For better fishing, how about donating your tree?

Christmas trees are a source of joy this holiday season, festively decorated reminders of all that is special for families and their traditions.
Soon, however, the time for clean-up will come and curbs everywhere will be festooned with pine trees waiting to be picked up by the waste management companies.
If you are so inclined, you can send your Christmas tree to a more noble destination than a final resting place in a landfill. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources sent a reminder recently that Christmas trees can be recycled into a variety of uses.
Anglers long have recognized the extended use of cut pines as fish cover. State authorities, with help from various volunteer organizations, frequently collect Christmas trees, which they secure to weights and sink in lakes.
But fish attractors are just one use for discarded trees. The ODNR also recommends that people consider recycling their Christmas trees as mulch, compost and wildlife habitat.
Quotable
"Mulching, chipping or composting Christmas trees after the holidays is a wise alternative to just throwing them in landfills," said Paul Baldridge, chief of the ODNR's Division of Recycling & amp; Litter Prevention. "Many Ohio communities are making it easy for residents to recycle cut Christmas trees by offering convenient drop-off locations and curbside pickup."
Some local park districts and communities shred Christmas trees for mulch and compost. Trees that are used for wildlife habitat provide shelter for animals during the winter months.
Those who have their own chippers can add the chopped trees in their gardens to improve soil quality and its ability to store moisture.
The ODNR also reminds people to remove all tinsel, garland, ornaments and other decorations to avoid the possibility of unwanted litter around the recycled usages.
As fish habitat, meanwhile, Christmas trees are among the best materials. Coniferous trees' wood has enough resin to provide a natural preservative, which prevents the quick decay that happens with hardwood brush piles.
Piles of pines often are sunk for crappie cover. But what typically happens first is that baitfish find the cover and swim among the twigs and branches with hope they will hide them from hungry predators.
After a period of time that depends on water temperature and the depth at which the cover is resting, the needles drop off and that's when Christmas really starts to contribute to improvements in fishing.
Attracting predators
Anglers know that as the pines age, they become more likely to attract predators. Once the needles are gone, game fish such as bass and catfish will move in and use the trees as ambush points and resting places.
A crankbait or spinnerbait bounced off the outer edges of the cover will tempt any fish inside to dart out to eat the lures. A jig or Texas-rigged soft plastic bait flipped into the thickest portions -- where the limbs branch off the trunks -- often results in a jarring strike from a big old bass that is using the wood as a hideout.
ODNR personnel often collect trees at lakeside locations. But before you load up your Christmas tree and drive out, it's a good idea to make sure the authorities are running a collection program at the location.
If they are, do consider donating your tree. It just may end up providing you with better fishing this spring and summer.
jwwollitz@aol.com