In last week’s article, I discussed the materials that can be used in building fish attractors and this week I plan to discuss some locations you might want to consider when actually placing the attractors in the water.

However before discussing the placement of the attractors in the water, I wanted to again address some materials that can be used to build the attractors. One company came up with an idea for making the attractors out of material that would otherwise end up in a landfill. They make their attractors using left over vinyl siding.

You can purchase these attractors already put together or you can easily build your own with materials that are free are come with low costs. Go to www.fishiding.com to watch a video which demonstrates building structures with excess vinyl siding and information on purchasing already built attractors. I have placed some of these around my dock and they do attract fish and they last forever.

Building fish attractors can be done easily and cheaply using any number of different materials. Some of the materials used for attractors will last for a short period of time and others will last a good length of time or in fact last forever. I’ll personally go with those materials that last longer and do not require replenishing more often.

After years of building fish attractors with natural trees, The Georgia Wildlife Resources Division (GWRD) now uses both commercially available attractors made from manufactured materials or they construct their own using attractors using materials like PVC pipe. That way they can continue adding more fish attractors to the lake each year without having to replenish their old attractors.

You can build your own or buy the best commercially available fish attractors and then place it in a bad location and you will end up with a totally wasted effort and money. The tools needed for deciding where the fish attractors will be placed are a lake map, your depth finder, your GPS and some type of buoy markers.

Several years ago after spending several days constructing several fish attractors I dumped the entire load of attractors in 40 foot of open water when the johnboat loaded with attractors and being pulled behind my bass boat overturned. Since that catastrophe, I have found that a pontoon boat or the back of my bass boat works extremely well for transporting constructed fish attractors to the site where they are to be sunk.

Let us turn our attention to good locations for placement of fish attractors. Best locations will be in water no deeper than thirty-five foot. There are exceptions to that rule but my advice is to concentrate your efforts in water depths of 6-35 feet where a majority of the lake’s fish can be found. Those fish include largemouth bass, crappie, hybrid/striped/white bass and catfish.

Any natural underwater feature or cover like a creek channel, a ledge, a hump, a point (main lake point or cove point) or a ditch can be improved with a fish attractor. Occasionally, I will place an attractor where there is already some structure like a stump but for the most part I pick good locations that contain no current structure or cover.

Many large coves have a natural ditch that has been made from rainwater runoff or was once a flowing small creek. Sometimes these are void of any additional structure and adding a fish attractor can create a great fishing spot.

In a cove where a ditch or small creek channel runs from the back of the cove all the way out to the cove’s mouth, I will place several attractors at different depths the entire length of the cove. I have found that long coves with water at the vary back that might be 3-6 feet and then deepen to 25 feet at the cove’s mouth will be excellent candidates for fish attractors.

Once I have selected my locations by studying a lake map and then by studying the location with my boat’s depth finder, I then mark the exact spot with buoys and then store those locations in my GPS so that I can return later to fish the spot. I then return to the spot with the fish attractor and place it in that location.

I also write those GPS locations down on paper in case my GPS stops working. A couple of years ago my GPS became inoperable and I could not get it fixed and consequently I lost years of GPS readings from several lakes including Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee.

I mentioned the water current last week but I want to emphasize it again. You can never use too much weight on your fish attractors. Both Lake Oconee’s and Lake Sinclair’s water current created by the Georgia Power pump back operation at the Wallace Dam can easily move a good deal of weight attached to a fish attractor. Also main lake locations require more weight than do locations inside coves.

It is truly amazing and rewarding to place a fish attractor at a spot and then in only days see fish show up at that location. If you like to catch fish and have some spare time on your hands, I suggest you might want to try building a few fish attractors and place them in good locations in the lake. Otherwise you can purchase some of the commercially available attractors.

No restrictions or permits are required to place fish attractors in area lakes. Just use good judgment when placing the attractors in the lake so that they will not interfere with boat traffic. In other words make sure they are weighted down adequately and located at least a few feet below the lake’s normal low pool.

I keep an updated list of GPS locations for fish attractors placed in both Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee by the GWRD. To get an updated list just drop me an email and I will forward that list to you. Good fishing and see you next week.