The Henry Hagg Lake Spider Block Project, is a event overseen by ODFW and supported by many local fishing clubs and individuals. The project happened in two phases. In the first phase, volunteers construct the spider blocks and in the second phase the spider blocks are placed in the lake. The blocks give the lake's featureless bottom structure for juvenile fish hide and mature. Below is a detailed account of both phases of the event.
Phase 1
Date: February 17, 2018, 9:00 AM, Henry Hagg Lake, Washington County
Thirty-five volunteers from Oregon Bass & Panfish Club, 503 Bassers, Columbia River Bassmasters, Mount Hood Community College and other interested individuals braved 44 degree weather with intermittent sprinkles and showers to construct 100 spider block fish habitat structures at Henry Hagg Lake under the direction of ODFW.
The process started with placing 100 cinder blocks on plastic tarps (to protect the parking lot), then cutting hundreds of feet of black plastic pipe into 3 to 6 foot segments. Next, holes were drilled into one end of the pipe to help the concrete adhere to the pipe. Finally, concrete was poured into the cinder block holes and the pipes were inserted into the wet concrete.
These structures will cure over the next seven days and will be thoroughly dry for next Saturday’s event, where volunteers will place the structures in designated areas of Henry Hagg Lake’s no-wake zone. These habitat structures have proved very proficient at attracting the warmwater game fish in the lake, offering protection to the young and over-wintering habitat to larger fish.
Phase 2
Date: February 24, 2018, 9:00 AM, Henry Hagg Lake, Washington County
Twenty-one volunteers arrived at Henry Hagg Lake to place 99 Spider Block fish habitats into the no-wake portion of the lake under the direction of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Spider Blocks were constructed on Saturday, February 17th and the cement had cured during the week.
It was cold (36 degrees) and a little rainy this morning when we began the project. Six volunteers brought their boats to transport the Spider Blocks from Eagle Point (Boat Ramp A) to a designated location in the lake about a mile away.
The Spider Blocks were loaded onto the ODFW trailer, then loaded onto boats. The boats transported the fish habitats to the designated drop off area where volunteers placed the blocks into the lake. Check out the pictures from boat fish finders. The first shows air bubbles escaping from the blocks as they settle on the lake bottom. And NOT FIVE MINUTES LATER, the next picture shows a fish holding on one of the arms of the Spider Block.
All in all, it was a really good, safe and productive day at Henry Hagg Lake!
Our special thanks to the volunteers who brought their boats for this project.