Geese Issues

[Deleted account]

41 minutes ago, Gundog said:

You should stay away from their lake! 

Swan Lake...get it 

I so want to say something about cracking nuts, but I'm afraid to have my mouse deflated

[Ratherbfishing]

4 hours ago, Pro Logcatcher said:

I've had them charge me but the worst part about geese is that they crap everywhere.

I never understood the expression "Like s--t through a goose" until these geese took up permanent residence.  Now it's all too obvious.  Can't go anywhere without ruining your shoes.

[RPreeb]

16 hours ago, Jig Man said:

I'd carry 1/2 a broom handle if I went where yard carp are hanging out.  They only charge at me 1 time.

In Colorado you'll be doing the tango with the Parks and Wildlife guys if you harm one.  Despite the fact that there is nothing remotely endangered about them, it's still illegal to even harass them.  Whacking one with a broom handle would get you fined very quickly.

1 hour ago, fishwizzard said:

Are farmed geese any better?  They were such a common food item back in the day, I have always wanted to try one.  

 

 

I think so.  For many years, the tradition in my family was to have goose for Christmas dinner.  Goose is 100% dark meat, and my family always preferred turkey legs and thighs over breast.  Thanksgiving leftovers were almost always white meat.  With our Christmas goose that wasn't an issue.

 

I'm on the side of they need to be controlled.  I lived in the Denver metro area for 40 years, and worked at a local public golf course for 5 years after I retired.  During the late spring the geese would disperse to nest and raise the kids, then they would start to gather into larger flocks for the summer.  That's when the poop started to become a problem.  When they cut new holes each morning, the maintenance crew actually started carrying a snow shovel to scoop the goose poop off the greens.  Since the geese don't leave Denver in the winter, and since they seem to view golf courses as prime grazing, the droppings got to be bad enough that the crews would have to break out the mowers a couple of times during the winter to chop up the dried feces on the fairways so it would break down into the grass.  Done that way, it's not a bad fertilizer.

 

On a slightly similar vein, my brother and I were camping with my parents a few weeks after my high school graduation in Montana (Great Falls High class of '64).  We had climbed a small mountain and were working our way through the woods around the base of the mountain back to the campground.  While crossing a small meadow, there was all of a sudden this loud thrum-thrum from behind us - scared the devil out of us.  It was a male ruffed grouse that took exception to our presence.  We didn't argue and just quickly cleared out of his territory. 

[the reel ess]

17 hours ago, optimator said:

The only time I've seen them get nasty is while their nesting. They WILL come after you. Just give them some room and it's usually OK. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't hang around if you smacked them upside the head with a rod if needed. 

Fighting back against them will get you arrested here. It has happened.

[WRB]

Canadian geese mate for life and can't survive unless they protect each other, give them some respect and space to nest without harassing them and they will leave you alone.

Geese make good watch dogs to protect ponds, make lots of noise so the owner knows someone is trespassing.

If you want to kill geese do it during hunting season, in the wild when not nesting they are a wary bird.

Tom

[Bassin' Brad]

40 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

Fighting back against them will get you arrested here. It has happened.

So you can't defend yourself?? Are you supposed to just stand there and them flog you?? Makes no sense at all.

[frosty]

I usually don’t have much trouble with them where I fish. They’re pretty respectful actually, even when they had babies they never got aggressive, they just go to the other side of the pond. I did have a run in with one at a different place, I made my way through some super thick brush, I kinda came crashing out, right in front of her nest! She wasn’t a happy goose and I was trying to go backwards as fast as I was stumbling forward!

[Brown Town]

13 hours ago, Burros said:

Do geese taste any good though?

Taste delicious breasted out and cubed then bacon wrapped with cream cheese, jalapeno, and a water chestnut toothpicked together and grilled medium rare.

[Adam.love05]

Goose tastes great! The popper idea mentioned above is an excellent choice, mixing them with some pork fat for hot dogs is very good, or just grilling the breast in some butter,pepper,parm, garlic is a very tasty option as well

Message me if anyone wants any good recipes.. I've got a few.. 

[Darren.]

20 hours ago, The Bassman said:

Any other bank walkers having trouble with aggressive geese?  I always heard you should stand them down and act like a bigger goose.  Then I did a little reading and learned just the opposite.  Just back away but don't turn away. Supposedly they rarely attack.  Any opinions?

I'd love to see Kramer do just this. Man that would be 

a barrel of laughs!

 

I've not been attacked by geese yet, but I have come up

on a female guarding her nest. An area I've gotten out of

my kayak before on a little island to stretch the legs.

 

I didn't know she was there, a mere 5 feet from the shore

as she was fully spread out and motionless over her eggs

with amazing camouflage. Didn't make a move. I backed

away slowly and quietly to not disturb her further.

[Hog Basser]

A common misconception is that all geese are bad to eat, but you can prepare just about any type in a way where people can't tell the difference.  Down here, the speckle belly is the prized goose for meat and cooked right it can be like a tender steak.  Canadian is next up and snow or blue geese are considered sky carp.  But I've known people to cook snow geese right along with the specks to serve to their guests and no one eating them was the wiser until informed afterward.  The whole cream cheese/jalapeno/bacon usually does the trick.  I also like to marinate them in Italian dressing for 12-24 hrs first as well.  

I've also done a tight bacon only wrap and put them on the smoker for a few hours with great results.

 

[frosty]

I wish you guys would stop, I’m trying not to spoil my dinner!

[N Florida Mike]

17 hours ago, Gundog said:

I've had them try and sneak up on me. I just turn around and yell and they back off. Our state parks are literally infested with them. Some much so that many parks have had to close their swimming areas at least once a season because of goose fecal matter contaminating the water. I've heard of state parks hiring guys with dogs to keep the geese from taking over the place. I really think extended seasons and higher bag limits are needed to control the population. 

Got that right!

[The Bassman]

1 hour ago, Darren. said:

I'd love to see Kramer do just this. Man that would be 

a barrel of laughs!

 

 

Would be as funny as George when the hawk came after him.

[Bankbeater]

The biggest problem I have with them is that when I do move them they leave a minefield of droppings.

[burrows]

15 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

If you like liver they do.

 

 

Liver is delicious ??

[Maxximus Redneckus]

As long as u aint nakkid they wont hurt ya ..they nip pretty good if they get a good hold wich is rare .they are not tryin to eat ya just scare ya ...way way worse things  that can make your day .hornets wasp etc and swanns they can hurt ya bad .be vigilante and aware 

[lo n slo]

a big gray goose got after my son once at this farm pond we used to fish. i thought i was gonna have to fight that thing.

[BuzzHudson19c]

21 hours ago, Burros said:

Do geese taste any good though?

They can. Canada geese have a lot of "silver skin." I take the breasts of every goose I kill. Some I marinade and grill. The rest I have my buddy turn into sausage or snack sticks. Cut with pork fat they are great.

 

They are really a beef substitute. It's a very red meat. Good in a chili.

[FishDewd]

I only got chased by one once, and that was when I was 4 at a park and was messing with one. I had it coming as it ran after me nipping at my butt. Nowadays... they aren't much of an issue around here. Lot of ducks and various water birds, but not many geese anymore. Biggest danger with the birds here is accidentally hooking one that is submerged under water trying to eat the fish that I am trying to catch. Gators are another story... there's a gator in just about every pond. Oh, and snakes. Yeah, lot's of snakes. They like to sneak up on me while I am wading into the taller bank grass.

[the reel ess]

18 hours ago, Bassin' Brad said:

So you can't defend yourself?? Are you supposed to just stand there and them flog you?? Makes no sense at all.

Apparently. 

 

My buddy has a pond that geese frequent and he even had some nest there. When they hatched and were growing the mother would walk them around looking for handouts from my friend's kids. My buddy's daughter grabbed one of the goslings and the mom attacked my buddy instead of her. They are quite a nuisance. It's funny how conservation and decreased hunting created this problem. 

[Preytorien]

I've looked into this quite a bit and heard a good amount of belief that geese can be scared off with a green laser pointer. Not red. Just green (532nM). Somehow they see the green wavelength well, and to them, it seems like the super bright green dot headed their way just freaks them out. Apparently golf courses have known about this for some time. 

 

 

I bought a dollar-store green laser last fall and tried it, but it lacked power. 

 

My 250mW green laser just arrived Monday. It can light matches and melt plastic. Has a range of 5000m. It also seems to be very bright even in full sun daylight.

 

I'm just waiting until I get some time this weekend to fish, and of course try it out on the geese. 

[burrows]

38 minutes ago, Preytorien said:

I've looked into this quite a bit and heard a good amount of belief that geese can be scared off with a green laser pointer. Not red. Just green (532nM). Somehow they see the green wavelength well, and to them, it seems like the super bright green dot headed their way just freaks them out. Apparently golf courses have known about this for some time. 

 

 

I bought a dollar-store green laser last fall and tried it, but it lacked power. 

 

My 250mW green laser just arrived Monday. It can light matches and melt plastic. Has a range of 5000m. It also seems to be very bright even in full sun daylight.

 

I'm just waiting until I get some time this weekend to fish, and of course try it out on the geese. 

Wow you really have this thought out.?. And your rite they are a big problem at golf courses my brother worked at one and he has some crazy stories about geese.

[mattkenzer]

37 minutes ago, Preytorien said:

I've looked into this quite a bit and heard a good amount of belief that geese can be scared off with a green laser pointer. Not red. Just green (532nM). Somehow they see the green wavelength well, and to them, it seems like the super bright green dot headed their way just freaks them out. Apparently golf courses have known about this for some time. 

 

 

I bought a dollar-store green laser last fall and tried it, but it lacked power. 

 

My 250mW green laser just arrived Monday. It can light matches and melt plastic. Has a range of 5000m. It also seems to be very bright even in full sun daylight.

 

I'm just waiting until I get some time this weekend to fish, and of course try it out on the geese. 

Interesting.

 

Easy way to get them back up if they decide to land away from the decoys. ....

[TnRiver46]

We sell some of our customers pyrotechnics to scare them. It looks like a toy water pistol and it has two kinds of rounds: bangers and screamers. People usually enjoy chasing geese with them. I have also seen farmers use propane cannons on a timer but you have to constantly change the interval or the geese get used to it