Lunker/Bunker structure?

[Buddy Sanders]

From the other side...

Our desert lakes can be pretty barren of structure...the fishermen quickly locate the best places to fish, and these get hammered regularly.

Several local bass clubs got together with the Game and Fish folks on one such lake and, during a draw down for maintenance, installed some fish habitat in areas that didn't have any.

Now, there are more areas that hold fish, spreading out both the fishermen and the fish a bit. Fish are less crowded, so there is less competition for their food in those areas that used to be crowded.

This results in better spawning recruitment, better growth rates, and more fish.

In the area I visit each summer in Colorado there are quite a few 'manicured' stretches of privately controlled river. The owners in many of thee areas have added some rocks, removed some brush, basically building stretches of pools and riffles that flow at consistent depths. This offers the fish protection from predation from above by eagles and osprey (and probably bears and racooons too). Since the water in these areas run deeper, they are less effected by weather variations, especially hot sumer sun. Oxygen levels stay more constant, there is less errosion of the banks and thus fewer days of muddy water during summer rains. It requires constant attention, and quite a bit of hard work, to remove silt build up and keep the waters running clear and at a consistent depth. All this effort means that the river can support more and larger fish (and it does so).

I'm not for just throwing something into the water and calling it 'fish habitat'. Properly placed structures in lakes, and effective (and legal-most game and fish agencies will let you do the right things if you ask them first..they'll even tell you what you can do, what you can't do, and sometimes what you should do..) stream manicuring and management is something I've seen work quite well.

Buddy