Clubs place habitat in Kansas waters

Georgia cubes have been placed in Lake Olathe and Middle Creek State Fishing Lake with the help of Kansas City and Leavenworth bass clubs.

TOPEKA, Kan. — Forty Georgia cube habitats have been placed in Kansas waters in recent months, thanks to B.A.S.S. clubs in Kansas City and Leavenworth, Kan.

Georgia cubes were designed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. They are made of black corrugated pipe on a PVC frame in the shape of a cube 3 feet tall, 4 feet wide and 4 feet deep. The structures quickly accumulate periphyton, a complex mix of algae, fungi and bacteria, which in turn attracts insects and fish. They are more cost efficient, easier to place, and will last up to three times longer than natural materials, like cedar trees or brushpiles and have no deleterious effects on water quality.

“A good number of the Georgia cube fish habitats have been constructed and placed in area water bodies since 2015,” said Luke Kowalewski, Kansas Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks fisheries biologist.

Twenty have been placed in Lake Olathe, with help from the Kansas City B.A.S.S. Club, and the Leavenworth B.A.S.S. Club has placed 20 in Middle Creek State Fishing Lake.

“Local Kansas B.A.S.S. Nation chapters and other bass clubs have been instrumental in the construction and placement of these structures statewide, and I cannot thank the Kansas City and Leavenworth B.A.S.S. Clubs enough for their involvement with this project,” Kowalewski added.

“I especially want to thank Richard Kiblinger of Kansas City and Dan Senterfitt of Leavenworth for coordinating their respective groups.”

GPS locations of all statewide fish attractors (natural and artificial) are available on the department’s website, www.ksoutdoors.com. Click on “Fishing” then click on “Google KMZ file of KS Fish Attractors” under the “Fishing Opportunities” menu. Anglers can also find the file by entering “fish attractor GPS” in the search box on the home page.

The video below shows department staff installing Georgia cubes.