Great Blue Heron Killing My Bass?

I have lost 3 good LMB in the past week. I have noticed that the GBH is back and the same thing happened last year around this time. He shows up and I start finding dead bass. They apppear to be stabbed in the head and sides but he does'nt eat them. Is this my problem or is just coincidental that every time the GBH shows up I have dead fish. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated......

Sounds like a 3 S type of situation.

I have seen a GBH eat a 2lb bass that was on a bed. But he ate it. Swallowed the thing in 3 seconds. It was a trip.

That said I cant figure why the bird would kill but not eat your bass? How big is your pond? How deep? Can the fish get away from the birds?

These were my thoughts
Scarecrow
Big, fake owl/hawk statue
Spray coyote urine/granules around the perimeter?

Here's a link on the internet
Herondeterrents

The fake alligator decoy is awesome

My pond is about 1/2 acre and as deep as 20 ft in the middle. I placed laydowns, limestone beds, and numerous homeade cover when built. The bass killed have been in the 2 to 3lb range. The mystery is why aren't they being eaten..unless they are getting away and die later. We have a few ducks in the pond and the area is known for hawks getting the wife's chickens so we have added an owl as a deterrent. Any more suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated.

Any pics of the wounds on the fish? Are they floating when you are finding them? Could it be they died from something natural then were drilled into by a bird or insects after?

Punctured in side but most have spots in the head as well. Cannot get pics to upload...

The only time I have dead fish is when this GBH shows up....

Super strange. I will PM you my phone number, if you would like text me pics I can post them and then we might get some more informed ideas about why your fish are dying.

Reel addict sent me this pic.

Based on the photo mate it's really hard to tell. It looks like that fish has been dead for a while. The wounds could have been from a lot of different things that happened post mortem.

Im certainly not an expert though and there are some people on this forum who are maybe they'll chime in.

Those GBH may actually be doing you a favor...hear me out before getting angry:

The bass pictured is under weight and significantly so IMO. It needs to be removed from the reproduction pool. That light weight could be caused by too many bass and/or not enough forage.

Most small ponds are or quickly become bass heavy...i.e. too many bass if many are not removed every year. A heron eats fish up to 6 to 8 inch generally but its eyes are much bigger than the stomach. It will strike out at larger unsuspecting fish.

Unless you have multiple GBH's, its my belief that they do actual little harm and may in fact help keep the pond in balance. Now, cormorants, that's another story entirely and they should be dispatched with vengeance.

Exception might be when they are on beds Meadowlark? Like I said I saw one at Grapevine snatch a nice 2lb fish off a bed and swallow it in 5 seconds. They GBH then went and sat on a rock for two hours and did not move. Kind of like me after the Double Double meal from In N Out ha ha.

Agree with ML on condition of the bass.

Ya know, if I were raising chickens and a hawk was getting them, I would solve the problem but keep my mouth shut about it.

I completely agree with this post. I did not want to offend the OP, but that fish is likely 70% of WR (relative weight). It is way too thin. Fish like this need to come out of the pond regardless of length. If this fish is indictive of the body condition of the other fish, than the Green Heron may actual help the cause. Sure they eat and wound a few fish, but are not known to be a huge problem. Cormorants and otters are the animals to be weary of.

good info

Thanks for all the replies...I agree with conditon of the fish in pic. Others were not as malnourished. I have since relocated 3 of the wifes ducks and started clearing water with gypsum. After reading posts I took a good look at water quality and feel the added 3 ducks have destoyed the water visability. Which is most likely the cause of fish condition. Thanks again for the replies ...

On a side note, I don't think the GBH is on the endangered species list.