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Joined: Nov 2009
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Lunker
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I have a Blue Herron fishing in the mornings. Who knows how many fish he's gotten. Recently stocked some Bluegill and fatheads. Hope I have some left. Help! Any suggestions?
Last edited by Dantheman; 05/09/10 11:08 PM.
"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." Doug Larson 
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent  Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Non-lethal would be stringing fishing line from stakes in areas that it likes to frequent.
While they don't eat as many fish as cormorants (water turkeys) they really can do some damage to spawning fish in shallow water, and any larger fish that swim by.
I don't know if Wi. requires you to have a permit to permanently remove them like Indiana does.
I heard that they are allergic to lead when delivered at high velocities.
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Joined: Nov 2009
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Lunker
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Does anyone know if the Blue Heron decoy that the Pond Guy sells works?
"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." Doug Larson
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Lunker
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Lunker
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I did not tell you this but I have known a guy that ties a lead sinker to some pretty strong mono and a floating fish imitation lure, like a floating Rapala. Leaves it in there where the herons feed about 6 inches underwater. Sometimes shallower. I've seen a goldfish lure also. That one does not have hooks. But treble hooks can be put into it, I would think. Heron and lure seem to go away long term.
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Joined: Aug 2006
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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I'd actually rather have these graceful critters stealing my fish, than the poachers who steal my game cameras, who are drunk and obnoxious, and who do even more damage to my pond balance.  
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Joined: Jan 2009
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As far as two legged fish stealers go, I am with you Ken... I would much rather have the winged type than the drunk human type.
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Joined: Apr 2006
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Lunker
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Joined: Jul 2007
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Ah, the Long Legged Blue Devil. Haven't seen them this year yet, but I'm sure they'll be back once the water receeds.
Last edited by scruffy_fish; 05/10/10 06:19 PM.
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Hall of Fame Lunker
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Non-lethal would be stringing fishing line from stakes in areas that it likes to frequent. Like Scot says this is a worthwhile option and is not as difficult as it sounds. You don't need that many stakes and you simply run mono from stake to stake around the pond a about 2 1/2 feet off the water. The idea is, since a heron does not land on the water like ducks and geese, but wades in, he will be frustrated and prevented from fishing in the pond. Another option is an electric fence if you like to watch a heron do a break dance. I don't know if Wi. requires you to have a permit to permanently remove them like Indiana does. It's not actually the state that regulates this but the feds. The bird is a federally regulated and protected bird just like other waterfowl. A permit cost $100.00 and you have to be using all nonlethal methods at your disposal first. I doubt they would give a permit to a recreational pond owner though. I heard that they are allergic to lead when delivered at high velocities. Just don't get caught or tell anyone if you go this route. Since it's a federally protected bird you can get fined severely.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 05/11/10 05:29 PM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Joined: Nov 2009
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Lunker
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I think they may be protected in Wisconsin!
"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." Doug Larson
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Fingerling
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Fingerling
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I have some redwing blackbirds nesting in a little patch of cattails from last year.Every time a heron lands by the pond the blackbirds go nuts and give it a beak to the back of the head and away goes the heron. On the downside the samething happens when I walk by.
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 75
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Feb 2004
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Of all the options I must say that I think the fishhook idea is pretty disgusting. Please just shoot the bird if you are considering torturing it with encouraging it to swallow a few treble hooks. I would use a 12-gauge shotgun with steel shot. Don't brag about it at the bar. The fishing line idea sounds like a good one too. Great blue herons are beautiful birds and I hope I never see one choking on a $4 rapala. When in doubt: shoot, shovel, and shut-up. Sorry Pond Frog, I think that your idea is awful, no offense.
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Lunker
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Lunker
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the decoy is a good concept--i've also been wondering if I want one. They say the blue herons are territorial and won't go near each other. It's an aesthetic $30 solution to at least try.
The problem I have is the little green heron, not the big blue heron. The little green heron is more agile and can get into my small pond whereas the big blue needs more space to land.
The little green is kinda fun so I don't really want to scare him off. He's pretty scared of me anyway and flies off whenever he sees me. Just poaching minnows I'd guess.
Bennie LMB, HBG, YP, CC, FHM, located SE Michigan 1/3 acre 8-9' deep, aerated 24/7 1/4 hp rocking piston 
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Joined: Nov 2009
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Lunker
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The Decoy is on sale at"The Pond Guy" for $24.95 My Herron keeps eating my fish
"If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." Doug Larson
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Lunker
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Lunker
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Don't apologize to me, you have feelings for herons. I do not. I can't stand them. I have seen them needlessly spear too many fish and frogs they can't even eat, and leave them speared, dying on the shore. And in a season this may happen 100's of times. Besides that, I have also seen them cause thousands of dollars of damage to koi ponds. I am normally a live and let live guy. They don't, and my job is to protect my customers ponds, and fish as assets. I have a zero tolerence program that I implement with extreme prejudice. If I could legally put a red dot on any poachers head and end it that way I do. I don't get my kicks from being cruel to animals. My business is giving my customers happiness fishing and enjoying thier ponds. Not letting them see mortally wounded fish wiggling to death on the shore drying out in the sun. Business is business.
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,934 Likes: 2
Ambassador
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The little green heron is more agile and can get into my small pond whereas the big blue needs more space to land.
Don't be fooled by the asuumption of awkwardness. A GBH can gracefully land on a dime. No runway or landing room needed except enough space to flap his wings.
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jul 2009
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The little green heron is more agile and can get into my small pond whereas the big blue needs more space to land.
Don't be fooled by the asuumption of awkwardness. A GBH can gracefully land on a dime. No runway or landing room needed except enough space to flap his wings. +1 I was recently fishing a small trout lake in Northern Wisconsin and observed a heron there. It perched in a tree, which I have never seen a heron do before. If a heron can land on a tree branch, I'd imagine that it can land pretty much anywhere. They can also fly incredibly slowly, really taking their time to look for a good spot. I wonder how difficult it would be to rig up a float rapala (de-hooked) to some line and an alarm. Somthing like this, for herons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aYDWf5JKYoOr make one of these, if there is only a small area suitable for herons and you have a water line at the pond: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdYc86AA8M0
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G blue herons, Canadian Geese, Green Herons, Osprey, Mergansers, Mink. Most eat our fish, one craps all over the place. They all qualify as nuisances...if I decide they are. I'm fortunate in that I am not as concerned about the pond contents as much as I am concerned about the entire package, above and below the water. Finding the correct balance of control and the effective ways to implement balanced control are the most I could ever hope for. In the meantime, if I don't like what M Nature has sent to my pond to party, I should probably stay home.
Now, having said all this, I still fear the appearance of an otter or beaver, and know that someday I will have to deal with it. In the meantime, tho, I try not to sweat the smaller stuff.
The operative word here is "try" not to sweat the smaller stuff...
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Joined: Oct 2005
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The little green heron is more agile and can get into my small pond whereas the big blue needs more space to land.
Don't be fooled by the asuumption of awkwardness. A GBH can gracefully land on a dime. No runway or landing room needed except enough space to flap his wings. +1 I was recently fishing a small trout lake in Northern Wisconsin and observed a heron there. It perched in a tree, which I have never seen a heron do before. If a heron can land on a tree branch, I'd imagine that it can land pretty much anywhere. They can also fly incredibly slowly, really taking their time to look for a good spot. They land atop a 4 x 4 post in our pond
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Lunker
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Lunker
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My problem with the otter, herons, and grebes is appearances. I am managing ponds or supposed to be. I am at least compensated to do so. It appears I am not doing my job when they run or fly amok. The damage they cause is bad on all fronts. When they maim and don't kill a fish it turns into fungus fish, barely swimming under the surface, covered with gray fungus, dying a slow and lingering death. Or the carcasses strewn on the shore, fish I have spent countless hours cultivating, only to be wasted for nothing on the shore. I have even refused jobs where residents wanted the otters to hang out because they were so cute and cuddly looking. And they of course want excellent fishing also. Hey, you can't have both. It is a little different when you own your own pond and can say, no sweat, it does not bother me. But when you are getting paid to manage the situation, people or customers expect results. Poppers, bottle rockets and noisemakers are only good for a few instances, then the birds figure out, I'm not hurt, and learn to ignore them. The point is I would let them have thier share if they ate what they caught and I did not appear to not be doing what I am paid for. They force my hand, and I do what my customers expect, and don't want to know how or why.
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Joined: Jan 2008
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,798 Likes: 68 |
G blue herons, Canadian Geese, Green Herons, Osprey, Mergansers, Mink. Most eat our fish, one craps all over the place. They all qualify as nuisances...if I decide they are. I'm fortunate in that I am not as concerned about the pond contents as much as I am concerned about the entire package, above and below the water. Finding the correct balance of control and the effective ways to implement balanced control are the most I could ever hope for. In the meantime, if I don't like what M Nature has sent to my pond to party, I should probably stay home.
Now, having said all this, I still fear the appearance of an otter or beaver, and know that someday I will have to deal with it. In the meantime, tho, I try not to sweat the smaller stuff.
The operative word here is "try" not to sweat the smaller stuff...
I kinda took you for a mink guy? I love their presence in my pond - hopefully helping cull my muskrat population of which I've successfully trapped ZERO animals! Argh!
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau ![[Linked Image from i1261.photobucket.com]](http://i1261.photobucket.com/albums/ii582/teehjaeh57/I_subscribe_zps69249d43.gif)
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,798 Likes: 68
Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 8,798 Likes: 68 |
My problem with the otter, herons, and grebes is appearances. I am managing ponds or supposed to be. I am at least compensated to do so. It appears I am not doing my job when they run or fly amok. The damage they cause is bad on all fronts. When they maim and don't kill a fish it turns into fungus fish, barely swimming under the surface, covered with gray fungus, dying a slow and lingering death. Or the carcasses strewn on the shore, fish I have spent countless hours cultivating, only to be wasted for nothing on the shore. I have even refused jobs where residents wanted the otters to hang out because they were so cute and cuddly looking. And they of course want excellent fishing also. Hey, you can't have both. It is a little different when you own your own pond and can say, no sweat, it does not bother me. But when you are getting paid to manage the situation, people or customers expect results. Poppers, bottle rockets and noisemakers are only good for a few instances, then the birds figure out, I'm not hurt, and learn to ignore them. The point is I would let them have thier share if they ate what they caught and I did not appear to not be doing what I am paid for. They force my hand, and I do what my customers expect, and don't want to know how or why. This makes sense to me as a business developer...you are compensated based on your ability to provide pond and fishery management solutions. When a vector prevents you from reaching goals outlined by your client, you need to be ready to offer solutions or change the strategy or you'll be looking for a new customers continually. I don't see how one can satisfy the responsibility to feed your family and only offer "organic" or "humane" solutions unless they are equally effective. You can become a peta volunteer or be a pond management professional - but I don't see a successful business resulting from the combination of both disciplines. Maybe I'm missing something, however...wouldn't be the first or last time - WHOOSH! 
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
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Joined: Jul 2009
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Lunker
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I kinda took you for a mink guy? I love their presence in my pond - hopefully helping cull my muskrat population of which I've successfully trapped ZERO animals! Argh! Why not just put a red dot on a Ruger 10/22? Probably a great tool for muskrat cull.
Ponds in TX, lake place in WI, me in CA
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Joined: Jan 2008
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
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Chairman, Pond Boss Legacy award; Moderator; field correspondent Lunker
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Posts: 8,798 Likes: 68 |
I have never SEEN one, only their tunnels...sneaky rats. Smarter than I am at this point in the game...I may need to call in the pros.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
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