How can I build my own Crappie Condo?

Crappie condos are an idea whose time has come and they are really catching on. You know that when you want to catch fish, including crappie, you look for underwater structure. Fish congregate around structure because it affords them a degree of safety and because ecosystems develop around them.

What we are doing then with crappie condos is providing structure. One benefit is that we put it where we want it so we can come back time and time again to our very own breeding ground.

Your basic crappie condo is simple to build. Here is what you will need: bamboo, a  5 gallon plastic bucket and and a bag of Quikrete concrete.

First cut some good sized bamboo. About eight or ten pieces ought to do it. Don’t strip any of it; leave the bamboo whole with the leaves . Fill the 5 gallon plastic bucket roughly a third full with the Quikrete. Add water and stir it in until you get the texture that the bag tells you is right. Stick the bamboo stalks into the concrete all the way to the bottom, arranging the stalks at various angles. Then just let it sit overnight until the Quikrete is hardened.

When it and you are ready, take the crappie condo to the boat and out where you want to sink it. Heave or dump it over the side. There is a natural buoyancy to the bamboo so the rig will sink slowly, bucket first, to the bottom.

Bamboo is basically segmented air cells, and so it operates like a parachute in the water. When it reaches the bottom the bamboo stays upright and spread out and this is what you want for a crappie codo.

Tags: crappie fishing indiana, crappie ice fishing, eufaula crappie fishing, crappie fishing guide, crappie jig fishing, crappie fishing rods