Creating Bass Structure

[BassAholic]

Does anyone know the MN laws regarding building man-made structure for bass in lakes?

It seems like pretty much every state in the south allows for anglers to build fish habitat such as brush piles, rock piles, etc. I've heard stories about the bassmaster elite guys dropping hundreds of brush piles on lakes like table rock, eufala, grand lake, sam rayburn, etc....

Has anyone tried it?

[SledNeck]

just go in winter and drag deadfall on to the shoreline

[hhguide]

I think it is illegal in minnesota some like a fine of $300 a tree or something like that but i'm not sure.

[Deitz Dittrich]

its very illegal in MN.. You can get a permit from the state of MN to build a crib I believe, but they tell you were you have to put it, and they dont give those permits out often.

Illegal for sure!

I believe its alright to do in WI though, but could be wrong.

[rangerforme]

Its illegal but I'm sure it happens quite a bit under the radar. Some rock piles I've fished on tonka look a little neat to be natural.

[lookincalifornia]

i asked the same question on the ice fishing forum last year. i had the idea to bring a bucket of river rock to dump down the hole. too bad.

[polarsusd81]

In Wisco you need a permit too Deitz. I was reading about it on their DNR page a few months back cause I thought it was interesting. They have some requirements that have to be met in order to do it as well.

Down south it is done quite a bit, but I think most states down there require permits as well. The biggest thing about man made structure is doing it correctly. I have read a few articles about it describing the best ways to "plant" trees, and which types of trees. Certain trees have a lot more acids than others, and leafy varieties are also not so good. Some guys down south have it down to a science.

But yeah, in Minnesota it is a no go unless you want some serious penalties.

[goblueM]

of course if a tree happened to fall on the ice right before iceout and nobody moved it...

[CaptZ21]

If the tree fell on the ice from all the chains and concrete blocks wrapped on it and it was on the tip of a point dropping into 40' of water, with some boulders and chunk rock leading up from the depths. What a marvelous accident that would be.

[EBass]

I know - my buddy and I think about all the great structure we could make. Those trees would be great in 10 feet of water.

[bassNspear]

doesnt make you really wonder how many people do this?

[RK]

Hiya -

Yeah, it's illegal as all get out in MN. Don't get caught - the fine isn't cheap. Guy on the lake my cabin is on got pinched for it - and he had to remove the trees besides.

True story... The people who used to own the cabin next to ours, well...let's just say they weren't rocket scientists. They had this big boat lift they'd made themselves out of angle iron. It weighed a ton, and it was murder to take in and out every spring and fall. Whenever they came down to put the dock and lift in, everyone in the neighborhood would scatter so we wouldn't have to help haul that beast into the lake.

So one spring, their kid, who was probably 20 at the time, got the bright idea to pull the lift out onto the ice. He spent an hour dragging the thing onto the ice and getting it all lined up in the right spot. He then told me, rather proudly, that when the ice melted it'd drop the lift right where it was supposed to be. Easy as can be.

I was down there about 2 weeks later when the ice went off. The wind was blowing out, and I actually got to see the lift finally tip into the water - about 150 yards from shore in about 18 feet of water.

I was also there the next weekend when he came down, stood on his front lawn, looked around for a while, and then said to my brother and I - I swear - "Somebody stole our boat lift..." (Here's your sign...)

I've caught many, many bass and crappies off that boat lift since.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Craigums]

Thats a funny story RK. Did they ever figure out that there boat lift is now the home to some underwater critters?

[BassAholic]

Wow, that is hilarious! I really bet if you dropped some brush piles in 8-12 feet of water, just outside the weedlines you could really whack the bass and crappies. I bet it would work even better on lakes that don't have much grass.

You won't be see me doing it, but give me the GPS cord's if you do!!

[Dan Brelje]

great story.