Bella Vista Fly Tyers and the POA Lakes Department are working together to improve fishing on BV Lakes

What is fish reef?

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A fish reef is a fish buffet. A reef is built over an area 25-30 ft long, in water up to 6 ft deep.

The parts are :

• Spawning Zones, one style for panfish, and one for bass and game fish.
• Minnow hotels, the first home for minnows, a place to feed and grow with protection from bigger fish.
• Porcupines habitat for fingerling, a bigger space with food and protection
• Spider blocks make up a field artificial plant that offers panfish and smaller game fish an area to hunt and still have some protection from big game fish.
• Asbush Sites and concrete structures are place for game fish to rest and hunt for smaller fish.

There are also structures for catfish and other types of fish to swim and live.

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Spawning zones

Spawning zones are gravel and sand beds that encourage fish to spawn.

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They are installed in a safe place for minnows. Everything eats minnows

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The Habita Cres secured 18 large pave wall blocks, enough to build 27ft of sponging ground.

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The Minnow Hotel – toddler housing

• The minnow hotel is a safe place for minnows to feed and grow. The goal is to get natural plants growing.
• Biomaterial in and around the hotel supports algae growth (minnow food).
• The fencing helps keep bigger fish out of the hotel.
• We will place artificial grass plants around the hotel.
• The Fly Tyers built 6 Minnow Hotels, for Lake Norwood

The Porcupine

• The Porcupine is a structure built to house fingerlings - as the minnows grow. They need more room and a safe place to eat and hide.
• We have built 18 PVC pipe Porcupines.

A important note the PVC Pipe was donated. Habitat crew collect it at jop sites

The Spider Blocks

• Spider Blocks are used in fields of structures - spread out like forests.
• Panfish and small game fish hunt for fingerlings and hide from predators.
• We have built about a 16 of these.

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Georgia Cube

This is what everyone wants to know about.

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The Cube is where predators rest and hunt for their next meal.

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Our group working on a way

Build these and still keep in budget. The on in photo has almost $ 300 im parts.

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January 2024 —Reef 1 is built on Lake Windsor. The POA primarily made the habitat on this reef. There are several pieces of habitat built by the Fly Tyer there too.

Reef 1 was all that was included in the original scope. It took a little while to discover that combining the POA's and Fly Tyer's efforts could get a lot more done.

Reef 3 is built on Lake Windsor. This reef was over-scope accompaniment. We got some nice donations that let the Habitat Group and POA expand our scope. .

Most Reef 2 and Reef 3 habitats were built by the Fly Tyers. We learned a couple thing we will change if the program expand to more lakes.

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What going now? The Habitat Crew is building more habitat for Lake Norwood. Rick crew is make porcupine structure out PBS Plastic pipe. We have have aprox 20 done for install this winner.

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The Habitat Crew used over 2250 feet of 1 ½ pipe. The pipe was pickup all year from construction crew. We save close to $3000 over purchasing wood.

Spider Blocks

The Spider Block team, steaming pipe and building taller structures than last year.

They expect to build 10 tall structure this year and dozen shorter structures.

Inventory

Budget Friendly

The Habitat Committee will come in under budget, even though we expanded our scope to fill in some gaps.

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We are very grateful for well timed donations of material.

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$ 1000 of budget was donate by the Bella Vista Foundation.

Natural vs. Man-Made: Weighing the Options for Fish Habitat

The Habitat Group acknowledges the advantages and disadvantages of both natural and man-made materials used in fish habitat creation.

Natural materials like logs and trees offer an eco-friendly solution, but they may decompose over time. Man-made materials, such as PVC pipes, are more durable but may not integrate as seamlessly with the natural

1. How can we get algae to grow on habitat?
2. Roughen the Surface: Algae needs a surface to attach to. You can roughen the surface of the habitat using sandpaper, a wire brush, or even a power washer. This will create more nooks and crannies for algae spores to settle and grow.
3. Apply a Starter Culture: You can purchase a starter culture of algae and apply it to the habitat. This will provide a head start for the algae to grow.
4. Add Nutrients: Algae needs nutrients to grow, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. You can add a small amount of fertilizer to the water around the habitat. However, be careful not to add too much, as this can lead to excessive algae growth and water quality problems.
5. Provide Adequate Light: Algae needs light to photosynthesize. Make sure the habitat is placed in an area that receives plenty of sunlight.

It is important to note that it may take some time for algae to grow on the habitat. Be patient and give the algae time to establish itself.

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