I was recently contacted by J Harmon, President of the Protect lake Dunlap association in New Braunfels,Texas. He explained to me their struggle with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority over existing small diameter standing timber being hazardous to recreation use. Apparently, The GBRA has denied the cutting of these stumps to protect fish habitat and recommends marking these areas off to boat use which has the residents upset.
The PLDA’s plan is to draw down the reservoir and shorten the existing hazards about eight feet from normal surface elevation. I’m told there are hundreds of them and already have caused many accidents and property damage. J says the average depth is about 15 feet, so when cut, they would still stick up about 6-8 feet off the bottom, root ball intact.
After cutting, they plan to set one of our PVC habitat units on the remaining stump and fasten it there for good. This would increase the square footage of surface area approximately three times. The thinking is, with our units within six feet of the surface as water fluctuates, boats, skiers and water craft will be safe, including the fish. J and the group understand the benefits of not only keeping as much existing habitat as possible but to continue to add more habitat. The cut off tops would be kept and fastened to the remaining trunk too.
They have a full understanding of the science behind periphyton, nutrient removal and fish production and feel unwavering in their decision to work with only us in their efforts.
Senator Jeff Wentworth supports PLDA. With his intervention and the phone call from Gov. Rick Perry, GBRA’s action item #8 was tabled. The PLDA has been granted 30 days, (less now) to present their case for a final decision of what will be allowed. The General Manager and staff continue to meet with representatives of Lake Dunlap, enforcement officers, and fishery experts to evaluate the current no-wake area designation and alternative options to provide water safety and assure a balance of all uses including the preservation of fishery habitat and funding mechanisms, and to continue to review and develop alternatives that address congestion and lake boating conflict uses on Lake Dunlap and to report back to the Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting in August 2012.
What I’m asking of you once again is your opinion, hopefully your support. Can you find any adverse effects of removing these hazardous stumps as long as the habitat is replaced in other ways/forms? Can you comment on the benefits of the artificial habitat we produce and results you have seen? What can we expect to see in a 300 % increase in available cover for the fishery? With our help, the PLDA intends to present their plan for approval as a landmark decision for the state of Texas. Safety for the residents and fish is the priority of both sides, in that order. All parties involved want to save and increase fish habitat. Wood is good, just not where people get hurt. Send replies to either Jarod or myself at david@fishiding.com Thanks.
This next group of amazing shots by Engbretson Underwater Photgraphy, show biofilm and algae growth explode after less than four weeks. Fishiding Reclaimed Artificial Fish Habitat products made from reclaimed pvc vinyl siding, act as an ideal inert substrate to grow biofilm which in turn feeds and grows fish at a far above normal or average rates. This process called biomimicry, has been perfected and installed with overwhelming success by a company called Floating Island International, which utilizes recycled plastic matrix to create massive amounts of surface area.
Small lakes, streams, lagoons contain prime fish habitat
Bob McNally/The Times-Union
Mark Shaw of Ponte Vedra Beach shows a chunky bass he caught from a lagoon adjacent to a Northeast Florida golf course. Small boats are allowed on the lagoon.
Most of the world’s best golfers this week gather at the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach. They’re there to tackle undulating and tricky greens, tough bunkers, tight fairways, and water hazards full of gators, snakes and sometimes round white balls.
But also on the agenda of some of those elite golfers is fishing in the ponds, lakes, lagoons and famous water hazards in and around the Stadium Course. Those waters are loaded with fish, including largemouth bass the size of newborn babies. The Sawgrass complex of lagoons and other watery spots is chock full of heavyweight bass, many weighing well more than 10 pounds, and fish to 15 pounds have been caught.
artificial fish habitat by fishiding.com
Those are truly world-class fish that many anglers in many places would pay a bundle to hook.
Often before or after a practice round, or a tough day in the rough, players such as Davis Love III, Tiger Woods, Boo Weekley, Greg Norman, Mark O’Meara and many others have been known to hang up a graphite driver in favor of a graphite casting rod at The Players.
The bass fishing is so good in waters at the Stadium Course that years ago it was voted the best for big bass by elite PGA Tour fishermen. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in proven science based, fish protection.
A poll was taken among the golf pros who fish different courses on Tour to learn which of the many places they visit offers the best fishing. The Stadium Course won by a wide margin.
Only players with PGA credentials, very special guests and perhaps course residents are allowed to fish Stadium Course waters, especially during the tournament. But area anglers should take a tip from the golfers that some of the best and most consistent fishing that anglers could ever hope for can be found in the water hazards and nearby ponds and lakes of golf courses.
habitat for fish installed before filling lake.
Not only do golf course waters have bass, but many are loaded with bluegills, crappies and catfish. In coastal regions, often saltwater species seep into the freshwaters or tidal waters of golf courses. Plenty of golf courses in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas are full of fish such as red drum, flounder, baby tarpon, snook, ladyfish, black drum and other species.
While great fishing can be discovered in golf course waters, it’s probably wise not to eat fish caught from them because of the pesticides and fertilizers used on nearby turf. Nevertheless, for fun catch-and-release fishing, few places offer better action than golf course waters.
Getting permission to fish golf ponds can be challenging, particularly on private country clubs — which frequently offer the best action. But it’s worth the effort gaining access. Sometimes meeting and talking with the club pro is worthwhile. Explain you’ll not interfere with golfers on the course, and all fish will be released unharmed. Some golf courses are closed on Mondays, which is a prime time to fish their waters, and permission to fish is more easily obtained then. Dawn, dusk and night fishing is worthwhile because golfers are not on courses, and anglers don’t interfere with play.
In many golf course communities, residents and their guests are allowed to fish, so it pays to make friends with golfers. Golf resorts are popular vacation spots, and guests often have permission to fish water hazards as long as they don’t hamper golf play.
In large golf Meccas, frequently several courses are available, and many feature large, wandering connected ponds and creeks that snake around the area. Many such waters appear small, but instead might cover hundreds of acres, with many places surrounded by overgrown vegetation that’s ideal fish habitat.
Sometimes small, lightweight johnboats, canoes, kayaks and float tubes can be put in, which allows anglers to get far away from golfers and other people — to waters rarely fished. Electric fishing motors often are allowed on boats in golf course communities.
At some golf resorts, angling by visitors is encouraged on water hazards, to the point that improved boat ramps are available, and large bass boats even can be launched and used for fishing. Usually, no big outboards can be used, however, only quiet electric motors.
An important plus for golf course waters is that most are small, shallow, and have limited fishing pressure. Therefore, it takes comparatively little time for anglers to locate fish. More often than not, course ponds and lakes were dug by construction crews for use as fill when building greens, tees and bunkers.
Consequently, water hazards commonly have great structures such as holes, underwater islands, humps, bars, tapering points and drop-offs. Some golf ponds are mini-reservoirs, complete with creek channel edges, flooded timber and stumps, riprap and deep dam water.
In some shallow, natural golf course waters there is no well-defined structure to hold fish. In such waters, the outside edges of grass lines and lily pads might hold almost every fish in the lake or pond. Sometimes, ponds have deep undercut banks that harbor big bass and other species, particularly in sunny weather. Find a cool, shady bank with overhanging willows or other trees and you might have discovered the best fishing spot on an entire water hazard.
Bulkheads around greens and near fairway bunkers, and small footbridges for golf carts over water hazards, also can be outstanding fishing spots. I once stopped on such a bridge on a public Florida golf course and looked down into the shadows, hoping to see bass or bream.
Instead, I spotted a school of about a dozen catfish, none less than 10 pounds.
A little schmoozing of the club pro got permission to fish for the cats, and that afternoon friends and I worked them over using baits on bottom. We caught over a dozen hard-fighting channel cats, including one behemoth pushing nearly 20 pounds.
We released every cat, and have several times since fished the same water hazard — no doubt landing and releasing some of the same catfish over several years.
Not once have we seen another angler working the same spot, though many dozens of golfers cross the bridge daily.By Bob McNally
WASHINGTON, DC – Federal legislation now requires the Army Corps of Engineers to address the safety risks of placing dead trees in Lake Chelan to offset the environment damage allegedly caused by building a dock.
The House Appropriations Committee passed a bill April 25 that requires the Corps to address the safety risks to recreational users of woody debris placed in Lake Chelan, according to U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wenatchee). For about a decade, agencies issuing building permits for docks on Lake Chelan required applicants to offset the alleged damage to fish habitat by placing large woody debris in the form of dead fruit trees, bundled with steel cable and rocks, on the lake bed. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in proven science based, fish protection.
“Individuals wishing to construct a residential dock must pass through an exhaustive and very expensive permit process,” wrote boating safety instructor Russ Jones in a guest column to The Mirror. “Yet any agency wishing to deposit non-native species into the lake appear to be able to do so without the simplest of review processes. This was also the case with the use of submerged fruit trees. No prior study was conducted nor has there been any follow up study.”
With the dramatic rise and fall of the water level through the different seasons, local residents have raised concerns about the possible movement of this woody debris and the safety hazards that it poses to boaters and other recreational users of the lake, Hastings said.
“Washington residents have enjoyed waterskiing, swimming, boating and fishing in Lake Chelan for generations, and it is critical that it remain a safe environment for recreation,” said Hastings, who contributed language in the bill, “I am pleased that the Appropriations Committee acknowledges the need for the Corps to address the safety hazards of woody debris in Lake Chelan and reevaluate its use in the future so Lake Chelan can remain a safe place for Washington families to enjoy recreational activities. Additionally, I question the science and lack of monitoring of large woody debris as a mitigation requirement.”
In January 2011, Chelan City Council members unanimously adopted a complicated resolution restricting the use of large woody debris as an environmental offset to construction projects such as boat docks over the lake.
“In layman’s language, it would allow large woody debris but only low enough where it won’t interfere with boaters,” said council member Wendy Isenhart at that time. “It’s our responsibility to make policy here and we need an expression of our policy.”
Chelan County Commissioners followed shortly thereafter with a similar resolution.
Hastings’ language, which was included in the report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2013 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, requires the Army Corps of Engineers to report back to Congress on their efforts to address the safety hazards posed by woody debris in Lake Chelan, the liability of the Corps and private dock owners should a person or property be injured or destroyed by the woody debris, and whether woody debris should continue to be an acceptable option offered for mitigation within Lake Chelan.
In March, Hastings, who has long questioned the need to mitigate the impact of docks on fish, submitted a request to Administrator Lubchenco of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the science used to determine the impact of docks on fish species.
Lubchenco has yet to respond to this request. At least six federal, state and county agencies require anyone building a dock on Lake Chelan to offset its alleged environmental detriment to fish.
One prescribed method is to anchor apple trees, referred to as large woody debris, near the shoreline to create artificial fish habitats. The Army Corps of Engineers and the State Department of Ecology created a prospectus that includes research allegedly proving this method would work in Lake Chelan.
The agencies call the trees “large woody debris” and fear that every time a portion of the lake is covered by such things as docks, it has a negative impact on the ecology of the lake.
Making up for that negative impact, by tethering dead trees near the lake shoreline to create habitat for fish, is called “mitigation.”
‘Don McDowell and Chris Cantrell share a check for $12,600 for working on the state’s habitat project. A mold for a Reef Ball is in the foreground.’ Don McDowell
Reefballs are making a significant impact – Efforts to enhance Arizona’s bass fisheries with man-made habitats received a big boost, when the Arizona B.A.S.S. Federation Nation (ABFN) was awarded a $12,600 grant. That money from Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation (ASWC) will be used to assist Arizona Game and Fish (AGF) in making concrete Reef Balls.
Reef Balls are the Arizona chapter’s answer to the state’s lack of habitat in its fisheries. Made of 3/4 yard of concrete, a Reef Ball looks like a half-sphere of Swiss cheese, according to Chris Cantrell, AGF fishery manager. He added that ecosystems form in and around the balls, which were popularized for marine fisheries. ‘It’s really good habitat that’s there for a long time,’ said Cantrell. ‘A Reef Ball is thought to take more than 500 years of saltwater.’
‘Money will be spent to create additional molds to allow bulk concrete purchases to mass produce Reef Balls in one fell swoop instead of hand-mixing the concrete,’ said Don McDowell, ABFN conservation director.
‘This will allow us to build 12 additional three-piece molds,’ he continued, adding that this is the first time that the organization has provided a grant for fish habitat.
‘Looks like our fish are getting much needed new furniture much sooner than we had hoped for,’ he continued. ‘Our deepest gratitude to the ASWC.’
Sometime this fall, Saguaro Lake probably will be the next fishery to receive Reef Balls, which ABFN volunteers will help build, load, offload and place. The first was Tempe Town Lake.
Other funding so far has included a $910 donation from Midweek Bass Anglers from the club’s Holiday Open.
‘Once we’re to the production phase, we can go anywhere,’ Cantrell continued. ‘The concrete, renting the forklifts, moving the habitat, getting volunteers — all of that will be the easy part. The hard part is getting the molds created.’
Lack of habitat in Arizona waters is the No. 1 limiting factor for anglers.
‘It’s like a bathtub out there,’ Cantrell said of Arizona’s impoundments.
‘We don’t have a renewable resource,’ McDowell added. ‘We have to babysit the fish. And we have to take care of the habitat before we can have the fish.’
Jose Mundo, an employee of Lancaster Custom Dock & Lift Systems Inc., places sticks while “seeding” a new osprey nest about 25 feet above the water of Lake Norman on Thursday.
To volunteer with Saturday’s Lake Norman buttonbush planting and other N.C. Wildlife Federation projects, visit www.ncwf.org or call Chris North, federation conservation director, at 704-332-5696. GPS coordinates for the rock reef sites are on the federation’s web site.
LAKE NORMAN Fishermen watched from boats as a trackhoe on a barge dumped 270 tons of boulders into Lake Norman Thursday, and a worker placed a manmade osprey nest 25 feet above the water on a sturdy wood pole.
The nonprofit N.C. Wildlife Federation led the initiatives in an ongoing effort to build habitat for wildlife, both fish and birds of prey.
“The more rock piles, the more habitat you put in the lake, the more (fishing) tournaments you have and the more money you generate for the local economy,” longtime Lake Norman fishing guide Gus Gustafson said. “There’s not enough rock piles to go around.”
Gustfason and other fishermen pulled nearby as trackhoe operator Ignacio Martinez of Lancaster Custom Docks and Lift Systems dumped rocks into 25 to 30 feet of water off the southern end of Brawley School Road peninsula in southern Iredell County. Other boulders were dropped farther north, near Lake Norman State Park in Troutman. The rocks came from a quarry in Denver, N.C.
The boulders are intended to create habitat for catfish, spotted and largemouth bass and other prized catches at the bottom of North Carolina’s largest lake.
By Friday morning, the fishermen knew, shad, herring and other bait fish would cluster at the rocks for protection from the larger fish, which in turn become unsuspecting catches for rods and reels.
“It’s the same as how people congregate at the opening of a new mall,” Gustfason said.
The federation led the rock dumping for the second year in a row. In 2011, Lancaster trackhoes plopped 270 tons of boulders at two other locations on the lake, creating fish habitat on the lake’s otherwise sandy bottom.
Fishermen previously established habitat by tossing Christmas trees into the lake, but the trees rot in a year, they said.
In 2009, federation volunteers also placed 200 porcupine-like “fish attractors” in the waters north of the N.C. 150 bridge and 100 attractors in Mountain Island Lake. They’re still there, attracting fish and anglers, said Tim Gestwicki, federation executive director.
On Thursday, volunteers from the federation and its Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists chapter also peered skyward as a harnessed-in Jose Mundo placed sticks on a platform made of chain-link fencing and galvanized steel tubing to form an osprey nest.
“The birds will drop their own sticks onto the platform and then weave them all together,” said Stephen Turley, a federation board member who built the nesting platform at his Lake Norman home and six other platforms to be placed on the lake this year.
The federation has placed nearly 50 osprey platforms over the years at lakes along the Catawba River chain, from Lake James to Lake Wylie, Gestwicki said. He said a 2011 survey revealed 50 pairs of osprey nesting on Lake Norman alone.
The federation also plans to add two great blue heron rookeries on Lake Norman this year. On Saturday, its volunteers will plant 1,000 buttonbush plants at seven locations on Lake Norman islands, wetland areas and shoreline to slow erosion. The plant’s white flowers benefit hummingbirds, butterflies and honey bees, and its seeds provide food for wood ducks, mallards and migratory teal.
In 2011, the federation provided $100,000 for Mecklenburg County to preserve land at Mountain Island Lake.
Duke Energy’s Habitat Enhancement Program fund paid for the federation’s initiatives. Proceeds from dock and other fees help pay for the program, which has awarded $433,000 to projects in the Carolinas since it began in 2007.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/04/19/3185556/new-habitats-for-fish-and-osprey.html#storylink=cpy
What kind of habitat helps the fish grow large and the water stay clear? Can you actually dictate where to cast your lure to find a bass lurking in the shaded cover like a defensemen reads a quarterback?
If you spend the time and effort to plan the design of your lake or pond from start to finish, you can achieve these goals and much more. Chris Kelsay, veteran linebacker/defensive end of the Buffalo Bills has a passion for more than just football. Chris not only loves to tackle running backs and wide receivers, but big bass are also on the hit list. Growing up in Nebraska, Chris has loved the outdoors all his life. When he’s not playing ball, he’s often talking fishing and hunting with his family and friends, planning his next adventure with his bow, firearms or fishing rods. Chris plays off the field with as much intensity as he does at work, stalking, sneaking and outsmarting his opponents with hard work and dedication.
Another NFL great that is no stranger to the outdoors is Aaron Graham, former Center for the Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders and finishing up his career with the Tennessee Titans. These two guys have quite a bit more in common than playing ball in the NFL. Not only are they neighbors near Gretna Nebraska, but they both love to fish and hunt, having their own private lakes that they enjoy with their families and friends. Both these guys played college ball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, as well as Chris’ brother Chad. Retiring from the NFL, Aaron now owns and operates his own company called “Premier Outdoor properties”, which specializes in large tract farm, ranch and recreational real estate throughout Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri. Participating with Cabela’s Trophy Properties, his firm can help you find your dream hunting and fishing, farm and ranch, lake or river frontage, and large tract acreages, to meet any needs you may have.
Premier properties owner Aaron Graham provides fishing and lake property advice
Aaron has had his lake stocked with an exceptional strain of bass, with catches to date over eight pounds by his son Cooper. With the lake being about seven years old, Aaron has a jump start on Chris with some experience in habitat, stocking and water quality. We met Aaron over a year ago, providing him with some of our artificial fish habitat products for his lake. Follow this link to read about aaron’s habitat project. The success he has had with our products, encouraged him to put Chris in touch with the team at Fishiding.com to discuss a plan for his first of two lakes, as it was getting ready to be filled to full pool. With a large well, levelor system, aeration and a stocking plan in place, we came up with a plan and design to meet Chris’ desire to create a personal, one of a kind fishery. The first lake Chris has on his property, at just over six acres, needs plenty of cover for the fish to spawn, hide and hunt within. A well known and respected fisheries biologist Bob Lusk of Pondboss.com, recommends at least 20% of the surface area of a lake or pond be provided in habitat.
With plans to include aquatic plants, wood and rock, we came up with an array of artificial habitat models to make up about 25% of the needed habitat for Chris’ first lake. We have always felt that a variety of natural and artificial habitat provides the diversity, all types of fish species need to utilize throughout the year. Like most things in life, everything in moderation seems to achieve the maximum efficiency and ultimate benefits for a fishery.
Kelsay lake habitat plan
The plan we came up with provided an array of structure textures, sizes and shapes to best provide cover for fish spawning and growing habitats. A total of 350 individual habitat units were hand selected to best achieve Chris’ goals to create a trophy bass fishery. A key element to any habitat plan is to create a line of structure from shallow water spawning areas out to mid depth and ultimately deep water cover. This allows young fry to hide in fine, dense cover immediately after hatching, in the shallow water they are spawned in. As these young of the year fry develop and explore out to mid depth ranges, they need to have cover to utilize as they progress deeper. If this cover is not available, they get eaten before reaching preferred size by predator fish. It is imperative that these small fish are able to hide and grow larger to the 3″-5″ size before becoming forage for the game fish. A bass for instance, needs to eat 10 pounds of forage to put on just one pound in weight. If that bass eats the fry before they get large enough, he will eat them all up just to satisfy his hunger and desire to put on weight.
Lake before Fishiding habitat installation
We put our plan together to deliver the structure and help Chris with the installation. Although artificial habitat only needs to be installed once, this was a large amount of structure to ship and install at one time. It was decided we would drive the almost 7200 pounds of habitat out in our own truck and trailer from our facility in northern Illinois. The 475 mile trip had us arriving by lunchtime on a Friday, with the hopes of finishing the installation late Saturday evening, for the return trip on Sunday.
Three of us set out at 4:00 a.m. Friday to achieve our goal. Our son Graham, an electronic media/photography major at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, came to capture the project in high definition pictures and video and help with the installation process. Also along was our nephew Josh Fick, a starting player for the North Central college football team, over excited to meet and work with the NFL players. Meeting us there was Josh Milczski, a Nebraska native, writer for recycled fish.org, a pond boss moderator and Nebraska Fish and Game board member to lend a hand and share his knowledge. Also on hand to help was Chris and Chad Kelsay, as well as Aaron and Cooper Graham.
We unloaded all 350 units and spotted them around the lake per plan Friday afternoon and then when out for a well desreved Nebraska steak dinner to re-fuel for the big push on Saturday.
The weather was un-seasonably hot, with temps. in the low 90’s and full sun. None of us expected to be getting sun burn in march, let alone starting to find Morel mushrooms already. The turkey were gobbling on the roost as we set up for a long day of work, unfolding each unit and stocking them on the bank near their final resting place. Geese and ducks of all varieties, came in and out of the lake all day, giving us a show of the abundant wildlife in the area. There was about 2 feet of water existing in the lake from runoff and ground water level, an ideal situation to put our plan into motion.
Three Nebraska Boys and one flatlander plan the attack
The “Kelsay express” saved lots of time
One huge advantage of Fishiding artificial fish habitat is the ability to grow bio film or periphyton. This “super food” is the best possible fish food available, occurring naturally. It sticks to the inert substrates or PVC limbs, and removes over abundant nutrients brought in from run off, like phosphorus. These nutrients brought in from farming practices, cause excessive weed and algae growth, choking many lakes and ponds. The fish in turn, eat this film and grow to maximum potential. Unlike natural materials, the PVC does not decompose, thus removing needed dissolved oxygen as it rots away. This process allows the water to become clear and feeds your fish naturally, the way nature intended. Inert substrates are used in aquaculture and fish “brush parks” to speed up the growth rates of desired species for market. A leader in this technology is a company called Floating Islands international, based in Montana. Their islands consisting of woven recycled plastics, are being used all over the world to help not only lakes and ponds, but water treatment plants and purification as well.
Shallow Cradle cover for fry.
75 Cradles were placed in shallow water in the pre- designed flat for spawning habitat. These units will help the fry survive the important first months of life. When opened, a cluster of hundreds of strands of PVC create a safe haven for fry and each unit consists of over 22 square feet of surface area to grow bio film and algae to feed them. After they reach the size of about 2″, they venture out a little deeper into the 100 Safehouse models, spread throughout the lake. This mid depth structure adds over 44 square feet each of wide limbed surface area. The limbs in the Safehouse range from 1-1/2″ up to 4″ in width. Each unit stands a minimum of 42″ tall and opens to over six feet in diameter.
Safehouse and keepers ready for installation.
The Fishiding fish habitat products are all made from reclaimed PVC vinyl siding that was destined to be put in landfills. Over 50% of the material acquired has never been used on buildings and will last for many generations to come. This safe, inert substrate, works perfectly for underwater applications in fish habitat. Our main supplier of discarded siding comes from K. Hoving companies. This state of the art waste removal operation currently recycles an astounding 75% of the trash they collect. Re-use is the term they use to explain their company goals. See this story about their firm and the great things they are doing to help our environment. Add the cover and your fish will prosper, Go-Green and save the environment all at the same time.
All fishiding units come complete, ready to sink with no assembly or additional parts/tools needed. Simply open the box, bend to any desired shape and toss in the lake. Each unit sinks upright with the included “stump like” base. There is no incorrect or wrong shape, as diverse as Mother Nature. Artificial habitat products are being used all around the country, as biologists learn more about the many advantages they offer. Years of use from these structures allow anglers and pond/lake owners a snag free habitat for fish to utilize. Saving the environment, these fish attractors help conserve energy with no manufacturing process involved.
Cleaned, cut into various shapes, widths and sizes then cemented into just about any type of safe container, fishing groups are getting involved in creating new habitats lost from degradation and development. All of the fishiding models are available shipped loose as well as in a completed form. Customers can save money by purchasing loose pieces of the PVC in all varities and create their own custom designs by using their own container and cement. A special mixture of cement is also available to ensure a tight, fool proof bond to the vinyl. The pieces and models come in an array of colors, just like the colors available when siding your new home. After the algae and bio film begins to grow, they all take on a greenish/brown appearance.
Kelsay lake artificial habitat at sunset
Groups like the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation have begun to incorporate Fishiding habitat products into their ongoing conservation efforts. Projects in West Virginia were recently completed with great success. Plans to work in New Mexico, South Dakota,Virginia and Texas are being put together currently with the conservation directors in those states. The B.A.S.S. Federation Nation leads the industry by example in conservation work with groups in all states and Canada promoting conservation and water quality issues world wide.
Lake and pond owners enjoy the ease of installation, with no need to ever replace. The limbs all have any holes or notches removed to make each unit snag resistant,unlike brush and Christmas trees. By providing shallow habitat for fry and forage fish, mosquitos can be almost eliminated in the area, as they feed on these pesty critters. Shallow habitat is the key to growing your own forage base, thus eliminating the need to constantly restock minnows to feed your game fish.
100 Keeper models were incorporated into the plan for deep water structure. These large units each boast over 62 square feet of surface area and allow predator fish to hunt and hide around. When opened and bent to shape, they cover a seven foot diameter and are best installed with about a foot of space in between. This allows fish to navigate through them, feeding and resting in the shade they produce. Bass prefer the dense cover and shade that these fish attractors provide.
Also part of the plan was to install 25 Stakeout structures, which are artificial stake beds, crappie and bluegill fisherman use a great deal in the south. These units stand 48″ tall and have an open grouping of individual “sticks” that the panfish prefer. Another 50 smaller prototype versions of these were installed in shallow areas for young of the year fish to navigate through as well.
With all the help and planning, we were able to meet our goal and finish installing all 350 Fishiding habitat units by sundown on Saturday. Chris welcomed us into his beautiful home and surrounding landscape. Although we had no time to hunt or fish while we were there, plans are being made to come back to install our habitat products in his second, five acre lake. With common goals of preserving our natural surroundings and creating a fantastic fishery, we are planning to spend some time together in the great outdoors with bows, guns and fishing rods in hand. New friendships have been made, stories of the hunt continue to be shared and the love of the great outdoors continue to be the catalyst for a common bond between men from all walks of life.
Before and After habitat
“My experience with David Ewald and fishiding.com was amazing to say the least. His passion for lakes and fish habitat was very evident from the beginning. David and his crew are able to help turn your expectations and dreams into reality. We are confident that between the artificial structures from fishiding.com, and the natural habitat we have in place, we will be able to grow and harvest many great fish for a very long time. I highly recommend fishiding.com for your habitat needs.” Chris Kelsay,owner
