. The 5 gallon bucket method might be easier to move since my boat is small.


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## slabnabbin (May 25, 2010)

pvc works well but be sure to sand it down so the algea can stick to it easier.


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## SV_DuckBuster (Sep 18, 2007)

ConspiracyMike said:


> how long till the fish start showing up.


Less than a week in my experience. You can expedite that process by sinking a burlap bag of range cubes, dog food, maise, etc with your condo. Draw the fish to it and then they seem to stay. We always tried to sink them in or near a fish highway (channel, creek mouth, bottom structure) which helps fish get to them faster and stay longer since it is already familiar territory. 
We only fish the condos at night and typically use 1 or 2 very large green lights suspended about 4' above the condo. When we first drop the lights in the water, everything around the boat glows green in a 20 yard diameter. 10 mins later, the water is blacked out by baitfish.

When fishing these things, we never had a trip without a few nice cats and great bass too! In fact, I have a 9lb bass on my wall that I caught from a condo on an ultralight spinning reel with 4lb mono. What a fight and great story to tell everytime someone sees that fish on the wall. Not the best lmb I ever caught, but the best fish I ever landed on 4lb mono and a tiny bream hook.


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## Lipless Crankbait (Mar 24, 2007)

If you build them out of plastic the denser they are the better. If you sand the plastic like mentioned above the alge will grow quicker and the fish will show up faster. Here is a pic one style we built about a week ago, we put another just like it but smaller inside and sunk them. I have started making hybrids, mostley out of plastic, with cypress tops mixed in. To have a great brush pile it needs to be in an area that would naturally hold fish.


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