Fishing clubs or groups of anglers may want to join together to plan a reservoir project. The largest source of Christmas trees is the thousands collected by public workers in residential areas. Contact your local government offices to arrange for use of these discarded trees. The three commonly used structure materials tested during the five-year study are shown above. All four species should use evergreen trees in ponds if the pond is largely void of other structure.
Reservoirs usually contain many species of fish.
During the study, bluegills, white crappies and black crappies comprised about 90 percent of the total catch from the artificial structures. Lesser numbers of largemouth bass, yellow perch and channel catfish were also caught. How Deep to Place the Structures Ponds Place evergreen trees in 6 to 10 feet of water in areas not used for swimming activities. In deep ponds, placement should still be in 6 to 10 feet of water because the deep water is usually devoid of oxygen due to decomposition of organic materials that collect in the deepest portion of the pond. Structure placed in water lacking oxygen will not attract fish.