Blue Herron

Cougarbaby

Cougarbaby

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 29, 2024
Messages
264
City
SW Pa
The bird us back on Deer creek ,he will be nice and well fed till all the trout are eaten or dead from warm water
 

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6xAdams(Jones) said:
Almost every year, I encounter one that scares a month off my lifespan when it flies overhead and squawks like a flying dinosaur.
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Don’t ever get near a rookery. Truly prehistoric. Had one on a small Furnace Hills steam a few years back.

The worst is when you spook one upstream on a small stream. Your best bet is to punt on like a 1/4 mile of stream and get upstream of the bozo.
 
My favorite Blue Heron story. Years ago I went to the 'project area' on Clarks Creek in the early morning. Assumed I would get there before anyone else. While working upstream I saw another fisherman in one of my favorite spots. Or at least I thought. Turns out it was a Great Blue Heron (they are huge up close!) standing in the shallow water intently watching - fishing. I stopped and observed, fascinated by his size and focus on the water. That lead to my trying to see how close I could get. I moved slowly, staying behind trees until I was a rod's length away. He never flinched. Of course now I couldn't resist. I slowly reached out with my rod tip and gently poked him in the butt! He immediately raised his wings and took flight. I'll never forget that. No animals were harmed as far as I know!
 
Swattie87 said:
The worst is when you spook one upstream on a small stream. Your best bet is to punt on like a 1/4 mile of stream and get upstream of the bozo.
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I experienced this on a NC freestone a long while back. That SOB just kept going further upstream as I went, spooking every pool/run along it's way before I could fish them. I had to climb halfway up a mountain and parallel the stream for several hundred yards to get upstream of him. Frustrating to say the least.
 
mrjimmi said:
My favorite Blue Heron story. Years ago I went to the 'project area' on Clarks Creek in the early morning. Assumed I would get there before anyone else. While working upstream I saw another fisherman in one of my favorite spots. Or at least I thought. Turns out it was a Great Blue Heron (they are huge up close!) standing in the shallow water intently watching - fishing. I stopped and observed, fascinated by his size and focus on the water. That lead to my trying to see how close I could get. I moved slowly, staying behind trees until I was a rod's length away. He never flinched. Of course now I couldn't resist. I slowly reached out with my rod tip and gently poked him in the butt! He immediately raised his wings and took flight. I'll never forget that. No animals were harmed as far as I know!
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Pretty amazing you were able to get that close to one. All the Blue Herons I've encountered took off very soon after seeing me approach.
 
This same thing happens with ducks on small streams sometimes. You just keep spooking the ducks up to the next pool where they splash in and land and spook the fish. I am sure trout recover from ducks spooking the pool much quicker than they do from a heron, though.
 
6xAdams(Jones) said:
Almost every year, I encounter one that scares a month off my lifespan when it flies overhead and squawks like a flying dinosaur.
Click to expand...

Every time a heron flies overheard I think of this:


I don't live too far from the (Great) Quakertown Swamp that is considered to be largest Great Blue Heron rookery in eastern Pennsylvania. As result, I encounter them ALL the time...

I had one almost decapitate me as it flew about shoulder high down a local stream one afternoon. I turned my back and braced for the worst, but luckily it pulled up at the last second. However, I did feel a breeze from its wings as it flew over my head... 😱

There was also a VERY relaxed Great Blue Heron that was fishing about 2 - 3 feet from me and another guy one day last summer at Scott's Run Lake in French Creek State Park. I was kicking back fishing from the bank for sunfish as was the other guy while the heron walked between us and grabbed the fish we didn't catch.

FWIW - I learned a LOT about wading stealth after observing a heron fishing at lake in Schuylkill County. I watched this heron for close to an hour and marveled at how the bird moved its legs one step at a time as it stalked its prey, but its body never moved an inch.

Since that time I've incorporated that motionless upper body technique to my wading when I feel a need to get closer to a fish. I ain't as svelte as a heron, but it seems to make a difference in my experience... 😉
 
Bamboozle said:
Every time a heron flies overheard I think of this:


I don't live too far from the (Great) Quakertown Swamp that is considered to be largest Great Blue Heron rookery in eastern Pennsylvania. As result, I encounter them ALL the time...

I had one almost decapitate me as it flew about shoulder high down a local stream one afternoon. I turned my back and braced for the worst, but luckily it pulled up at the last second. However, I did feel a breeze from its wings as it flew over my head... 😱

There was also a VERY relaxed Great Blue Heron that was fishing about 2 - 3 feet from me and another guy one day last summer at Scott's Run Lake in French Creek State Park. I was kicking back fishing from the bank for sunfish as was the other guy while the heron walked between us and grabbed the fish we didn't catch.

FWIW - I learned a LOT about wading stealth after observing a heron fishing at lake in Schuylkill County. I watched this heron for close to an hour and marveled at how the bird moved its legs one step at a time as it stalked its prey, but its body never moved an inch.

Since that time I've incorporated that motionless upper body technique to my wading when I feel a need to get closer to a fish. I ain't as svelte as a heron, but it seems to make a difference in my experience... 😉
Click to expand...
They always sounded like some kind of dinosaur. I wonder if they recorded their call for use in the Jurassic Park movies.
 
wildtrout2 said:
That Jonny Quest video brought back some great memories. As kids, me and my brother loved that cartoon.
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When I was a kid, my next door neighbor was my buddy and his dad repaired televisions in a basement workshop.

In those days, MANY TV shows were still filmed in black & white because of the cost of production and most households still had black & white sets because of the high cost of the new color televisions. However, almost all cartoons shown on TV WERE filmed and broadcast in color!!

We were one of the many households still watching in black & white, as was my buddy next door... BUT, anytime my buddy's dad fixed a color set, we took FULL advantage and used it to watch Saturday morning cartoons...

For that reason, an episode of Jonny Quest has the distinction of being the FIRST television show I ever saw in color and what a glorious experience it was!!! 😍

My post-enlightenment enthusiasm to see Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Popeye, Yogi, Huckleberry Hound, the Flintstones, Snagglepuss, Touche Turtle & Under Dog motivated MY dad to finally pull the plug and get us OUR first color TV. 😉
 
At Fishermans Paradise, near dusk, about 50 blue herons fly in and roost in the trees near the hatchery outflow. If you're there near dusk, check it out.

During the day they probably are visiting streams all around the region. But over night they roost in those trees.
 
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