Self-Made Structures Can Improve An Aged Fishery

     There are a whole bunch of lakes and reservoirs in our country that are becoming aged. What this means is that most of the hard ledges and bottom contours have silted or eroded away. A lot of the cover that was prevalent in the form of stumps and standing trees have even fallen or decomposed. This is just part of the natural aging process for most any body of water. This is one reason why water grasses in my opinion is so important. The offer many of the same things that other types of cover offer, plus it replenishes every year and keeps a lake fertile year round.

     Options to help maintain bottom or deep cover in a body of water that has become aged involve conservation efforts on both the part of governing conservation departments, bass clubs, and individual anglers. These efforts involve sinking structures (pallets, Christmas trees, etc.) or planting and transplanting water grasses (hydrilla, mil-foil, hyacinth, etc.). For those of you who have small ponds, private lakes, or community areas, here is a video link along with a picture of a structure I have made in the past to help you get an idea of what I am talking about.

     Something to remember is that not all structures are effective. There is a lot to placing structures in a body of water. With that being said, don’t just take any of your old junk and dump it in the water in hope of creating a fish habitat. Make sure you put some time, effort, planning, and research into your structure and place it in high percentage areas where bass will use it. Also be sure to check with your state, county, or other local governing conservation body to ensure that you are permitted to in fact sink structure habitats into public bodies of water.

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