I have only one GBH that has lived at my pond probably for years. Can see him almost daily at certain times of day. he NEVER lets me get close to him. I see his tracks on my pontoon boat dock where my feeder is. Now that my water has cleared up (and dropped) I see his tracks in about 6-12 inch water. I see white puke where he may be trying to call them in. I know he is eating some fish and have not worried too much about him because I have an overabundance of cnbg. But now that i FINALLY have enough LMB to catch and have fun I'm upset. This morning I found a beautiful and appeared to be otherwise healthy 15 inch LMB floating at the ponds edge!! had not been dead but maybe from last night. Still had good color and his eyes were not even "foggy". further investigation found a "hole" on both sides of the fish right behind the head and gill plate. It looked as if he had been shot. I assume that is a lethal stabbing from a GBH? What do ya'll think??

My first thought is why is the fish getting that close to the bird. If I get very close to mine they dart off. GBH maybe sit and wait still so they don't spook them. Not sure if its illegal in your area or not. Pretty sure and 22 or shotgun would keep you from being upset again with him.

If you are in the states (maybe other places too), all native migratory birds are federally protected.

I have heard of the GBH killing fish too big to swallow. It's a shame, but, then again, that's mother nature!

Two things:

1) I think the 'white puke' is actually white Heron crap.

2) I think the GBH's spear larger fish because they are trying to eliminate competition for their own food source.


At my main pond, I've seen quite a few LMB with heron 'scars' on their backs. It sucks.

Other than that, I like observing them. Quite a prehistoric-looking type of creature.

I caught a 14" 15" bass with two holes in it, 1 thru the meat and 1 thru the stomach, about 3/4 in apart, it must have just happened when I caught him, he looked good at the time but was dead within 10 min, I figured he'd been stabbed by a GBH. I am not a huge fan of the Fed's migratory bird, I don't mind them eating some minnows but when they are just slaughtering large fish because they can, I tend to try to migrate them into a different direction.
My fascination with them dwindles really fast when I find dead LMB and other fish laying around just killed for pleasure.

Sunil, I read somewhere that the GBH will puke up stuff in the shallow water near them and it attracts small fish to come and feed on it. Then they attack when close enough. I DO understand it may be poop instead of something they throw up but would work primarily the same way. Wish I could remember where I read that??

I have spooked two different GBH's, on two different occasions...and they spit up/out a live fish. I guess they mouth them for a while before swallowing.

Yeah, I don't like them spearing my larger fish.

The puke-chum idea is good.

I did the same on a flounder fishing expedition this past summer. Of course, the flounder were 60' down, so they may not have reacted to my 'chum.'

The white is not coming from the mouth end of the bird........ If you ever are close enough to one when it flies away from your pond, you will see it "puking" from the rearward facing mouth. LOL

LMB, SMB, RBT. All found dead at my pond from the GBH over the years, all too big to eat.

Like Rusto sez, those suckers(like dang near every bird) are federally protected. Proceed carefully and confidentially.

Serious question, anyone know what is actually permissible as regards federally protected nuisances? (Primarily GBH, but others too.)

Can we throw a frisbee at them every time we see them?

Turn on the sprinklers?

Send a dog out after them?

We all have different ponds and different occupancy times at our ponds, so some "generalized" advice would be good for the forum. I have absolutely zero idea where the line in the sand is regarding discouragement versus federal crime.

That is a very good question, I know that on a state level a person is allowed to protect his property from damage by nuisance wildlife, to what extent is a person legally allowed to do that on a federal level. I personally wouldn't have a clue as to what the legal line in the sand is. isnt a person allowed to protect his property? now I realize an endangered species would be a whole new level of offense.
Like DD1, said, proceed with caution and confidentiality.

Back in the spring I found one of the LMB I stocked last year on the bank with a hole in it. It was a really nice fat healthy looking fish that went to waste. I don't mind them eating a few small BG but killing a larger LMB just makes me mad. They always fly off as soon as they see me walking up.

Yeah, the issue gets complicated. Some states allow certain things, some states don't. I remember viewing videos from New Jersey or New York wildlife department showing how to humanely & legally addle goose eggs to prevent hatching, but later discovered that the rules in Texas were different.

My beef is not against protection of genuinely threatened species, but those that are quite common and often destructive, like cormorants.

Talk to your state DNR. Some states allow you to get a permit to legally shoot them.

Wow, I would not have believed that was even a possibility in ANY state.

Thanks for all of the advice, everyone.

Once again, it appears that the correct answer on Pond Boss is - IT DEPENDS!