“No one loves a Christmas tree on March the 25th,” was the punchline to a favorite poem in Shel Silverstein’s book, Where the Sidewalk Ends, but Silverstein may have gotten it wrong in the eyes of crappie anglers. They absolutely love old Christmas trees at the end of March, so long as they’re sitting 10 feet deep in their favorite lake.
In his poem titled “Merry,” the pop culture poet, cartoonist and writer of Johnny Cash’s famous song, “A Boy Named Sue,” was taking a jab at the sudden change in people’s sentiment toward each other once the holiday season has ended. Your personal “Giving Tree” still has a lot of potential in those branches for baitfish and young sport fish to hide from predators, which draws crappie and crappie anglers alike. That’s why the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has worked with many towns over the years to establish Christmas tree donation centers to give those used trees a second life as fish habitat.
AGFC Christmas tree drop-off locations work sort of like a take-a-penny, leave-a-penny tray at a cash register. Anyone can drop off their tree, and anyone is welcome to take them to sink their own brush piles. Anglers sinking brush should call ahead to make sure sinking brush is allowed in the body of water where they want to sink the trees. Some water-supply reservoirs and other lakes have regulations to prevent dumping of brush without permission.
No artificial trees are allowed at the drop-off locations, and anglers also should make sure all ornaments, lights and tinsel are removed from their real tree before sinking. A modest piece of parachute cord or bailing wire can be used to add a cinder block or bags of sand to sink the trees and keep them anchored to one spot.
Christmas trees are relatively short-term habitat because they don’t have much thick woody material, but they can be gathered in clusters easily and sunk in large groups. The main stems will last longer than the wispy branches and continue to draw fish throughout the year. Many anglers use these Christmas trees to freshen up productive attractor sites every year with the main trunks offering long-lasting cover and the branches of the new brush.
Trees can be dropped off at any of the following locations until the end of January:
Northwest Arkansas
- Beaver Lake – Highway 12 Access, AGFC Don Roufa Highway 412 Access and Monte Ne Boat Ramp Access
- Lake Elmdale – Boat Ramp Access
- Bob Kidd Lake – Boat Ramp Access
- Crystal Lake – Boat Ramp Access
- Lake Fayetteville — Boat Ramp Access
North Arkansas
- Bull Shoals Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
- Norfork Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
Northeast Arkansas
- Jonesboro – Craighead Forest Park Lake Boat Ramp
- Lake Bono – Boat Ramp Access
- Lake Walcott – Crowley’s Ridge State Park Boat Ramp Access
- Lake Charles – West parking lot at Highway 25 Boat Ramp Access
- Lake Poinsett — Dam Access Boat Ramp
- Batesville — Ramsey Slough Boat Ramp
Central Arkansas
- Arkansas River – Riverview Park Access in North Little Rock
- Lake Barnett – Reed Access
- Greers Ferry Lake – Sandy Beach (Heber Springs), Devils Fork Recreation Area and Choctaw Recreation Area (Choctaw-Clinton)
- Harris Brake Lake – Chittman Hill Access
- Lake Pickthorne – Holland Bottoms Access
- Lake Overcup – Lake Overcup Landing
- Cox Creek Lake – Cox Creek Lake Public Access
- Lake Hamilton – Andrew Hulsey State Fish Hatchery Access Area
East Arkansas
- Horseshoe Lake — Bonds Access
- Wynne Sports Complex Family and Community Fishing Pond
Southeast Arkansas
- Lake Chicot – Connerly Bayou Access Area
- Cook’s Lake – Potlatch Cook’s Lake Nature Center at 625 Cook’s Lake Road, Casscoe, or the bus lot across from Grand Avenue United Methodist Church in Stuttgart
South Arkansas
- Camden – AGFC Regional Office on Ben Lane, next to the National Guard Armory
- Upper White Oak Lake – Upper Jack’s Landing
- Magnolia – Columbia County Road Department Yard on Highway 371
- El Dorado – City recycling center drop-offs: one behind Arby’s and one on South Jackson
- Smackover – Recycling Drop-Off Center (these will be transported to El Dorado)
Southwest Arkansas
- Bois d’Arc Lake – Kidd’s Landing or Hatfield Access
- Millwood Lake – Cottonshed, White Cliffs Recreation Areas and the Millwood State Park ramp on the point
- Dierks City Pond — Main parking area
- Dierks Lake – Jefferson Ridge South Recreation Area
- De Queen Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
- Gillham Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
- Lake Greeson – New Cowhide Cove and Self Creek Recreation areas
- South Fork Lake – South Fork Lake Access
- Terre Noire Lake – Terre Noire Lake Access
- Hope – AGFC Regional Office on U.S. Highway 67 East
- Lake Dieffenbacher – Bobby Ferguson Park Pavilion
