I've been thinking about sinking some brush piles in our local lake (Beaver Lake, Arkansas).  I've not read enough I guess because I have a few questions:

1.  Is it legal? If it's not, then I'll forget I ever thought about it..

2.  Is it fair?  I mean to the other fishermen that are in local tournamnets.

3.  Is there a "sure fire" way to get it down to keep the fish safe from harm?

Any general info you have would be appreciated!

1.- Before you dump anything into your lake you need to check if it is illegal or not. Some lakes, some states, some counties have particular regulations when it comes to adding cover to a lake.

2.- Fairness has nothing to do with it. Besides, there 's absolutely no guarantee that the fish will be there.

3.- Cinder blocks or arranging them in a bucket of cement will keep them down until the brush/timber becomes waterlogged, after that it doesn 't matter; however it 's the only way you can keep them in the place where you dropped them.

raul is right on the money....

a cinderblock works o.k, but ive done it with a bucket & cement....if you spray the bucket with wd40 the cement will slip right out of the bucket when its dry....it makes it a hell of a lot easier to handle when your dropping it in.

I plant 'em almost every year.....usually in the winter when I'm bored.I use cinder-blocks & wire,buckets of concrete and even rocks with heavy copper wire and usually put them at least 12-15 ft down,out of sight of other anglers.

The best places I've found is on the ends of main lake points whether it be on one of the sides (usually on the down-current side if water flows across the point) or right on the tip.A few more good spots I drop 'em is anywhere a creek channel comes near the bank,around deep docks and right on top of any offshore humps that I locate.A big flat is not out of the question if it has deep enough water to hide a pile.

Any structure you can find that doesnt already have brush,PUT SOME THERE.

Cinder blocks or arranging them in a bucket of cement will keep them down

The bucket of cement is the traditional method we used in Brooklyn's East River.

I forgot to add, brush will eventually rot away into oblivion, but, if specially you placed a huge brushpile with lots of cinder blocks or buckets of cement are going to stay there forever, in esence, you have also created a rock pile and rock piles in the proper place are fish magnets also.  

Like RAUL said >  The brush will not be permenate. Take a look at old brush piles after a few years as a lake is being drawn-down for repair. All that is left is a few sticks and maybe a few concrete blocks.  In Pennsylvania you can't go dropping on a public lake with out permission or atleast don't get caught.

Cinder blocks or arranging them in a bucket of cement will keep them down

The bucket of cement is the traditional method we used in Brooklyn's East River.

Nike Air Concrete's?  ;D

One of these days, I'm gonna just write this and keep it on file so I can paste it.

I always buy the 80lb bags of sacrete for around 3.oo.   Cinder blocks average around 2.00 a piece at Home Depot.    I have collected the one gallon plaster buckets, I can make 7-8 weights per bag for 3.00.

I'm not sure that using wd 40 is a good thing,   you will have petroleum residue that might chase fish off for a while.      I only have to tap on the bottoms and my weights come out.

The roll of utility wire, like bailing wire, is also about 3-5 dollars.

I use a coat hanger to make eyelets to wire to in the weights.  Stronger wire.

I like to use a mixture of hardwoods like oak because they last a lot longer than Xmas trees and softer woods.

A mixture of both, I like willows, cedars and hardwood in the same pile.   It provides some dense cover for baitfish to hide, yet larger woods for bigger fish to hide.

I will spend hours and days watching how anglers approach areas, once the piles are planted, they are public, first come, first serve.

Alot of mine are for future use and tourneys, so I try to graph out a part of the creek channel that might be staging for spawn, or late summer haunts that just doesn't  draw alot of attention.     Points humps, drainage ditches, ridges, edge of flats next to deep water.

Ever had great morning bite in the shallows turn off and wonder where the fish went?    I try to plant something to hold them in the next depth closer to deep water that might hold those morning fish that was shallow at the next stop, my brush.

Hookem

Matt.    

Our buddies don 't know mesquite Matt, if I were to make a brushpile I would go for mesquite without even thinking it, man that thing is not only tough, it pretty much lasts until the next ice age.

The closest LBH and others have come was a mesquite smoked brisquett.

I love working submerged mesquite flats with spinners.   Ivey has been very good to me up in the river where it backed up once flooded.

matt.

Ok Matt - ROCK!

Thanks to everyone for the avice!

Ooh Texas Redneck Bubba Bass in the Brush  

Can we say pre-spawn?