Not over the winter, but the rest of the year there's a GBH out there every day. I chase him off in the morning but he comes right back and is there again when I get home from work. I'm going to run some string this year to see if it helps,
I ran sting criss cross over my pond and even out away from the banks to stop them from flying in close and walking over.
I used a spool of heavy Mono. I took a latter and went up a tree tied it around it, climbed down walked around pond lettered up a tree on the other side and tied it off.
Works pretty good. they don't really see it until they are right on it and it freaks them out. I had one that would try to figure it out and avoid them. But when I spooked him off he would take off and panic trying to avoid them. He hit them onnce and it made him crash to the ground. It has not been back since. I also had an osprey diving from a roost in a tree. It blocked its flight path enough and it stopped visiting the pond. If they try to fly in at night it hits their wings as they don't really see it and it freaks them out too. I feel it has cut down on the larger bird visitation greatly.
The Mono across the air is not really noticeable. You have to be looking for it and the sun has to be at the right angle to see it. Other than that its nearly invisible.
Goofing off is a slang term for engaging in recreation or an idle pastime while obligations of work or society are neglected........... Wikipedia
I don't worry about the GBH at all .... Worst case they might eat some basslings, that would save me the trouble. There isn't anything in the shallows cept bass. Now cormorants are a different story altogether
I don't worry about the GBH at all .... Worst case they might eat some basslings, that would save me the trouble. There isn't anything in the shallows cept bass. Now cormorants are a different story altogether
The cormorants have been at or around my pond ever since the Tp die off, as many as 80 as I tried to count them when they flew off, 50 the day before that. The Tp was a source of slow moving food for them. Two Bald Eagles showed up at that same time and I saw one of them again last week, looking for something to eat at the pond. I now keep my 5lb toy poodle close as we walk the pond because of the eagles. He (Charlie) love swimming in the pond, he even swam out to some duck decoys I had not picked up. I hate cormorants
Tracy
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
Tracy, cormorants are bad. I didn't realize how bad until I did a fish survey on a 7/8 acre pond a year ago. It had 3-5 cormorants visiting daily. I didn't think they would do too much damage because the visibility was 12" or so due to a thick phytoplankton bloom.
I was wrong.
80% of the fish that I sampled showed that they escaped from a cormorant. It didn't matter what species, all had marks on them from the birds. Scales removed, scrapes, fins torn, etc.
essup, I hate them and they know it, they here me coming and take off before it get a chance to do anything other than cuss and shake my hand at them. I catch an occasional cnbg with marks of where the dam birds nicked at them. inthink they pray on the TFS for the most part, I found about 100 4" Tfs floating after I ran that big group off. But I also found two 8" HSB floating also. I really don't know what else to do about them. I don't think they can get the lmb as easy as they can get the TFS in the pond, but I can't be for certain.
Tracy
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
Tracy Get up early and go "duck" hunting with a 12 ga . Be sure to hide well as they have incredible eyesight. Try to set up near where you see them swimming around, let them land as they are real awkward to get up in the air, they circle around giving you a chance at them. Few days of this might deter them .... Might. Good luck
Tracy, a friend down there has a permit from TP&W to shoot them. He has a number of ponds on his place, from 70+ to 1/2 acre in size. His pride and joy is a 35 ac trophy bass pond. He averages around 200 cormorants per year.
esshup, I may have to pull out the 50 cal. and take a prone position from the hill top. Sniper stile with the 50 cal would shake a few feathers off them
Tracy
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
We are lucky enough to be blessed with GBH, Great White Egrets, and cormorants here at our place. My take on them is that GBH are the smartest of the three, the GWE are seasonal so they're not as big a problem, and the cormorants are crafty, fish eating machines, and just a general pain in the rear on any BOW. I do have a permit for the cormorants so at least removal via lead is an option with those.
We also have Bald Eagles, and an occasional Osprey, and they're allowed to eat as they want. They're just too majestic to run off, and migrating ducks seem to be their preferred diet.
This is the third year in a row we've had a pair of Canadian geese (we named them Carol and Darryl) show up in late January after most of the others have already migrated, and they have been amazing to watch. They are very protective of the big puddle, and aggressively chase GBH, other geese, and cormorants off "their" water. They do nest, but I'll give those eggs to members Sid or Highflyer, and they can raise them with Sid's other birds. Once the female's egg filled nest is disturbed, they remain another week or two and then just disappear for the year. These geese do earn their keep while they're here, so we leave them alone, but we don't let them hatch their eggs under any circumstances. When the male is alone, stays in a specific area, and starts getting chatty when approached, we know the female is nesting, so we start looking for her in earnest.
It's probably not the smartest thing to do, but we do enjoy watching the 2 of them protect the pond from fish eaters for the month or so they are here. I've sure made worse decisions in my life.
I had two of the same Canadian geese as you speak of and now know why they were doing what they were doing, and acting the way they were acting! I'll know this year to keep a closer eye on their activity(s). As you mentioned, I now know they were also protecting the pond (their territory).
The kids were super excited today! Ice out was on wednesday and Friday was nice so they wet some lines. The worm and hook only was bouncing on the bottom a little bit and in came a perch! They only caught 2 on Friday before supper. Then today they tried again and the fish were a little more cautious. We switched from worms to stubby steve pellets and got 2 perch and a goldfish. The one perch was nice, and fat, probably ready to lay eggs. The other one was smaller.
The perch went in last spring, they stocked in a range of mostly 4-6" and most closer to the 4-5" mark. There probably was a stray 6 or 7" in there. I'm assuming one of the larger ones did a great job of cleaning the pellets off the bottom or eating the FHM. I don't see any minnows at all yet. There are supposedly GSH and FHM but the perch may have taken out most of them. There are crayfish but they went in during the late summer and probably won't have young till this spring.
So great to feel that solid, stout, thick-torsoed perch in my hand!
The water must have warmed considerably since ice out was Wednesday and we did have some 60 degree days. Today was above and sunny in the afternoon. Water temps on the east and the west side of the pond was both 49 degrees.
I have limbs out on all four sides of the pond and we'll see where the eggs go. I'm guessing they will drop them tonight, or very soon judging on water temps and how they looked (ready to pop!)
Many thank to Bill Cody for helping me get them in the pond and teaching me about their ancestors from Lake Erie. You hold one in your hand and it is amazing to think what their genetic heritage is.
One question for the experts. If I wanted to transfer perch to another smaller pond, would it be safe to take the fertilized egg strand and place it on a branch in the new body of water? Or better to net 1-2" baby perch and transfer those?
Tummy view:
Side view:
Close up. Hard to believe it may have been only 5-6" last year this time!
It's amazing how fast they can shut off feeding. I'm beginning to wonder if mine don't already recognize my canoe as s threat, and stop eating. Sometimes I wish they were a little more aggressive in going after my offerings.
9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep. RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these. I think that's about all I should put in my little pond. Otter attack in 2023
Thanks for the comments. If size matters then I'm in trouble as I see my perch look like YOY perch compared to Cecil's
But Bill you are correct, the experience for the kids is what it is all about. If enough grow large enough that we need a selective harvest, a perch dinner or two caught in your front yard is a luxury that very few people enjoy
I put a can of tuna in my newly prepared mesh minnow trap. No crayfish.
Anyone know what temps the crayfish become active? (I'll make a thread on that too.)
Nice fish. Obviously a female with this year's crop of small largemouth. Don't forget the ruler next time for a gape measurement. Thanks from all us fish nerds.
TABLE 3.—Predicted and actual maximum body depths (standard lengths in parentheses) of fathead minnows and pumpkinseeds ingested by small, intermediate, and large largemouth bass. Predicted values are based on the mean external mouth widths of the predators. Prey standard lengths were calculated with equations (1) and (2) in the text by substituting the mean predator mouth width for prey body depth. Asterisks indicate prey sizes exceeded the naturally occurring size ranges listed in Carlander (1969, 1977). Largemouth bass group Small Intermediate Large Mean external mouth width (mm) 14.6 25.6 34.2 Maximum size of fathead minnow (mm) Predicted 14.6 (59.8) 25.6 (99.2*) 34.2 (130.0*) Ingested 13.3 (55) 13.3 (55) 13.3 (55) Maximum size of pumpkinseed (mm) Predicted 14.6 (39.6) 25.6 (62.3) 34.2 (80.9) Ingested 13.0 (35) 22.2 (55) 31.5 (75)
Last edited by ewest; 03/29/1610:45 AM.
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Keith, it's time for our favorite pair of geese to hit the super slab.
Carol disappeared for a day or two, so I knew she was close to laying. I found her nest, let her sit for a few days to make sure all her eggs were out, and finally checked the nest yesterday. Heading to Winnsboro this morning to take the eggs to their new home.
Since you brought this up earlier it's made me wonder about the only two geese that seem to hang around my pond, so seeing where they (one in particular) like to hang out near the shoreline, I'll be looking closer for a nest.
And although I've chased a GBH away already this year, I haven't seen it for the past couple weeks. If I knew it were the geese keeping the GBH away I'd let them be, but apparently if they're nesting, I want them out once the eggs are laid?
Very interesting and thanks again for sharing!
PS - Can you elaborate on "take the eggs to their new home"?