Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Cormorants problem

People,

1/8 acre small pond, 2 cormorants dive to try to eat my bluegills. The FL Fish/Wildlife site says permits may be issued provided one first demonstrates that the non lethal methods have failed (like buying decoys/props/scary eyes from Bird-B Gone. has anyone ever tried these props/devices?

I am very skeptical. And do not wish to spend $300 only to end up deluded, where then I can apply for a permit. Any tips on how to proceed? Or how to not spend too much before "proving" to the State that the non lethal methods have failed?

Thanks, people.

I would certainly never tell anybody to break the law. OTOH, …..

SSS (and never post about it again)


Or buy the decoys off Craigslist/Marketplace for pennies on the dollar from the other guys who bought them and it didn't work.

I shoot dove loads in their way, and just pepper the water. Rarely do I aim directly at them, and I believe disrupting a nest is prohibited also. You're lucky if you can get a permit in Fla, because you almost have to get a lawyer to get one in TX.

Amen on the SSS ,happens here also

I just shoot 6 shot at them and seldom hit one. My neighbor picks them off with his .17 cal. The only time we see a game Warden is when we call him. Private lakes are great.

I can’t get close enough to them to use a smoke pole on them . Have to wait for them to dive and scurry up closer to pond behind a tree to maybe get a shot off with a .22 mag .still a 150-200 yrd try

I wonder if they'd get caught up in a gill net?

I've accidentally caught some with a trot line once. I ran lines a lot when I was younger and for it to have only happened once makes it seem unlikely to be a reliable method. But maybe if someone set line for them it might work.

Just the other day a group of ten ish cormorants came in to the pond , I snuck closer to run them off and was startled to see at least a hundred of them land on pond ….. never seen that many anywhere before. I spooked them up and couldn’t believe what that mass exodus looked like. Then they were gone hopefully not taking any fish with them . Absolutely incredible sight

Would it be possible to sting light monofilament in a crisscross manner a couple of feet above the water? It is hard to see & if a bird hit the line it would scare them & deter them from coming back? Sounds like bird migration? I hope it is soon over & it does not happen again.

Good idea but hard to string across a 6 acre pond….. easier to shoot (around)them

Maybe it's just a coincidence, but when we have Canadian Geese nesting at our pond, there seems to be a lot less water turkey. I will tolerate the pair of geese poop on docks and sidewalk, if they keep the dreaded water turkey to a minimum.

This is an interesting 2025 article:

"The Fascinating Differences Between Anhingas and Double-Crested Cormorants"

https://www.sciencenewstoday.org/th...n-anhingas-and-double-crested-cormorants

Interesting article… I have seen both here in pond… they both get treated the same way lol

I strung the lines over the pond, about an acre or so, and it worked. I used the cotton fiber stuff about 4 to 5 ft over the water, cross crossed, with TPosts and a Jon boat. The problem is that string doesn’t last forever and has to be refreshed or replaced every year.

I wound up in the hospital for 25 days with a busted colon and was confined to home for about 3 months. No energy. During that time I couldn’t replace the line and the cormorants got back in.

I still have some fish but certainly not a balanced pond. Lusk told me to rotenone and start over. I’m sure that’s good advice but I have some catfish that are about 4 ft long and just can’t do it.

Mason string is poly, and would last maybe two years or so, and the brighter colors may help deter critters more effectively. Probably kind of fugly though.

There are advantages to living up north. We have cormorants, but not a lot of them. They are content to stay of the nearby lakes.

Really? A lawyer?? Gees. Not worth it, Firels. Man, what a conundrum. Looks like I will have to live with these monsters from the Dinosaur era..........

Like was mentioned earlier SSS

Agree with Pat. Of course, everybody knows I wouldn’t do anything illegal, immoral or fattening.

Four foot long catfish? Wow! Are they blues or flatheads?

Sounds like you need to upgrade to a 17 HMR, I have one with a suppressor and a really good scope, makes a 150 to 200 yrds shots a little more doable, actually pretty fun, not that I would want to waste a water turkey if given the chance.

I will admit tho, I have had a real closeup look of them before, and they will always have hand size or better BGs in their stomach, or at least thats what ive heard.

Problem with the.17 is wind drift and it seems like it’s always windy