Habitat Improvement

Many pond owners like to add structure to attract fish and improve angling success.  Trees, brush, limbs, or other woody material make excellent attractors and are readily available.  Trees may be anchored in the pond bottom prior to impoundment or added later by attaching concrete blocks and sinking them.  Three to five trees should be used per site, and a Styrofoam float should be attached to the top of the tree so that they will stand upright.  Brush piles or limbs should also be anchored with blocks.  If the pond has not filled, brush can be anchored by cables or dirt piles. 

Attractors can also be constructed of concrete rubble, PVC pipe or wooden stake beds, or most any material that is environmentally safe.  No more than three attractor sites per acre are needed, or their effectiveness will decline.  The fish reefs should not be placed in water that exceeds 8-10 feet as low oxygen may occur in deep water during the summer months.

Pea gravel is effective in attracting spawning bream.  The gravel beds should be 2-3 inches thick and should cover an area of 100 square feet, or so.  The gravel should not be placed in water over 3 feet, and the site should be easily accessible for bank anglers.  Usually no more then one gravel bed per acre is needed.

The information above came from the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division's booklet Sportfish Management in Alabama Ponds, which is available as a PDF.