Man-made brushpiles/Legal?

[lordCrappie]

Are man made brushpiles allowed in Utah Lakes. I am originally from Arkansas and people use pvc pipes concreted in buckets. People put these out in their secret spots and catch fish. I would like to do this as well. If that is illegal, can I drag fallen trees from the bank onto the lake and sink them?
[signature]

[CROSSINEYES]

WETHER ITS LEGAL I DONT KNOW. BUT I KNOW PEOPLE WHO DO IT. THEY USE 5 GALLON BUCKETS AND PUT BRANCHES IN THEM THEN POOR QUICK CRETE IN TO THEM AND FILL WITH WATER. PUT THEM IN BOAT AND RUN TO THE SPOT AND DROP. THEN BY THE NEXT DAY THEY HOLD BASS. DC HAS ALOT OF BUCKETS.
[signature]

[lordCrappie]

Thanks Crossineyes. I will probably do it when ice is off. I guess I am waiting for Tubedude and his expertise to tell me if this is alright. I would hate to pay a fat fine. I have noticed that Utah's laws are very different than other states. Also the prices of licenses and fees. $15.00 dollars for a second pole. There goes my spider rigging.
[signature]

[CROSSINEYES]

wish i could chain a giant tree trunk down in a few places.
[signature]

[bassrods]

Don't know if it is legal but I have pulled down fall back in the water and put a cable around it and tied it to rocks so it would stay...
[signature]

[fish_fear_me2]

I know a few years back the fish guys sunk Christmas trees in willard to create artificial brush piles. I am not sure how they feel about us doing it on our own
[signature]

[tmas]

I"m not saying I'm for or against this idea...but really isn't the whole "concrete, bucket, pvc" thing pretty much littering and pretty much illegal?...just think if every guy who liked to fish a certain lake was dropping buckets and pipes down...just a thought. I would say the tree thing isn't a bad idea though...it would provide good cover which is much more natural. GPS your spots and i'll go ice fish over them next year haha[]
[signature]

[fsh4fun05]

I was thinking the same thing. Trees, brush, rockpiles are one thing but man made materials like plastic may be considered littering.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]No doubt about it. Most of Utah's lakes can benefit from having more structure and cover...both for spawning (some species) and for protection for fry. The larger fish also orient to underwater structure and it helps attract fish to specific spots.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There is nothing I can find in the DWR 2008 Fishing Guide that either allows or restricts adding things to lakes. The reason is that most lakes are under the regulation of cities, counties, state or federal entities...or water user groups. And, they each have their own ideas on how they want their waters maintained. Some would probably never give a hoot if you built a "fish temple" in their lakes. Others will fine you for not wearing waders if you fish in them...being public water supplies, etc.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]My best advice, before dumping any foreign material into any lake, is to identify who controls the lake and contact them for permission to do so. In many cases you will find it a simple verbal okay thing. In other cases you will need to submit a written request and wait for written permission. On some lakes you will encounter shrieking hostility and profound objections. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In Utah I have not heard of anybody getting busted for dumping structure in a lake, but in talking with a DWR biologist about it he warned that it could be defined as littering by some agencies and subject to the fines specified.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I will contact Drew Cushing and see if he will render an opinion for us.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[trfishin]

[] I think that it was BILL DANCE that invented a thing that looks like a ball that you buy and add your own pvc pipe to then sink it into a lake or pond for fish habitat.
[signature]

[lordCrappie]

I appreciate all of the responses and feedback. I hope I can attend these temples a lot over the spring and fall especially when the fish move deeper. It is easy to find them when they spawn and when water temps are in the sixties and seventies. It feels as if the lakes will be permantely frozen forever.
[signature]

[toyguy]

TD wrote: My best advice, before dumping any foreign material into any lake, is to identify who controls the lake and contact them for permission to do so. In many cases you will find it a simple verbal okay thing.

Ha! In a politically correct, CYA world, I don't think you'll ever get a government minion to actually make a decision and say "by all means, bombs away"

Drew is probably the right place to start, but I wouldn't be surprised if he defers to the next agency, who defers to the next agency, and so on..

Is Toyguy a cynic or a realist? You decide...

I'll apologize in advance, if I'm wrong. And thx for contacting him, TD.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Unfortunately, I suspect that your observations are more a matter of REALITY than cynicism. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I predict that there will be some who will "trust in the Lord and Mr. Ford" and just make their own private crappie condos wherever they chose. I further predict that some of them will get tickets whereas others will not. With no uniform code of conduct in the matter anything can happen...and probably will.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Reminds me of the married man's enigma: "If a man says something in the forest, and there is no woman around, is he still wrong?"[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[Flycasting]

Can you imagine throwing some "brush piles" in the narrows at Pineview...
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]In a place like the narrows brushpiles might create more of a problem than a solution. Anglers would lose a lot of tackle without really any major advantage. Brushpiles work better for spring and summer fishing conditions where you can mark and work the structure from different angles.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]A lot of the shallows and channels on the north and east sides of the lake would be far better prospects. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We might try coaxing some drunks to drive their cars out on the ice sometime so that they sink and create artificial reefs. That would work...unless the fish were smart enough to grab the jig and run inside the car and roll up the window.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[utwalleye]

myself and walleyebob talked to the manager at deer creeks island resort about 8 years ago and he told us to notify him before we drop any trees so he would know where they are at and if it would be a safe place. I only made up 1 tree, it was about 8 feet tall and 5 feet around. it took up the whole bed of my truck and then getting it in the boat was another story and dropping it took 2 of us, well just carring it took 2 guys. It's long gone now though, I think it lasted only 3 years. when the water level dropped below, where we put it at, it was gone. later chuck
[signature]

[toyguy]

See what I mean? 23 minutes and 3 posts later, the answer is already "No".

That woman in the forest thing is hilarious...
[signature]

[jaybird77]

Not to change the subject but I noticed you said christmas trees in Willard and I was wondering if anybody could or would tell me where they were placed. With the water so low this year I would like to try crappie fishing on the lake again.
[signature]

[Flycasting]

I was thinking that if there was some kind of cover for them in the winter, (in the Narrows) that you could get them to hold on one place for more than 5 minutes at a time. [cool]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Don't wanna burst your bubble, but there are three discouraging words here. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]First, I do not think the locations were publicised. Some guys found them and enjoyed them for awhile.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Second, christmas trees do not last long. They deteriorate much more quickly than the scrub oak and other natural structure in some of our other waters. Temporary sacntuary at best.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Third, the crappie population is only a fraction of what it used to be. Shad and wipers really had a negative impact on crappies. You can still find scattered groups and singles, but not the huge schools of the olden days.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Crappies need structure to spawn...rocks or stickups. They used to spawn all around the rock dikes and in the brush in the NE corner of the lake and in the marinas. After two years of low water, and poor spawning, the crappies are not likely to be very abundant this year or the next or the next. Maybe never.[/#0000ff]
[signature]