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Post by bartiks on Dec 27, 2019 0:35:20 GMT -5
So without getting to involved, here goes. I came across some free christmas trees and we have around 15 of them. Lost count loading them in the pickup.
Question is what would be the best way to enhance fish habitat in our lake we have. We were contemplating taking around 3 trees a piece, tying them together and then sinking them in around 15 ft. of water. The trees we got were all around 3-4 feet tall. Should we make a "line" of trees in the water. Like a cluster here, then a cluster there? In my own thoughts like a fish traveling between one bunch to the next or a square? Kind of at a loss here as we want to use them wisely in a section of the lake which has absolutely no cover, and it more or less just slopes off.
NO sharp drop offs in this portion of the lake.
Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all and have a good one.
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Post by esshup on Dec 27, 2019 6:08:16 GMT -5
1) Public or private? If public water, make sure it's legal for you to add cover to the lake. 2) What time of the year are you wanting the fish to be able to use the cover? Juts make sure there will be oxygen at 15 feet for the fish when you want them to utilize it. 3) The fish will use the line of trees to move from shallow water to deeper water if they are in the shallow water and have a reason to move to the deeper water in that area of the lake.
In a lake, 15 trees is a start; barely. A general rule of thumb is to have 20% of the surface area of a body of water in cover for the fish, i.e. a 1 acre pond needs just under 1/4 acre of cover.
The trees will slowly decompose over the next 5-7 years, losing the smaller branches first. The density of the cover dictates what size of fish will utilize it. Dense cover is attractive to small fish that utilize it to hide from predators. Cover with more open spaces are utilized by predator fish as loafing and hiding areas to ambush small fish from. After that time, the only thing that will be left is the main trunk and maybe a few of the largest branches, and after the first few months unless you put every one in a cinderblock or bucket with concrete, they will be laying on their side on the bottom.
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