Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water Which is better for a heron?

Which is better for a blue heron to catch fish, water visibility of 6 inches or 24 inches? This may be the wrong place to ask the question but I thought I would give it a shot.

The reason for the question. A few years back I stocked 50 bass. A few years later when draining the pond I found only 3 bass (I took none out). Water visibility was 6 inches or less back then. Now, my pond is re-done and just about full with the visibility about 15 inches and getting better every day. I'm stocking 50 more bass next week. Will they be easy pickings for the herons or will the fish be able to see the herons better?

And yes, I'm pretty sure the herons are the problem. My pond is about ~ 300 feet from my house and no one fishes but me and the herons.

I don't know for a fact, but I gotta imagine that the water could be crystal clear without change. Those herons are so still for so long...waiting.

True, they stand still for a long time.

I was driving up my driveway once when I saw a heron pluck a pretty good size fish from the water. I scared him off before he got a chance to eat it. It was a about a 1 pound CC. I'm not sure if he could have eaten it but I didn't give him the chance. I put the fish back in the water and found it floating the next day. Had that distinct hole in it's back. That is when I decided to take action.

I bought one of those life like plastic herons a month back. It looks so real that sometimes I forget and when I see it, I think it is the enemy It seemed to work for a week or so. I kept moving it every few days until I saw one standing right next to it a week ago. Seems like some are more afraid of it than others but since they all look alot alike it is hard to tell. I would love to catch one and put a shock collar on it. Now I fear that I'm only clearing the water up to make it easier for them to catch fish.

My guess is that muddy water is the best bird deterrent, hands down. My pond is muddy, and my neighbor's is clear. They obviously prefer clear water, because they fly right over mine and make a bee-line to his.

My neighbor's pond is a little clearer than mine and I haven't really noticed them over at his pond any more than mine. When I scare them off, they fly right over to his which is about 300 feet away. I was thinking that the fish would have less of a chance in muddy water because they cant see the heron but some how the herons can still catch them....I guess by feel.

I just bumped into this well done, itemized summary of the GBH . Thought it was interesting.

Very interesting...thanks for the post.