Artificial Structure for Ice Fishing

[TJQ]

Ok.. so Im updating my Ice fishing site and I came across these things...

 

http://www.thornebro...dez/weedez.html

 

Ok.. at first glance, they look like they would work, then I looked at the price and cheaped out.. LOL.. Then I got to thinking.. If you were to weigh down a small evergreen or cedar and plop them around your ice shack, wouldnt you be creating, the same type of environment for free... plus its biodegradable!!

 

Just wondering if anyone had ever tried to make their own structure!!!

[asdve23rveavwa]

Too funny!!!!! I like your idea better TJ!

[Cookslav]

I have not, but I have heard of programs that collect christmas trees to place in creeks for trout habitat.

So I suppose its the same idea?

[misfish]

Was out with Terry and there was a couple of guys that had these.GARBAGE.

[Handlebarz]

Down my way Tj there are a bunch of people who have done it over the years and YES it works great if you can find there trees you are in the best spot for crappie and pan fish in the spring they sure do like to hide inside them things.

[Terry]

years ago when I had a permanent hut that stayed in one spot all year and you could have as many minnows and salted minnows you wanted

I would go all my street and pick up the dead used xmas trees and drag them out to the hut and drop them about 15 feet away from the hut.. the deeper the area the farther from the hut ..nasty losing lures and fish in the trees....

some years as many as 15 of them all the way around the hut

 

then I would release my extra minnow and they would sit in the trees and keep the fish interested in the area all season long....

Edited November 9, 2010 by Terry

[aplumma]

While not for ice fishing but we have sent many Christmas trees weighted with a cinderblock to make habitat for the fish.

 

Art

[TJQ]

Thanks guys... I'm putting my hut out on a small lake north of the house this year.. I think ill give er a go!

[Nipfisher]

T.J.

 

I believe it is the Simco Bass Masters that collect christmas trees at the end of the festive season and drop them into the lake around Barrie somewhere. I have seen video fottage of it on another site. It maybe on youtube as well. It makes great structure and spawning area for the fish.

 

Careful with the cynderblocks though I think they may have a reall high Ph with the concrete.

[Fang]

Well the cat is kind of out of the bag with this stuff now all over. I started doing home made ones a few years ago and snuck them down the holes while perch fishing on simcoe so my buddies didn't see them. In my opinoion they did work when on areas that had very little to no cover. Best was way out in 20+ feet of water or when on hard rock bottom

 

Here's how you can make your own guys. Go to Dollarama and the sell 3 different plastic plants that are about 4-5 ft long just like the ones in the link. Add a 3 oz sinker to the bottom of them and then tie in some green garden foam around the top leaves to make them float. I tied on some heavy fishing line and dropped them around the holes I was fishing.

[perchslayer666]

I've bought the commercial kind (Reel Weeds) and found that they do hold fish like perch quite well. They'll also attract pike and walleye looking for an easy meal. Some days they work extremely well, and other days don't work at all.

 

But I am happy with my purchase.

[steverowbotham]

T.J.

 

I believe it is the Simco Bass Masters that collect christmas trees at the end of the festive season and drop them into the lake around Barrie somewhere. I have seen video fottage of it on another site. It maybe on youtube as well. It makes great structure and spawning area for the fish.

 

Careful with the cynderblocks though I think they may have a reall high Ph with the concrete.

 

It's the Barrie Bassmasters that do it and we require MNR approval, I wouldnt suggest going to do it without obtaining permission

[BillM]

Guys dump Xmas trees into Simcoe before the lake freezes over all the time for perch. I saw a guy drill about 15 holes last year in the span of 15mins looking for one. It was hilarious.

[Musky or Specks]

I have not, but I have heard of programs that collect christmas trees to place in creeks for trout habitat.

So I suppose its the same idea?

Won't ever do that again do you know how hard it is to get all the tinsel out of a thousand x-mas trees Looked so environmentally friendly though when we filmed "From Silt to Silver"

[kickingfrog]

I always thought this was only allowed with permission from the DFO or some other government body.

[irishfield]

I questioned the sled club leaving 100's of trees on Midland Harbour and the sound a couple winters back. MNR/local CO (you know the local "preacher" Rob) couldn't even be bothered to reply.. so they can't care that much.

[solopaddler]

Ok.. so Im updating my Ice fishing site and I came across these things...

 

http://www.thornebro...dez/weedez.html

 

Ok.. at first glance, they look like they would work, then I looked at the price and cheaped out.. LOL.. Then I got to thinking.. If you were to weigh down a small evergreen or cedar and plop them around your ice shack, wouldnt you be creating, the same type of environment for free... plus its biodegradable!!

 

Just wondering if anyone had ever tried to make their own structure!!!

 

For a lot of years that's exactly what I did with our tree when Christmas was over.

 

Cut a big hole with a chainsaw, weight the thing down and drop it down the hole.

 

Usually on the big sandy perch flats. That tree stuck out like a neon sign.

 

No one could figure out why we always slayed the jumbos LOL!

[Snowball]

Check out this video:

 

 

Regards,

Snowball

[dks]

Here's how you can make your own guys. Go to Dollarama and the sell 3 different plastic plants that are about 4-5 ft long just like the ones in the link. Add a 3 oz sinker to the bottom of them and then tie in some green garden foam around the top leaves to make them float. I tied on some heavy fishing line and dropped them around the holes I was fishing.

 

Do you bring this stuff up after you drop it down the hole? If you don't I would suggest you use natural trees for structure. As far as I'm concerned it's just like throwing litter and garbage in the lake.

[SRT8 smoker craft]

I also wanted to do this on my local pond/resivior for bass habitat and inquired to the consevation authority that takes care of it and they wanted GPS co-ord's for the DFO I am going to do it this spring with permission .MNR doesn't care to much but apparentally the DFO does .

[Beans]

 

Just wondering if anyone had ever tried to make their own structure!!!

 

Our old friend Dawg (GCD) makes his own out of bamboo...

 

 

 

[Lunkerhunter]

there was a few in a small channel on scugog this year i noticed when fishing for crappie in the spring. the crappie seemed to like it... my jig, not so much

[johnnyb]

The first year I got the aqua-vu, I found it was better to have it sitting on bottom, rather than hanging...so I made a base for it out of a little plastic tray...the kind you'd keep on top of a desk....covered it in plastic weeds from the aquarium (that I bought from Fang...must've passed on his fake weeds idea through some freaky kind of telekinetic osmosis ), and ended up with a camera hidden inside a good clump of weeds.

 

Never used the camera much after that, because I got a Lowrance....but this winter LakerJessy is dying to get out on the ice....and she's a big fan of the camera....so we'll try the fake weeds out again.

 

I like the idea of a couple small trees as a permanent piece of structure though....especially on crappie waters

[fish-miester]

there was a few in a small channel on scugog this year i noticed when fishing for crappie in the spring. the crappie seemed to like it... my jig, not so much

 

 

 

yup i have seen them as well (ps Im also for Port Perry)

 

as for using the trees.. sounds sorta tempting..

[sandybay]

When I was a kid my father would sink a poplar tree in the summer out in front of the family cottage on Georgian Bay, it woud hold the leaves all season and all we had to do was as kids was row out about 100' and catch perch all day. Hard to find poplar with leaves in winter though.