StructureSpot

“The Refuge” 6-pack artificial fish habitat structures and attractors

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oas-6
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142.00 LBS
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Bookmark and Share Starter pack fishiding artificial fish habitat structures. A dozen of the three most popular fish holding structures. (4) Keeper, (4) Safehouse, (4) Cradle

Product Description:

Here is what you have been asking for! A substanial addition to any habitat plans, this deeper water structure group, has room for all ages and sizes of fish.

With three each of the Keeper and Safehouse, this resting area provides a total of 318 square feet of surface area.

The right amount of cover to create room for fish to rest and feed in the same location.

These six units will cover an area between 20×10 feet, or a line over 30 feet long.

Experiment with different layouts with each additional refuge you install.

Keeper:

Maximum shade and protection is abundant throughout this eco. friendly product made with reclaimed pvc material. With limbs all standing a full 48″, these 2-1/2″-3-1/2″ wide surfaces grow algae and aquatic life quickly.

Each keeper weighs approx. 28 pounds, and is recommended for depths over 10 feet. This large and somewhat coarse cover, provides habitat for all sizes of fish.

Bass,crappie,panfish alike utilize the shading effects of this new type of artificial fish attractor. Go-green and promote fish habitat restoration! Made in the USA with all American made materials.

Reclaimed pvc limbs provide an eco.-friendly solution to fish habitat loss and degradation.

Safehouse:

These safehouse fish habitat units stand 46″ tall and weigh 16 pounds each. This fish attractor has all the needed shade and coverage to hold all sizes of fish.

Consisting of limbs ranging in width from 2.5″-3.5″ wide and 18″-46″ tall, they open to a full 72″ wide. With a minimum of 44 square feet of surface area, it provides plenty of room for algae and shade to attract fish.

Recommended for depths of 6′-12′. Reclaimed pvc limbs provide an eco.-friendly solution to fish habitat loss and degradation.

Bend to shape by hand to any desired shape and toss in water. Sinks itself. Made in the USA with all American made materials.

Over 44 square feet surface area each.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.


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  1. perfect price and size 

    Posted by Unknown on 27th Apr 2011

    thanks for adding this group of structure. i alraedy bought two keepers and they work good.Will be ordering more of these groups sonn.


Don’t Forget StructureSpot When Adding Artificial PVC Fish Attractors in Your Pond

Check out this story on placing fish attractoors with precise placement.  http://www.bradwiegmann.com/pond-fishing/pond-management/601-dont-forget-structurespot-when-adding-artificial-pvc-fish-attractors-in-your-pond-.html

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Attach the StructureSpots to your Fishiding units when sinking them to mark their location.Fishiding homepage

StructureSpot ShallowSpotStructureSpot DeepSpot

Fish Habitat Study Underway at Table Rock Lake

Missouri Conservation Department hopes to have useful information to share with anglers when the study is complete
ARTICLE | JULY 12, 2011 – 11:05AM | BY MICHELE SKALICKY

About four years ago, the Missouri Department of Conservation, along with a few other organizations began the Table Rock Lake National Fish Habitat Initiative, a project designed to maintain and improve fish habitat in Table Rock.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Since then, as part of that initiative, more than 1500 fish habitat structures have been created in the lake.  Now, biologists are in the middle of a radio-telemetry study that’s expected to provide information about behavior and habitat use of largemouth bass.

Shane Bush, fisheries management biologist for the Conservation Department, says the main reason for the study is to evaluate the large-scale habitat project…

“Because it’s a project of this calibur, we really want to evaluate whether this habitat’s working or whether it’s not, you know, and just kind of help us to learn what works and what doesn’t work as well so that, when the project’s completed and other state agencies want to use this data, we can give them a good paper and say that, you know, ‘this is what worked well and this is what didn’t work well,’ because this study is designed to be a pilot project in a more broad national project focused on habitat restoration in large reservoirs throughout the country.”

Earlier this year, 60 legal-sized largemouth bass were collected from the Kings River Arm of Table Rock Lake and surgically implanted with radio tags.  They were then released back into the lake.

Bush says, besides habitat use, they hope to learn some more things about the fish…

“Those fish will also be studied to track their daily and seasonal movements around the lake to give biologists a better understanding of just overall movements of bass to help answer public inquiries and just learn more overall about the bass’s behavior in the lake.”

Each fish is located once per month during daylight hours.  Every three months, a smaller number of the tagged fish will be tracked for a full 24-hour period to monitor daytime and nighttime movements.

Scuba surveys are also being conducted—divers go down to view the habitat structures to record what kinds of fish are using them.

If an angler catches a tagged largemouth bass, Bush hopes they’ll release it back into the lake so it can be studied further.  The fish are easily recognizable since they have an antenna protruding from their abdomen.  They also are marked with an orange tag near their dorsal fin…

“That orange tag actually has a number on it, and if anglers would just call our office and give us that number and tell us where they caught the fish, how big the fish was  or whether it was release or kept and where it was released, that would just provide us with a lot of information.”

You can call the Conservation Department office in Branson at 334-4859.

Bush says they’ll add more habitat structures to Table Rock Lake starting in October–the Table Rock Lake National Fish Habitat Initiative runs thru 2012.

He says they don’t have much information from the radio-telemetry study to share yet, but he expects to have useful information for anglers when the study’s finished in about a year.

concern runs deep for fish habitat

Colorado sportsmen’s concern runs deep for fish habitat in wake of Yellowstone River oil spill

By David O. Williams
Real Aspen – July 6, 2011
Sportsmen’s groups as far away as Colorado are deeply concerned about the potential degradation of fish and wildlife habitat resulting from Friday’s ExxonMobil oil spill in the pristine Yellowstone River 20 miles upstream from Billings, Mont. 

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

“One of the things we always look at is the economic impact of hunting and fishing to the state economy,” said Gaspar Perricone, co-founder and co-director of the Denver-based Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance. “In Montana, wildlife-related activity generates $1.1 billion annually, and of that, $759 million comes specifically from hunting and angling.

“Any time there’s a threat to the habitat, you obviously run the risk of impairing some of the tourism to a place like Yellowstone as well as the opportunity for quality hunting and fishing.”

 

 

Oil in Montana’s Yellowstone River.
Alexis Bonogofsky of the National Wildlife Federation

Friday’s pipeline break, which the company now admits spilled more than 1,000 barrels of oil (or at least 42,000 gallons) is more than 100 miles downstream from Yellowstone National Park. But the river near the town of Laurel, where the rupture occurred, is known for world-class fishing.Wildlife officials told MSNBC they don’t expect to see short-term impacts such as dead fish floating on the surface, but they are worried about long-term effects on small forms of aquatic life that fish eat. That would adversely impact the fish habitat on the nation’s longest undammed river.

As of Wednesday, more than 440 people were working to soak up the oil, according to a press release from Region 8 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

“[Wednesday] EPA issued an order to ExxonMobil, pursuant to the Clean Water Act, directing the company to take a number of clean-up and restoration activities as a result of an oil spill into the Yellowstone River,” the release reads. “EPA will continue in its role in directing and overseeing the cleanup and restoration of the river and ensuring the protection of human health and the environment.

“EPA is coordinating its response actions with the Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service and state and local agencies and will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure ExxonMobil, as the responsible party, addresses any and all potential impacts of this spill.”

Environmental groups have already begun questioning Exxon’s estimates of the size and scope of the spill.

Alexis Bonogofsky, whose family farm is in Laurel, told CNN oil has polluted the edge of her farmland to the point that she can’t let her animals graze. “You go down to where the oil is,” she said, “and you don’t hear anything anymore. No birds, no toads, no crickets, nothing. It’s just silent.”

Bonogofsky is the daughter of Debra Bonogofsky, a moderate Republican businesswoman who last year told the Colorado Independent she was the victim of a “smear campaign” orchestrated by Western Tradition Partnership – a pro-oil-and-gas political advocacy group originally registered in Colorado.

Bonogofsky filed a formal complaint against the group with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, whodetermined WTP violated Montana campaign finance and disclosure laws in a 2008 legislative race. WTP, now American Tradition Partnership, describes itself as a “no-compromise grassroots organization dedicated to fighting the radical environmentalist agenda.”

WTP and ATP have been very active in Colorado political races in recent years, targeting Democrats who favor more renewable energy and challenging the state’s aggressive renewable energy standard.

While Colorado in recent years has not seen a high-profile spill along the lines of the Montana pipeline break or recent ruptures in Michigan and Illinois, Perricone’s Bull Moose group in May released a report detailing more than 1,000 small spills of more than 5.6 million gallons of oil, wastewater and other drilling fluids in three western Colorado counties over the past decade.

“If we develop our natural resources in an appropriate manner, then wildlife-related activity is a well than can be tapped in perpetuity,” Perricone said. “However, if we get to the point where the extraction of our natural resources damages wildlife and wildlife habitat to the degree that it can’t recover, then that certainly is not a place that we’d like to find ourselves.”

 

proposed suit over fish habitat………

Official: ‘Misperception’ to blame for proposed suit over fish habitat

1:41 AM, Jul. 9, 2011  |

RIVERSIDE — A dozen Inland Empire water agencies poised to wage a legal battle against the Obama administration over its decision to expand the habitat of an endangered fish may be laboring under a “misperception” about the impact of the edict, a federal official said Friday.

The Riverside County Flood Control & Water Conservation District, Riverside Public Utilities and 10 other agencies are threatening to file a lawsuit to stop the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service from enlarging protected space for the Santa Ana Sucker.

According to the plaintiffs, a December ruling by federal officials would effectively shut off 125,800-acre-feet of water, depriving the region of one-third of its current fresh water stocks.

Representatives from the water agencies will be taking their complaints to members of the California congressional delegation on Monday.

According to USFWS spokeswoman Jane Hendron, the utilities are making a federal case out of a dispute based largely on superficialities, not actual harm.

Hendron said the “critical habitat” designation behind the controversy will not hinder use of water supplies.

“There’s a misperception about critical habitat. People don’t realize that it does not trigger any specific action,” Hendron told City News Service.

She said the designation provides an “additional layer of review” before developers or municipalities can proceed with making any changes along waterways that have been recognized as critical to a threatened species.

In the case of the Santa Ana Sucker, the U.S. Department of Interior’s “Final Rule” dictates that any planned modifications to the area encompassing the river’s headwaters in the San Bernardino Mountains be cleared by the USFWS or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Sucker’s habitat has been further degraded by construction of the Seven Oaks Dam, which has “significantly altered the natural hydrological regime,” Hendron said. “This does affect habitat downstream. What you do upstream can affect the downstream environment,” she said. According to the water agencies, efforts to preserve the Sucker have been successful, and the federal ruling threatens to destabilize the region. Federal officials issued findings in 2005 that concluded state and local conservation efforts to protect the Sucker were paying off. However, last year, USFWS representatives reversed course. Citing a 2004 study, they declared gravel and cobble substrate required for the endangered fish’s survival had been drastically reduced since dam construction. Federal officials want higher volumes of water released from the dam to uncover substrate, which promotes algae growth and spawning grounds. Last month, a fact-finding committee composed of local and federal officials determined that stronger flows produced by releasing dam water often had the opposite effect of what was intended, creating high levels of sediment and murky underwater conditions — negatives for the fish. Local water agencies argue that the amount of water to be restricted for the benefit of the amphibian could be used to replenish regional water stocks and help reduce the region’s dependence on water imports from the San Joaquin Delta, which is already under a federal pumping limit to protect the endangered Delta Smelt.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Teamwork helps rebuild Dairyland Flowage’s fish habitat

Dairyland FlowageJoe Knight

Dairyland Flowage

Students from Flambeau, Bruce and Ladysmith high schools hauled trees out to deeper water Tuesday in the Dairyland Flowage.

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Posted: Thursday, July 7, 2011 11:55 pm | Updated: 7:45 am, Fri Jul 8, 2011.

By Joe Knight Leader-Telegram staff |

LADYSMITH – The day was warm, the water temperatures hovering between 89 and 90 degrees, making it more comfortable for students from three Rusk County high schools who spent the morning up to their necks in water.

Some students in a boat mixed cement to anchor individual spruce trees to the bottom of the Dairyland Flowage while others swam or waded with trees they positioned at the sides of submerged rock piles. The rocks had been dropped through the ice along the shore during the winter.

The position of the rocks had been marked with a GPS. Those coordinates, plus some searching by students, helped locate the piles this summer. The individual trees with cement foundations would be placed between the rock piles to provide additional cover.

The idea is to provide a diversity of habitat to give minnows and small fish a place to live, which in turn will provide food for bigger fish, said Jerry Carow of the Rusk County Wildlife Restoration Association, the nonprofit group coordinating the project.

The work began three years ago when Dairyland Power Cooperative drew down the reservoir to repair a dam. The association and Dairyland Power took the opportunity to haul rocks and trees onto the dry lake bed to create aquatic habitat.

When the power company refilled the lake, they saw no reason to stop creating habitat. They just had to change their methods, Carow said. Because Dairyland Power has a five-year permit from the state Department of Natural Resources to create habitat in the lake, they decided to keep going with that work.

Since the project began three years ago, the power company has brought in about 6,400 cubic yards of rock – the equivalent of a four-mile stretch of rock three feet wide and three feet high, Carow said.

So far the project has involved the installation of about 2,000 trees. Another 500 to 1,000 could be added, Carow said.

The project involves students from Flambeau, Bruce and Ladysmith high schools during summer months. During the rest of the year, prisoners from Flambeau Correctional Center provide the labor.

Fat fish

The habitat work appears to be helping fish in the flowage, said John Thiel, senior environmental biologist with Dairyland Power.

Natural reproduction of walleyes always has been good on the flowage, an impoundment of the Flambeau River, but growth of the fish typically has been slow, he said. Now the walleyes are growing faster.

“We’ve had a 2-inch increase in the average size of walleyes we’ve collected,” Thiel said.

During the next few years, more walleyes should be moving into the legal size range, he said.

Black crappies have become more abundant and also are growing well, Thiel said. Bluegills are not abundant in the flowage but are more common now than they were, as are perch and smallmouth bass.

When the reservoir was created in the early 1950s, the power company removed trees logs and stumps along the shoreline. Officials at the time figured drifting wood might interfere with power generation.

“At the time they didn’t realize they were removing all the good fish habitat,” Thiel said. “What the lake really needs is shallow water fish habitat.”

The reservoir always has been home to big muskies, but the waterway is low on suckers, a favorite food of muskies. One potential problem was a perched road culvert on nearby Crooked Creek that may have been blocking upstream spawning movements of suckers and other fish in the spring. Officials lowered the culvert so fish could get upstream, and they plan to survey the creek later this summer to find evidence of spawning by suckers, Thiel said.

Regulations

Dairyland Power and the wildlife association had wanted to bring in heavy equipment and move some existing gravel on the reservoir’s bottom three years ago when the reservoir was drained, but the DNR nixed that idea because of mercury contamination in the sediment. The mercury came from paper plants upstream.

Thiel thought the project could have been completed without recirculating mercury in the system – Dairyland had done some testing of the sediments – but the power company lost that argument.

That decision caused Dairyland Power to change plans and downsize the reefs they wanted to build, but, with the help of the wildlife association and other community groups, fish habitat in the flowage is much improved, he said.

Summer jobs

This is the fourth summer that Charlie Coughenour, a student at Ladysmith High School, has done conservation work for the Rusk County Wildlife Restoration Association.

“It’s a lot of fun. It gives me something to do in the summer, plus I get paid,” said Coughenour, who will be a senior this fall.

Twenty-four high school students worked this summer on the project, which included fish habitat improvement, repairing erosion sites, building a nature trail and creating fishing access sites.

Students work for five weeks and earn $24 per day, plus one-half of a high school credit. The students are supervised by teachers and four college interns.

Coughenour said he has learned some construction skills in the program and it’s also influenced his career choice. He plans to attend UW-Stevens Point and study environmental science.

Knight can be reached at 715-830-5835, 800-236-7077 or joe.knight@ecpc.com.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Give managed forestry credit for the fish habitat at Battle Creek

Another View: Give managed forestry credit for the fish habitat at Battle Creek

By David A. Bischel
Published: Sunday, Jun. 26, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 3E

Re “Governor needs to keep pledge at Battle Creek” (Editorial, June 21):

The Bee’s editorial board took what should have been a positive story about removing dams and instead pandered to unfounded fears to suggest that forestry harms fish-recovery efforts, even though forestry is included in watershed restoration precisely to benefit salmon. Not only is forest management not an obstacle, forestry helps fund restoration that must otherwise be paid for by taxpayers or wouldn’t happen at all.

At issue is the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration project, which according to the California Department of Fish and Game will “re-establish access to 42 miles of premier spawning and rearing habitat for spring- and fall-run chinook salmon and steelhead.” This ideal fish habitat has been created by decades of active forest management in the watershed, including clear-cutting that some want to ban.

Science shows that carefully managed forestry operations can create ideal spawning habitat, conserve water resources and protect watersheds against high-intensity wildfire. California clear-cuts create small openings, are replanted with native species by law and establish biologically diverse forests of all ages on the landscape.

Humboldt State University’s John-Pascall Berrill notes that “clear-cutting is a process that cannot be judged in a single moment in time” and that the “water-quality impacts of clear-cutting in California are likely within the range of natural disturbance.” Site-specific research from Battle Creek shows virtually no negative impacts on water quality from harvest activities.

Rather than note that forest management has established ideal salmon habitat at Battle Creek, The Bee assumes that restoration will not be managed carefully and that having two agencies work to conserve water quality is a conflict of missions.

The Bee’s editorial went on to encourage Gov. Jerry Brown to adopt a budget that would impose new harvest-plan review fees. We think this could add about $40,000 per plan to fees already roughly 10 times higher than those in neighboring Oregon and Washington. This short-sighted suggestion fails to recognize that additional fees would cripple businesses already reeling from the highest permitting costs in the nation, cost jobs in rural communities suffering disproportionally high unemployment, and dismantle the infrastructure absolutely essential to addressing California’s wildfire crisis.

Harvest-plan review costs have nearly doubled since 1997 despite an 80 percent decline in harvest operations. Imposing fees on forest landowners will not make the process more efficient but could eliminate the forestry sector in California, bankrupt counties struggling to provide social services and kill the rural way of life.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/26/3726139/give-managed-forestry-credit-for.html#ixzz1RKWhIgBB

spotlight back on pipeline safety

exxon tanker
By David O. Williams07.05.11

ExxonMobil workers on Tuesday were scrambling to add staff and finds ways to work in swift-moving flood waters to soak up more than 40,000 gallons of oil the company spilled into Montana’s pristine Yellowstone River Friday night.

yellowstone-oil-spill

Exxon oil spill in Montana’s Yellowstone River puts spotlight back on pipeline safety

By David O. Williams07.05.11 | 3:40 pm
  • ExxonMobil workers on Tuesday were scrambling to add staff and find ways to work in swift-moving flood waters to soak up more than 40,000 gallons of oil the company spilled into Montana’s pristine Yellowstone River Friday night.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer toured the area southwest of Billings Tuesday morning and told CNN he was very worried about long term impacts to fish habitat.

“My biggest concern is those 1,000 barrels,” Schweitzer said. “You cannot dump (that much oil) into a pristine trout stream without causing damage to the fisheries.”

Exxon officials Tuesday still weren’t sure exactly why a pipeline in the river cracked. But property owners downstream were reporting oil washing up on their land and the strong smell of oil in the air.

Canadian media reports speculated the spill could dampen the enthusiasm of Montana residents for a major oil and gas pipeline project slated to connect the oil fields of Alberta to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would pass deep under the Yellowstone River in Montana and then travel through South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. It needs U.S. State Department approval because it would cross the border with Canada.

“I think that Montana had in the past not really been too concerned about the Keystone XL pipeline, and I think [the Exxon spill] is really going to change that,” Susan Casey-Lefkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council told CanadaBusiness.com.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has told the U.S. State Department that environmental review of the Keystone XL project has so far been inadequate to approve the project.

“Pipeline oil spills are a very real concern,” wrote Cynthia Giles, EPA’s assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance, according to the Huffington Post. Giles pointed to recent spills in Michigan and Illinois, and the first phase of the Keystone pipeline has seen 12 spills already in its first year. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

And while Keystone XL would travel to the east of Colorado, regulatory officials in this state say pipeline leaks, waste pit spills and bad cement casing of well bores are all greater concerns than groundwater contamination from hydraulic fracturing, a drilling process that has drawn much more media attention lately.

Yellow fish boost Langley environment

A Langley drain-marking program aims to educate people about their impact on fish habitat.

POSTMEDIA NETWORK INC. JULY 5, 2011
A Walnut Grove family marked storm drains together in the Yorkson Creek neighbourhood.

A Walnut Grove family marked storm drains together in the Yorkson Creek neighbourhood.

Photograph by: submitted, for Langley Advance

All drains lead to fish habitat.

It’s a widely misunderstood fact that Langley Environmental Partners Society (LEPS) wants to clear up for everyone.

In urban areas, storm drains on paved streets and parking lots collect rainwater runoff.

The runoff – containing sediments, animal waste, oil, swimming pool water, and toxic household or industrial compounds – all goes into storm drains. It does not go into the domestic sewage system.

Storm drains empty the untreated runoff into nearby waterways, impacting fish habitat.

Just one drop of motor oil can make 50 litres of water unlivable for water species.

LEPS’s 4th annual Storm Drain Marking Challenge is running through July.

Participants are asked to mark storm drains with the iconic yellow fish that alerts people that the drains lead to fish habitat.

Prizes for the most drains marked will be awarded.

To find out more and to collect your storm drain marking materials contact Lina Azeez at lazeez@tol.ca or 604-532-3517. www.leps.bc.ca/events

Langley Environmental Partners Society (LEPS) is a non-profit, partnership-driven organization, founded in 1993, to achieve the mission of “protecting and restoring the natural environment through education, cooperation and action.”

Read more:http://www.langleyadvance.com/Yellow+fish+boost+Langley+environment/5054070/story.html#ixzz1RKUUNWfa

 

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Fishing for Crappie

Spring Fishing Summer Fishing Fishing Structure Fall Fishing
Ice Fishing Tackle Selection Lure Selection Bait Selection Angling Techniques

Fishing for Crappie
By Jim Wahl, Fisheries Biologist, Iowa DNR

Crappies are one of our most frequently caught panfish and they are exceedingly popular with Iowa anglers. To anyone that has caught a stringer of crappie, it is easy to understand the reason behind this popularity. They are a fish for all anglers. The method and equipment necessary to catch this fish are simple and inexpensive, and their statewide distribution makes them accessible to nearly all anglers. Crappies are found in a large variety of waters including natural and man-made lakes, oxbow lakes, reservoirs, and small ponds. Although crappies prefer standing water, they are also found in moderate to large interior streams, as well as the backwaters and oxbows of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

Many natural lakes in northern Iowa support substantial populations of crappie, and although these populations are not as large as those found in southern Iowa waters, the fish are usually larger. Crappies in the natural lakes are most vulnerable during the spring spawning period. Consistent catches during the remainder of the year are more difficult. In contrast, crappie in the man-made lakes are generally quite abundant and they are vulnerable throughout the entire year. Fish are frequently caught during summer, fall, and winter, as well as during the spring spawning period.

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Spring Fishing

Because environmental conditions vary widely from one lake to the next, it is important to find the most productive season in your own locality and then concentrate your efforts during this period of peak activity. The most productive season for crappie fishing is during spring when fish movements are related to spawning. Depending upon which part of the state you fish, this will normally occur sometime in May when the water temperature ranges from 58 to 68 degrees F. Locating fish during the pre-spawn/spawn period will produce excellent stringers of fish.

During early spring, crappies move into shallow water areas where the water temperature is rising rapidly. When the water temperature and photoperiod (the length of daylight) are right, males move into the shallows near spawning sites and build bowl-shaped nests over gravel, sand, or even muck substrates. Spawning often takes place near the base of vegetation stands, so look carefully for emerging vegetation, such as bulrush or cattail. Although both males and females can be caught, catches are frequently dominated by males. They become extremely aggressive at spawning time and will often strike at a bait in an attempt to defend their nest.

In natural lakes look for spring crappie near inlets, adjoining marshes, canals and marinas. Spawning crappie in small lakes are generally found in coves or near the rock armor on dams. In large flood control reservoirs spring-time crappie frequently congregate in large embayments in close proximity to submerged structure. The turbid water flowing into these reaches from feeder creeks warms faster than the deep water mainstem water and attracts crappies that are searching for spawning sites. Spring-time crappies will also concentrate in the tailwaters below the dams of these impoundments. But the success of this fishery is often dependent upon downstream release rates.

Summer Fishing

During summer crappies leave shallow waters, which they had frequented during the spring, and move into the deeper, cooler water at depths from 8 to 25 feet. Locating fish during this time can be frustrating, and without the aid of an electronic fish finder it is a matter of trial-and-error until the right depth is found. Schools of crappie will suspend in the water column at a certain depth. In lakes which stratify, this location will usually be just above the thermocline. Anglers should remember that water below this layer contains little or no oxygen to support fish life. Drift fishing is, by far, the most popular and highly successful method used by fishermen to locate and catch crappie in the doldrums of summer. Once the fish are located, they can be caught in conventional ways by anchoring and still fishing, or simply by continuing to drift fish.

Fishing Structure

Crappies also orient near underwater structures during the summer. Flooded timber provides shade, cover and food and is an excellent place to catch crappie. Unfortunately, much of the natural habitat in many of our man-made lakes was removed during construction. However, in many of the lakes, which are devoid of natural habitat, structures have been enhanced by the placement of artificial fish attractors, such as stake beds, brush piles, or discarded tire reefs. Crappies readily utilize these objects, and they are particularly attracted to stake beds. These sites are frequently marked with buoys, signs on the shore, or on contour maps as an aid to anglers — watch for these markers.

Fall Fishing

Crappies once again move into shallower depths during autumn and closely associate with shoreline structures. They may be found in close proximity to weed lines, rocky points, flooded stream channels, or a variety of other habitats. Cooler water temperatures stimulate more aggressive feeding behavior.

Ice Fishing

Ice fishing can be productive, particularly in southern Iowa lakes and in Mississippi River backwaters. In general, early (December) and late (March) ice periods provide the best catches of crappie. Fish can be found in shallow bays, near flooded creek channels, or over large flats. Often times in winter, crappies will be suspended just off the bottom, and locating the proper depth is once again important.

Crappies are frequently caught throughout the entire daylight period, but the early morning and twilight evening periods are consistently the best. Fish may also be caught at night if fishing is done under lights. Anglers have found that crappies are attracted to light sources and will feed under them during both open water and ice fishing seasons.

Tackle Selection

Most any type of fishing equipment can be used for crappie. It may be as simple as a cane pole or as sophisticated as a boron ultra-light spinning outfit. Although the use of highly sophisticated equipment is not necessary, the development of modern man-made material for rods has made the detection of “soft” strikes much easier and the angler becomes a better fisherman. The most important suggestion is that, regardless of the personal choice of tackle, it should be light-weight gear. Ultra-light spinning or casting rods equipped with light-weight reels are the best choice and make the detection of a light or short strike easier. Lightweight monofilament line, not exceeding 6 pound-test, should be used.

Lure Selection

The most productive and universal artifical lure for crappie is the leadhead jig, which imitates a small minnow when fished properly. These lures are constructed from a variety of material, and come in a nearly unending assortment of colors and sizes. The most popular crappie leadheads seem to be either feathered or plastic-bodied. Although a variety of colors work, the most consistent producers are white, yellow and chartreuse. Hook size is relatively unimportant in spring and fall, but small leadheads of no more than one-sixteenth ounce are most popular. They can be fished with or without a bobber, but the bobberless rig has more flexibility in trying different depths. Crappies frequently move up from beneath to take a lure, and thus many anglers prefer to suspend their jig from a small bobber. Regardless of whether or not a bobber is used, jigs should always be fished at least a foot off the bottom. Drift fishermen will often times tie two jigs to one line, with one jig a foot or two higher than the other. This technique allows different depths to be fished simultaneously.

Bait Selection

Small minnows are, by far, the best live bait for crappies, both in open water and for ice fishing. Selection of the proper-sized minnow is very important. Most bait shops will carry several sizes and generally refer to the smallest size as crappie minnows. A minnow measuring from l- to l l/2-inches in length is preferable. Hook the minnow through the back just below the dorsal fin — be careful not to penetrate the spine. Hooking the minnow in this fashion will allow it to swim freely and live longer. Some anglers prefer to pinch or cut off the top of the tail fin because this seems to make the minnow more active. When a person is fishing with minnows a small hook (size no. 4, 6 or 8) should be used with a light split shot placed about a foot above the hook. Some crappie fishermen also tip a leadhead jig with a small minnow on occasion when fishing is slow. When using a jig and minnow combination, hook the minnow through both lips instead of in the back.

Other popular live baits for crappie, particularly during the ice fishing season, include a large assortment of insect larvae. Waxworms, mousies, mealworms, and silver wigglers all work well when placed on a small teardrop lure. Some ice fishermen prefer to use cut bait, flesh from the belly or the cheek patch of another fish. Cut bait can be fished either on a small hook or tipped on a jigging spoon.

Angling Techniques

Crappie fishing has become a year-around activity for Iowa anglers both in open water and ice fishing. In open water seasons fishermen can fish either from shore or in a boat. Like so many fishing methods, both have some advantages and disadvantages. Shore fishermen have a wide choice, either fishing by wading or from the shoreline, a dock or jetty. Probably the best of these methods is wading, especially in the spring pre-spawn period when the crappie are in shallow water. Little equipment is needed other than a suitable pair of chest waders or hip boots. Wading fishermen have a distinct advantage since they can approach likely spots without spooking fish in the shallow water. Most wading anglers use small leadhead lures or minnows that are suspended from a small bobber and fish parallel with the shoreline by casting, then slowly retrieving the bait.

Crappies frequently utilize the shade offered by docks or other floating structures during summer. These areas are attractive because there is an abundance of food and the water temperature is cooler. Still fishing under or around docks can be very productive.

Many of the state and county-owned lakes have fishing jetties. In many locations stake beds have been placed within casting distance of these jetties and crappie may be suspended near these sructures. Stake beds can be successfully fished by attaching the bait to a bobber at a height which will allow the bait to clear the top of the stakes. Fishing in this manner will reduce the amount of tackle lost and also entice strikes from crappies rising to the bait.

Crappies have a soft, fleshy mouth, and they are frequently referred to as “papermouths.” Because of the soft membrane near the jaw, anglers should be very careful when setting the hook and handling crappie. Setting the hook with too much force will only tear the mouth and result in lost fish.

Boat anglers usually fish for crappie by drifting, trolling, or still fishing. Drift fishing is a very popular and productive method in man-made lakes druing summer when crappies are suspended just above the thermocline and are dispersed throughout the lake. Drifting allows a fisherman to cover a large area, and several depths can be fished depending upon the amount of line released and the weight used. If the wind is too strong and the bait moving too fast, the use of a sea anchor will slow the drift. In a situation where the wind is insufficient to move the boat, an electric trolling motor works well. Remember, crappies prefer to have the bait moving.

Still fishing works quite well once a large school of fish is located. Lines can be rigged to fish vertically off the side of the boat. If the action slows, casting with a steady retrieve may draw the fish back to the boat. Anchoring within stands of flooded timber or other habitat structures will also work for still fishing. Don’t disregard the opportunity to jig a leadhead directly underneath in these habitats or to use a float to suspend a lure or bait just above the structure.

Many of the same crappie fishing methods that are used in the open water period also work as well for ice fishing. Ice fishermen should remember to move frequently until schools of fish are located. Much like open water, crappies are generally suspended, and it may be necessary to experiment at several depths until the crappies are found.

Regardless of whether artificial or live bait is used, move it frequently. Movement often attracts fish into the vicinity and usually provokes strikes. Jigging spoons should be snapped vertically by moving the wrist upward with a sweeping motion of the arm. When using live bait and a bobber, pick the float off the surface and jiggle the line ever-so-often. Sometimes crappie fishing in the winter is more productive at night than in daylight. A gas lantern not only provides light to see by but often times attracts curious fish.

Crappies offer a tremendous amount of enjoyment to Iowa anglers. Action can be feverishly fast and when caught on lightweight equipment, crappie provide a scrappy fight. Little wonder they are so popular with our fishermen.

*Mayhew, J. (editor). 1987. Iowa Fish and Fishing. Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines, Iowa. 323 pp.

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