man made fish attractors in Michigan?

[bob o]

can anyone just pile stuff on the ice before ice out to make a fish attractor? any Michigan laws to look out for? witrh more and more lakes being sprayed the fish might want a little cover by the drop off or at the end of a nice deep point.

[stackenem]

what ice

[Got Fish??]

My understanding  is NO, you can not pile debris on melting ice. The DNR will site you for dumping in the lake and charge you a salvage fee of recovery of dumped debris, or make you recover  it yourself. My suggestion is to  contact the lake association or the DNR, and find out what  rules apply   to that specific  lake.

[Waterfoul]

Do it at night in the spring when no one can see you!  Use (borrow/steal) your neighbors pontoon boat so you don't get your bass boat dirty or scratched up!

Actually, you cannot simply dump anything into Michigan waters without permission, which I understand is hard to get.

[bob o]

so cinder blocks tied to the ol Christmas tree will get you a go to jail free card. dang it

[dartag]

It is a common practice down south.  They make them out of PVC so they don't show up on sonar.  There is a photo of an attractor in FLW magazine made from black irrigation pipe and a cement block.   

[dartag]

interesting topic.  I was thinking of making some and putting them in my lake.  Didn't know it was not legal.  There are some great photos and plans on the net.  It is very popular down south.  They make them from PVC so they are not as visible on sonar.   If you put it on the ice it may float away from the spot.  Might be a good question to ask the DNR at the shows.

[Skulley]

Permission to put fish attractors can be gotten. Quite a few years ago, the guys who ran the Belleville Tuesday Night Team Bass Tournament were able to gain approval to put faish attractors in Belleville Lake. They wrote a letter to the DNR asking them for permission. They had to tell the DNR what they were going to use because it had to be environmentally safe. They were granted permission in about a 6 week window.



BD.                         

[djkimmel]

The MDNR changed their regulations to disallow manmade materials dumped into our lakes. No plastic or fabricated fish structures. You need to ask to place natural materials like brush and other wood on public lakes.

The MDNR generally thinks our weedy lakes have enough cover but you can get permission in certain cases. The general requirement is that you don't place something that poses a navigation hazard.

An existing, friendly relationship with Fisheries Division helps. Get started. Find out who your local persons are www.michigan.gov/fishing