Tulpehocken Creek, Berks Co., 2/28/09

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Well you cant blame the birds. Its is what they are and fish are what they eat. I like that picture scott. I like that alot ;-)

Slowly im becoming more tolerant of these birds. Like i said its not their fault and they can be entertaining to watch. They are far better fisherman than we are. More over i had a pair of sissors I used to cut tippet. They were very small and in the shape of a heron. ive come to expect to see these birds and in doing so, it means im on the stream doing my favorite thing, just as they are ;-)

i since lost those sissors in the center of the Lititz Run steambed. Any one finds them enjoy ;-)

 

[dave1432]

I fished the Tully again at Reber's Bridge today. I picked up 3 on a size 18 bead head zebra midge. The flow was still normal despite the snow run off. They put a lot of nice sized fish in when they stocked, thanks to everyone who helped. As for the bird "problem" what the hell guys? This is nuts. For christ's sakes these birds are just eating to survive. The trout are stocked in there by people and most are released. I for one am actually thankful for the birds to even out the population. I saw a blue heron today and it really got me thinking of this thread. I love trout but I deeply respect nature. Don't kill the birds to enhance fishing which is just a sport, dude that's not cool.

 

[afishinado]

Believe it or not, I found two dead blue herons along the stream today. It looks like someone took matters into their own hands. I would like to think they were not killed by an "angler" trying to defend his fishin' hole. The "sportsman" that did it is nothing more than a criminal. Laws should be followed, whether we agree with them or not. If we disagree with a law, we should work to change the law, not break the law, IMO.

 

[dave1432]

afishinado wrote:
Believe it or not, I found two dead blue herons along the stream today. It looks like someone took matters into their own hands. I would like to think they were not killed by an "angler" trying to defend his fishin' hole. The "sportsman" that did it is nothing more than a criminal. Laws should be followed, whether we agree with them or not. If we disagree with a law, we should work to change the law, not break the law, IMO.

Wow that is horrible. If I found someone taking the law into their own hands and killing a heron, I wouldn't hesitate to take matters into my own hands and kick their *** :-x

 

[HuntinFool]

yesterday was one of the toughest fishing days i had still managed 7 and it was work for all of them, the temp change killed it a little

 

[trowpa]

HuntinFool wrote:
yesterday was one of the toughest fishing days i had still managed 7 and it was work for all of them, the temp change killed it a little

Wow - i hope some day my "toughest" day is a 7 fish day....

 

[albud1962]

Looks like there is a serial heron killer on the loose.
I think we need to get a warrant out for WB and his baseball bat.

 

[Woolybugger]

Hey! it wasn't me!
I'm starting to take a liking to the blue herons. They have to eat too!
I do follow laws like you guys do. So I want to be legal.
When I catch a little trout in a C&R area, I think from now on I'll throw the trout over to the heron and see if the heron breaks the law!
This way I'll feel good because I'm not breaking the law and I'm also feeding a hungry bird.
I've been reborn..... I see the light!
Thank You Jesus

 

[ian_brown]

I know I've told this one before, but if Jack gets to repeat his stories, so do I.

The first time I took my sister fishing, we hit the Wissahickon in the summer. She started catching bluegills very quickly, and had a great time.

After a few hours, she was a couple hundred feet downstream from me, and a GBH was watching her very closely. When she hooked her next bluegill, which planed off downstream, the Heron charged. It expertly nailed the fish then flaired its wings at my sister, who immediately broke it off and backed away.

She want to go fishing again on opening day, so it didn't scare her too badly.

 

[pcray1231]

If fished it on Saturday, the 14th. I fished at Palisades, Gring's Mill, and the refrigerator hole. Tough day. Managed one fish at Gring's, it was one of the fingerling rainbows and measured just under 9". Lost one at the Palisades too. The reason I was out was my dad was visiting from Pittsburgh area, and I wanted to take him out. He got skunked.

The good fishing was probably better at Rebers and the Papermill. But the papermill had 3 guys in it and 2 more "in line". At Rebers I saw 4 fishermen just from the bridge, and the lot was full, thats too many for me.

 

[Fredrick]

Believe it or not, I found two dead blue herons along the stream today. It looks like someone took matters into their own hands. I would like to think they were not killed by an "angler" trying to defend his fishin' hole.

I would love to shake that mans hand :lol:

 

[feathersnfins]

Yeah!!! Woohoo. Nothing like killing a native species so we can catch some invasive trout in an manmade stream. Idiots. Equivalent to hunters shooting redtail hawks and bald eagles because they kill the farm raised road chickens that we stock on land that has about as much right to hold pheasant as downtown philadelphia.

 

[Fredrick]

Feathernfins u can't catch bigger fish than me without driving 8 hours so know your role and stay away from the keyboard 😛int:

 

[afishinado]

The poacher that kills a native and protected bird such as the blue heron is more of a criminal than the guys that fishes in a C&R section and keeps a few stocked trout. Which laws do we follow; just the ones that help protect our fishin’ hole? If a law or regulation is wrong try to change it, don’t join the brotherhood of poachers and law-breakers.

I agree that the population of herons and other some birds of prey is out of control in certain areas. If I were able to write the law, I would allow WCOs from the PFBC and the Game Commission to thin the population of predator birds and mammals if they are deemed to be overpopulated in a certain area and messing up the balance of nature. We messed up this balance by destroying habitat, introducing all types of non-native land and aquatic creatures, and eliminated some native predator and prey species. I suppose it’s up to us to try to regain some sort of balance.

 

[Fredrick]

I am the law 😛int:

 

[feathersnfins]

Yo fragile Freddy. You still upset about those 15lb browns that looked like they could eat that minnow you caught. The law is only as good as you can back it up! You better stay inside those walls with the boys behind the bars.

 

[ryanh]

Fred,
Seriously dude?
"I am the law"

There have been some very alarming things brought forth on this thread. While we are at protecting invasive species why don't we start popping other fish eating birds like osprey and bald eagles?

The density of these herons indicate that our streams have artificially high trout populations.

You can't prepare a banquet and then get peeved when things show up looking to eat.

 

[feathersnfins]

Yo Ryanh,
You have to understand that Fredericka suffers from diarreah of the mouth. He doesn't have much control of that sphyncter muscle. I hear he suffers from similiar disabilities in other areas of his body.

O yeah, and sometime he actual does take the law into his own hands. Like last years deportation efforts at a local creek. I raise a pint to that one Freddy.

 

[tomgamber]

ryanh wrote:
why don't we start popping other fish eating birds like osprey and bald eagles?

fred has already stated he'd have no problem with that...I agree with your buffet theory, ryan.

 

[Fredrick]

Its seems that I am not the only one here with a sphyncter problem 😛 Feathernfins... Some people are just to serious these days . The tully is an artifical fishery so why not have some non native fish in it . If someone killed a pigeon for eating thier flowers across the street from you and you witnessed it would you call the wco ??? Because thats how populated herons are on the tully . So i'm not going to cry over two less blue herons . I have already said I would never kill an eagle or osprey but at least if they kill a fish they always eat it ......