In last week’s article, I discussed the materials that can be used in building fish attractors, and this week I will discuss some locations you might want to consider when 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 leftover vinyl siding. 

You can purchase these attractors already put together or you can easily build your own with materials that are free or come with low costs. Go to www.fishiding.com to watch a video that 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 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 and others will last a good length of time, or in fact, last forever. I’ll 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 them 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/GPS or your hand-held GPS and some type of buoy markers.

Let me turn to good locations for placement of fish attractors. The best locations will be in water no deeper than 35 feet. There are exceptions to that rule, but my advice is to concentrate your efforts in water depths of 6 to 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 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 very back that might be 3 to 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 keep the GPS locations in my laptop and cell phone just in case my GPS on my depth finder or my hand-held GPS device develops a problem. Years ago, my hand-held 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 also copy the GPS readings to a disc that can be loaded to my boat’s depth finder.

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. Those GPS locations for attractors placed in Lake Sinclair can be loaded directly to your boat’s depth finder. To get an updated list or instructions for loading them to your boat’s depth finder just drop me an email and I will forward a list and/or the instructions to you. 

Good fishing and see you next week.   

Outdoors columnist Bobby Peoples can be reached at brpeoples995@gmail.com.