A popular practice among bass and crappie anglers—where legal—is to create their own “honey holes” by sinking fish-attracting structure in select fishing spots.

Anglers in some regions pound stands of dozens of long, wooden stakes into the soft bottom of underwater areas where they want to catch fish. Fishermen load their boats with the stakes and use drivers made of pipe to drill the posts deep into lake bottoms from the deck of their watercraft, then mark the spots with a GPS or to allow them to return to fish or to replenish the site with more stakes.

The woody cover of the trees and the stakes soon blooms with algae and attracts plankton and the food chain that follows to feed on it, all the way up to the crappie and bass and other gamefish that hang around to consume the minnows that congregate in the protection and food supply.

However you can’t establish fish attractors just anywhere and expect them to be successful. If the area already has lots of logs or rocks or other cover, which are nature’s fish attractors, very little will be gained by adding more artificial attraction.

The best locations for establishing artificial structures are along deep rock bluffs, at the junction of two bodies of water, along the edge of a creek channel, at the deep end of a long point and the slope of a hump, and in the middle of a channel. Be sure to avoid putting the cover below the anticipated depth of the thermocline, because no matter how attractive it may be to fish, there won’t be enough oxygen in those depths to support them.

It’s also important to avoid placing attractors in shallows or other areas where they become obstacles to other boaters.

Many veteran attractor-sinkers shy away from “traditional” materials like pallets, stake beds, treetops, and Christmas trees because of the amount of weight required to hold these naturally buoyant items in place, especially if there is any current. Bundles of old automobile and truck tires have been used as fish attractors, but environmental issues make them a less favorable option. Concrete blocks, impaled with wood or plastic PVC pipes and sealed together with cement, are popular attractors that stay in place and last a long time. So are bucket-type attractors. They’re cheap, quick and easy to make, and simple to install.

Locations of Fish Attractors on Texas inland water bodies:

TPWD Inland Fisheries offices have worked with local organizations to create underwater structure for fish in certain reservoirs. In 2013, TPWD deployed 3 x 6’ structures at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in 15-20’ depths. Fish attractor sites had from 4 to 12 structures. GPS coordinates for these fish attractors at Rayburn and the other Texas lakes are available at:

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/fish_attractors.phtml

Information can be downloaded as a comma-delimited text file (CSV), a GPX file (GPS Exchange format) for importing into a GPS unit, or a KML file to open in Google Earth or Google Maps. Online maps or diagrams showing approximate locations are also available for some reservoirs.

If your favorite lake is not listed in the list, and you want to add some of your own “secret” honey holes, make sure to check with the water body’s governing entity to make sure it’s legal and get written permission. For example, the US Army Corps of Engineers may require a permit to set your own cover, as required under Section 10 and Section 404 activities.

Send a letter outlining the scope of what you propose to the Corps resource manager’s office for your area, well in advance of the planned activity. Include a map listing the number, the type, the composition, and the depth of the structure. Usually, the Corps will issue a permit letter authorizing you to proceed, or they will advise you of what additional steps are needed.