Union County Trout Poachers

[Billfish715]

I stopped by Milton Lake the other day. I wasn't fishing but there were at least five unlicensed aliens fishing for trout. Before you jump to conclusions, the aliens were from Asia and they were not humans. They were cormorants! I watched them dive deeply into the lake and come up with throats full of freshly stocked rainbows. They then roosted on some partially submerged logs and branches in the middle of the pond where they extended their wings and digested their catch. If you fish at Milton Lake and aren't catching what you would like to, look around for the aliens. They used to be fishing machines in Japan where the fishermen would tie a line to a ring which was slipped over the bird's neck. The fishermen tossed the bird into the water and it dove down and caught a fish. The ring around its neck prevented the bird from swallowing what it caught. It was then pulled back up with the line and the fishermen made the bird disgorge the fish by pushing his hand up along the outside of the bird's neck and then send the bird overboard again. They are excellent fishers but they needed to stay in Asia. They are a real nuisance in the USA and can't be eliminated because they are protected by the federal government. What a joke! Now they're eating our trout. It's a problem that has to be addressed.

[AndyS]

Light stringers and fat birds, that's just great !!

[liveitup1.75liter]

Yea they sux!! And so do some ppl.. there just trying to liveee mann!!! Sounds tricky since federaly protected

[bunker dunker]

taste like chicken!!!!!

[phil]

I had to check the date on this one to make sure it wasnt from 2015 or 14, you get the idea

[bunker dunker]

and they still taste like chicken

[Eskimo]

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I think the Double Crested Cormorants you are seeing are actually native birds and that is why it's such an issue to drive them away from areas where they are negatively affecting the game fish populations.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/06/article-2320339-19A47A8F000005DC-32_634x485.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/06/article-2320339-19A47893000005DC-241_634x432.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/06/article-2320339-19A478B8000005DC-899_634x477.jpg

Here is an article dealing with the over-population of cormorants: http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/features/19298/to-kill-a-cormorant


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[buzzbaiter]

Its why I laugh when anglers complain about poaching. Its bad behavior but truthfully Mergansers and Cormorants do far more damage to our fisheries then all poachers combined(along with herons, eagles and ospreys). I've seen Mergansers on the Passaic in groups slashing through the shallows after fish. keep waiting for a pike to grab one. :D

[RussH]

I watched a cormerant at Dahnerts eat at least 6 stocked trout in the hour I was there yesterday. Multiply that by 4 birds and I fully understand why I only caught two fish. I didn't have scuba gear and a spear like they do!

[buzzbaiter]

Forgot to mention gulls. Seeing more and more of the white ones at freshwater ponds. They walk near the water and then dive in hauling fish onto land and eating them. Damn good at too. One gull got three pickerel in about an hour.

[jimcnj]

Not aliens. Have been here long before us!

[Esox Luciano]

Not aliens. Have been here long before us!

X2 on that!! White man can't do away with everything!

[GDubya07]

Got one at Rahway River Park in the back he just sits there and waits

He is really good

El Bastardo

Gdubs-:cool:

[Billfish715]

The Littoral Society had a great article in its Underwater Naturalist issue recently. It was written by Clyde L. MacKenzie, Jr. If you get a chance check it out. There is quite a bit of data contained in the piece and it does point out the destructive possibilities of these birds. They had such a devastating impact on the salmon population in Oregon that drastic steps had to be taken to control them.

The herons are another story. They are, without a doubt, the best fishing machines on the water. It's a good thing, there are not as many of them as there are cormorants. I was surprised when I read a little more about them that they are indeed North American natives. Still, too many of them in a small pond can really put a hurtin' on the fish.