building brush piles?

[thedutchtouch]

first of all, is it legal in MD? if so, anyone want to take a relative newbie out and build a new one with me (or add to one you've already started?)? i still have last years christmas tree sitting in the yard and i'll have this one's available in a month lol.

[CHOC]

Not positive, but I’m pretty sure putting your Xmas tree in the Bay isn’t illegal. If it was, no one would ever say anything.

Now, what I want to do is COMPLETELY illegal, and I’ll never do it for that reason. I’d like to take one of those old busted sailboats that people give away for free, cut the mast off, pull it out into about 20 feet of water and sink it by knocking a big hole in the hull with a sledge. Then I’d mark the spot with my fishfinder and have a nice structure to fish whenever I wanted.

Your Xmas trees? No biggie.

[ronaultmtd]

The currents in the bay would move these home made reefs unless they were securely anchored...the spring rains have entire trees floating down the bay, docks get destroyed, the timbers, logs, etc. get swept down to the ocean...maybe it would work back in sheltered coves, but tiny brushpiles seem like a lot of work for not much return...I know the folks down on the Gulf make home-made reefs to have private red snapper spots, but that is near and offshore...when I lived in Virginia Beach, we used to fish the wrecks off the coast for Black Sea Bass and tautog...my favorite was the Ricks wreck and the Chesapeake Tower reef...both are fairly close to Rudee Inlet...Ricks was a WWII Liberty ship sunk by a German Uboat...

[thedutchtouch]

i wasn't realizing how bay-centered snaggedline was, my idea was actually for a lake or smaller branch of a tributary... but i can see how perhaps i've spent too much time watching southern youtubers go crappie fishing lately...perhaps the trees are best suited for the outdoor fire pit.

[ronaultmtd]

You are correct about the vast majority of our fishing is either salt or brackish tidal waters...just our location, topography and geography...Maryland has the second largest amount of shoreline percentage of any state...only our northwestern brethren have limited access to brackish, tidal waters...we only have a few ponds and creeks here in southern Maryland that are pure fresh water..St. Mary lake is the biggest fresh water within 50 miles driving for me, so I may fresh water fish maybe once or twice a year...if there were better options, I am sure I would take advantage of it.

[DanMarino]

I try to represent my fresh water trips here. One of the reasons I like this web forum is the variety of locations and interesting fishing reports that people post. Plus some people describe their fishing trips in nice detail with cool photos. Love it all!

[Mark]

I try to represent my fresh water trips here. One of the reasons I like this web forum is the variety of locations and interesting fishing reports that people post. Plus some people describe their fishing trips in nice detail with cool photos. Love it all!

Same here. I've filed many reports from ponds in DE and MD as well as tidal reports. I wish more folks would report their trips.

This forum by its standardized topic categories encourages reports from every body of water reachable by kayak regardless of state, country or method of fishing. That's what makes it interesting.

Regarding the topic at hand, the MD DNR has sunk Christmas trees in Unicorn Lake. I've seen the trees there just below the surface. I presume they may have done it other MD lakes. I don't know that they would appreciate anglers doing it on their own because there may be certain areas of the lakes where the DNR would prefer to introduce structure over others. But a call or email to them may clarify that.

http://dnr.maryland.gov/Pages/mailroom.aspx

In tidal waters, the CCA of MD has been very active in introducing reef balls and other underwater structures in numerous sites.

https://www.ccamd.org/category/habitat/

[mchottie]

I was just planning to reply the same... Unicorn Lake has evergreen (assuming former xmas tress) scattered/staggered throughout the center portion. The max depth is 6-7 ft., so you can imagine my amazement when it popped up on my FF totalscan screen in super high detail!

[Big Mike]

I sink Christmas trees tied to a cinder block in my community lake every few years. Some nosy neighbors don’t like it, somehow a tree below the surface of the water bothers them tremendously. So a sneak out at dawn, toss it in a convenient casting distance spot from shore and have my own semi private hot spot. After a few years the trees breakdown and I have to repeat the process. Doing it at St Mary’s lake would be frowned upon, but there’s so much standing timber in the lake I doubt it would have any impact at all.

[Slobber Bob]

Back in my college days in upstate NY, we used collect christmas trees from the neighborhood and wire them to old, discarded railroad plates we'd find on the side of the tracks behind our apartment. At the end of ice fishing season, we'd sled them out onto the ice and position them where we'd want them to fall through once the ice finally broke up for the year.

[mchottie]

This popped up on my facebook feed this morning:

https://www.facebook.com/AGFCBassManagement/

Video Link

https://www.facebook.com/AGFCBassMan...26782274468897

AGFC Black Bass ManagementLike Page
December 12 at 4:06 PM ·
Over the past two weeks, 40 AGFC and 3 USFWS employees participated in a large-scale habitat project to replenish existing natural brush piles throughout Norfork Lake. Due to the hard work of these men and women, 155 of the 169 existing sites were replenished and 4 new sites were established. The remaining 14 existing sites, which are all north of Cranfield except for one in Pigeon Creek, will be replenished after the first of the year. Also, biologists anticipate establishing new sites in a couple of the major creek arms (Pigeon Creek, Bennett’s Bayou, and Big/Brushy Creek). These sites will be placed in shallower water than the existing sites.

The brush pile coordinates for Norfork Lake are currently available at https://www.agfc.com/en/fishing/wher...sh-attractors/. After the first of the year, you can also contact the biologists in the Mountain Home office (1-877-425-7577 or Jeremy.Risley@agfc.ar.gov) for assistance with obtaining this data. They can load this data onto your SD card or directly to your sonar.

We want to express our gratitude to the participants for their hard work and for sacrificing as much as a week away from their families to improve the fish habitat in Norfork Lake.

[Big Mike]

Mapped brush piles! What good is that, they should be secret and known only to a select few.