LakeL,
I'll weigh in on the water turkey question...as someone speaking with way too much experience with them.
First, where are you located? That's critical because of two things:
1) these are migratory birds and they leave the southern Gulf coast areas in March headed north...in fact, they have completely left my area now, thank God.
2) If you live in the great state of Texas, you can legally exercise your right to protect your property, i.e. fish, by securing a cormorant permit which enables you to kill these birds...and that is the only effective way to rid your self of the problem. Best $12 you will ever spend.
They eat 1 1/2 pounds of fish per day per bird....including LMB. Don't believe the folks that say they eat only fathead minnows...totally not true.
Once they find your place with the scout birds, then they will come in droves...I've had 30 landing at the same time. In a matter of hours, they can severely damage your forage base, a matter of days, eliminate it. Many well meaning folks do not agree with control measures, but I assure you the only thing that works is force....fake owls, scarecrows, cars parked on the dam, noises, fake gators, etc. I've tried them all and they all fail, don't waste your time on them....and whatever you do, do not leave your water unattended for long periods of time during the water turkey season.
That's the voice of experience...and by the way, some on the Board say I am obsesssed with water turkeys and I plead guilty, cause I love my ponds and the fishing and hate what those birds do to them.
