Ducks And Geese

[RoLo]

Can't stand going to the pond and dodging goose crap...

 

Spread a large sheet on the ground, those droppings make excellent fertilizer (don't forget your umbrella)  

[Mswen]

I live a couple of blocks away from a nice little 7 acre lake with big bluegills and crappie, and plenty of bass, not to mention some monster snapping turtles.  We also have a flock of geese that shows up every year.  The birds themselves don't bother fish, but every spring and summer that lake has a major algae bloom that ends up covering up to a third (or more) of the surface area of the lake.  Aka green moss, it's the stuff that sticks to everything and anything.  And of course it extends out from the bank, making fishing difficult or impossible.  This spring it had already started before the ice was entirely melted.  Well, anyway, all the nutrients from the goose poop play a significant role in fueling those algae blooms.  The geese are not solely responsible, as the stream that feeds it travels through farm country and picks up fertilizer runoff, plus runoff from the lawns surrounding the lake, but they play their part, they poop all over the path, and they make all kinds of noise.

 

In general, I like seeing wildlife while I'm fishing.  But a flock of large birds (or a gaggle of geese) in a small lake or pond can be bad news.

[powerduster]

I live a couple of blocks away from a nice little 7 acre lake with big bluegills and crappie, and plenty of bass, not to mention some monster snapping turtles.  We also have a flock of geese that shows up every year.  The birds themselves don't bother fish, but every spring and summer that lake has a major algae bloom that ends up covering up to a third (or more) of the surface area of the lake.  Aka green moss, it's the stuff that sticks to everything and anything.  And of course it extends out from the bank, making fishing difficult or impossible.  This spring it had already started before the ice was entirely melted.  Well, anyway, all the nutrients from the goose poop play a significant role in fueling those algae blooms.  The geese are not solely responsible, as the stream that feeds it travels through farm country and picks up fertilizer runoff, plus runoff from the lawns surrounding the lake, but they play their part, they poop all over the path, and they make all kinds of noise.

 

In general, I like seeing wildlife while I'm fishing.  But a flock of large birds (or a gaggle of geese) in a small lake or pond can be bad news.

I'm an animal lover, but I have to agree about the geese. I'm not a hunter or know anything about it, but sometimes I feel like they should increase the bag limit or season to keep the population under control. I kind of feel the same way about the whitetail deer as well. I had so many close calls the last few years that I try avoid driving at night.

[Mswen]

I'm an animal lover, but I have to agree about the geese. I'm not a hunter or know anything about it, but sometimes I feel like they should increase the bag limit or season to keep the population under control. I kind of feel the same way about the whitetail deer as well. I had so many close calls the last few years that I try avoid driving at night.

 

I'm not sure how much good simply increasing the limit would do, since they tend to be problematic in areas where hunting wouldn't be safe.  In most cases (with geese) it's not so much overpopulation in general as the population getting out of control in areas where they have few predators to limit their expansion.  Maybe they could allow bowhunting in certain situations, like some municipalities do with deer, but that typically generates limited interest.  We worked with US F&W, and about the only thing we were allowed to do on our own was to oil the eggs to prevent them from hatching.  But then a whole team of F&W agents showed up about 5 am one day (they like to get done before the bunny-huggers are up) and "harvested" most of the remaining flock.

[bigbill]

I notice when the snapping turtles are there the bass bite shuts down so bad I go home.

[Kentuckysteve]

I notice when the snapping turtles are there the bass bite shuts down so bad I go home.

 

I like jugging for the turtles.

[ward131]

I notice when the snapping turtles are there the bass bite shuts down so bad I go home.

I was fishing along when I felt a hit. set the hook and reeled up a snapping turtle. My jig got him right through the roof of the mouth. If it had been a bass it would have been my 11th in about a 100yrd stretch.

[Preytorien]

I live in a suburban area, and with the number of retention ponds I fish, there are geese EVERYWHERE. They're a nuisance, and are aggressive while they're sitting on eggs. Some neighborhoods have tried to curb the geese population by taking the eggs, but the DNR have such strict rules that the amount of red tape discourages the HOA's to do anything about it.

 

One of the more brilliant ideas I've seen is one neighborhood strung a line of fishing line all around the perimeter of the lake, that way when they geese attempted to get out of the water, they'd have to jump over the line, which they can't do very well, so they stopped coming around. Other lakes have lifelike owl or raccoon statues every several hundred feet or so since they're natural predators of goslings.

 

Either way, I wish they'd lift the restrictions on geese in any manner, HOA's need to have the ability to manage their properties from goose droppings, water pollution, and aggressive geese.