If You Build It, Will They Come?

this time each year, we're asked if there are any advantages to placing Christmas trees or other types of brush piles in lakes for habitat enhancement. To answer that question, we've provided excerpts from an article written by Dr. Mike Allen, Associate Professor here at UF's Dept. of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 1 Dr. Allen specializes in fisheries ecology and has produced numerous studies and articles concerning the use of habitat structure to enhance fisheries in lakes. N ot all lakes will benefit from placement of habitat structures. Lakes containing abundant aquatic plants or young reservoirs with standing timber likely do not need habitat enhancement. However, habitat structures placed in lakes containing bare shorelines and large open-water areas are those most likely to concentrate fish and improve angler catch rates. In Florida, many lakes often contain a margin of emergent vegetation (i.e., aquatic plants rooted in bottom sediments) in littoral areas but large open-water areas offshore are often devoid of vegetation. In such lakes, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has found that offshore brush piles will concentrate fish and improve angler catch rates for largemouth bass, crappie, and sunfish. The type of material and structure used for habitat enhancement varies widely by agency, region, and water body. Cost and availability appear to be the primary factors. Christmas trees are commonly used not only due to availability but also for public relations reasons. Volunteer tree recycling programs allow the public to donate Christmas trees to a set location and help with placement of the trees in area lakes. Many other tree species are commonly used and vary by region depending on the species range. Important Anyone wishing to place habitat structures in public waters will need to contact the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) / Environmental Resource Permitting Division and/ or the local Water Management District, as permits may be required. You may also want to contact your local Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), as they sometimes maintain permits for existing fish attracting sites and occasionally bass clubs and/or interested anglers can assist in refurbishing these areas with new brush or other structures.