Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Great Blue Heron

Not supposed to be. That being said, when they were counting fish and checking for off species when the fry were delivered, they did pull two crappie out of the fry. So it is entirely possible that one got past them.

Hopefully not two.

We have caught and removed around 80 fish and caught and released maybe another 20 so far from the pond and everything caught has been BG, one CC and maybe a couple mutt hybrids (as they were called by the experts ) with some RES in them.

So if it was a crappie, hopefully it was the only one.

I had not even thought about it possibly being a crappie.

I appreciate the thought Cecil, and I understand why you do it, but fishing line strung along the shore line just does not go with the decor we wish to see out our kitchen and bedroom window. Also two grandsons and I put in one aeration diffuser and went swimming and boating today (burrrrr, 68 degrees, they swam more than I did) and I'm afraid mono line strung around the pond just takes something away from it for us.

Before attempting to become a pondmeister (with a small "p" not a capital "P") a GBH sighting on our old farm pond was considered a treat. We enjoyed them. Only now that we have spent boo-koo money on fish and fish food have they become the enemy.

I guess it gets back to goals. For some, the fish are the ultimate goal. For my wife and I, we would like some nice fish for employees, family and ourselves to catch, but being a grand bass master or whatever they are called will never be on my list of attempted accomplishments. So the fish, while important, were really only a passion I gained after deciding to build the pond. They were not the primary reason for it.

So we will put up with the different birds visiting, even enjoying some of them. But for me they are like relatives. Ok for a visit, but no permanent residents please. Time to move on.

Thanks for the suggestion though. It is a novel solution I would have never thought of on my own.

Well, there's one less in there now. Just goes to show that anyone can make a mistake when stocking fish, whether straight off the truck, or straight from the hatchery. We're all human after all, mostly.

There is just something about it that gives me an uneasy feeling though. Over 2000 fish put in that pond and the one I DON'T want in there dies?

Maybe I need to visit a casino, because that is usually not the way my luck runs!

And as far as being mostly human, that reminds me of a story of when I was about 5 years old. I was tagging along with my dad on a cold winter day where a bunch of farmers were standing around an old pot belly stove "chewing the fat" (likely cause my mom had had enough of me). Being the pesky kind and somewhat more noisy than what some of the old guys appreciated, after me making some comment about "being born", an old guy named Lonnie Brown spat a wad of tobacco spit on the stove and said "hell boy, you weren't born. A crow shat you on a stump and the sun hatched you".

So there has been some prior discussion as to my origin.

Funny I should remember that from my childhood. I became good friends with that old man through my teenage years till he died.

Caught another injured SMB tonight.

It's pretty much invisible (you can only see the mono really up close) and very few stakes needed.

I wouldn't have it on my ponds if it was an eye sore. If the stakes are an issue they can easily be camouflaged. To be honest I have a lot of stakes on my small 1/10th acre trout pond but thst is becsuse it's so small it is almost circular so the stakes need to be closer together to follow the shore line. On my 1/2 acre pond I don't need nearly as many.

I've taken pictures of it for an article and you can't see the mono in the picture.

I hear you guys complaining about the herons but there is an effective nonlethal solution.

Cecil, I would put up stakes and mono if I thought my dog wouldn't knock it down and get tangled up in all of the time.

Won't happen.

My dog routinely goes under it to get a drink of water and she is a big dog. You could get by with one strand the dog could easily go under or even multiple strands as long as the dog can go under the lowest strand.

The only situation where the staked lines wouldn't work is on a pond where the water level goes up and down rapidly. And even then I think I could figure something out.

Cecil, at what height do you place the Mono?

High enough where the heron can't step over but low enough it can't duck under. It's a judgement call.

Shorty, even for my liking herons, I'd have to get VC on this bird!!!

So, if there is some resistance they encounter with the mono, they won't get more aggressive and try to overcome?

Dinner is that way!

Cecil, my german shorthair runs the bank full throttle hunting frogs and throws caution to wind both in and out of the water. My wife had to take her to the emergency vet three weeks ago to get four layers of stitches and drain tube put in chest from the 6" gash she got while running around our place. She had a similar injury on the other side of here chest last year. Stringing mono all the way around the pond is a bad idea with our dog.

Understood. We had a German Shorthair that almost ripped his scrotum off running high speed along a fence. He was definitely high energy and could run for miles.

They will only wade in unless they know the water is exceptionally shallow and then they may land in the water. If you set the line up where they can't wade in as it's too deep on the pond side you're good to go. An electric fence would be more fun to watch though. Some day I may put one up for kicks. As I've said here before I've heard they do a awesome break dance when they make contact.

The truth be told I'm running behind on the big pond and don't have my line up yet. I've had it up so many years the birds seem to have given up. Last year I only staked the areas where the bluegills bed near shore.

I also don't have small fish to eat in that pond. The yellow perch and big gills stay deep except for spawning time.

High enough where the heron can't step over but low enough it can't duck under. It's a judgement call.
I presume they don't Limbo.

I caught this fish earlier today and wounds are healing up, this fish was nice and chunky and looked very good. I wish I had brought my camera.

I have not seen my GBH since the pond muddied up but I have seen a Green Heron at the pond on regular basis lately.

I wonder if carefully adding some salt to the pond would help the fish recover from these kinds of injuries. Bob Lusk told me that when fish are being transported it is common practice to add some salt to protect them from stress.

The amount that you'd have to add would be tremendous! A fish hauling tank has a few less gallons than a pond.....

Amazing what they can survive, and even put up a good fight on a horny toad!

Now if I could just train the GBH to take only 12" and under LMB and all BCP, it would add a whole new element to pond management

This is from a few years ago at the 3/4 acre pond . I haven't seen any herons around in the last few months but over the years there have been some occasions where there were 2 herons walking the bank picking off some of my bluegill until I chased them off.

just saw this post and thought I would post a few pictures of one of my Brookies I caught the other day that was nailed by one! I actually pulled out two others that had similar markings but not quite as bad. I also unfortunately witnessed an Osprey pull out a 14" brookie while I was at the pond but some rather quick thinking on my part and the osprey took off with the fish still on shore and no major marks on the fish.

My wife caught this fish yesterday and it has healed up and looked very healthy. It did have faint scars where it had been hit, I had to do a double take on it to make sure it was the same fish, wish I had the camera with me. I also caught a yellow perch yesterday with a healed up chunk missing just under the dorsal fin.

This GBH is getting way too comfortable with me getting close! Used to be as soon as they heard the ATV they would scatter.



Although kinda cool, if not prehistoric looking, it may be time for him to have second thoughts about visiting my pond!

He's laughing at you!!!