LAKE NORMAN, N.C. – Could dumping used Christmas trees into lakes be a viable way to help fish?

• Some fishermen dispose of Christmas trees by dumping them into lakes
• The trees provide cover for fish
• The trees rot away after two years

Fisherman Gus Gustafson thinks so. He says that fishermen have put old trees in the lake to create cover for fish.

"The branches of the tree give them a place to hang around, give them some shade, some cover and actually some uh, some growth on it, some aquatic growth – it starts a whole food chain," Gustafson says.

Gustafson says any kind of brush helps because when the lake was created almost all of the grass, trees, and other brush were removed. 

Most of the time, a cinder block is tied to the trees to keep them from floating, he says.

"But I tell you what, it doesn't even have to be gigantic to attract fish, it’s like an oasis in the desert for them is what it is," Gustafson says.

The trees usually rot away after two years.

According to Duke Energy, it's illegal to dump anything in lakes.