# Goose pond



## jripperger83 (Mar 13, 2007)

I have a pond in the pasture and is in the middle of a goose "highway". It has a number of trees around it, which I am in the process of cutting down, and has two corn/bean fields around it. I was just wondering if anyone knew anything else that would be good to do to the pond. Grass, cattails ect. We are talking about putting in a pit next year if it pans out. Any suggestions would be great.


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## cut'em (Oct 23, 2004)

I'd keep the cattails out of it they could limit the areas where geese can easily walk up on land. As far as a pit put that as far away as possible don't shoot over your pond let it be a safe roost and you'll be rewarded with more birds in your local fields.
just my thoughts


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## Goosehisperer (Mar 15, 2006)

I agree with cut'em.. Let the pond be a little haven for them and whack them from the fields..


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

Keep the willows and cattails to a minimum, even better to drop the pond level before hunting season, mow it down, and plant winter wheat for a green source, then re-flood it. Geese love it where they can walk over short vegetation. Even in the presence of corn, unless it's brutally cold, the geese prefer the greens. Vegetation protruding from the surface of the water such as a short grain source would be ideal. If the water is shallow i would consider adding rip-rap, rocks, or other sturdy structure for "safer" feeling on the water roosting sites, as opposed to shoreline roosting sites.

How you hunt it depends purely on how much goose traffic you have, and how close a safe roost area is from you. You mention that you are in a "goose highway" which must mean you lie between a refuge area and the feed. If this is the case, you can get away with hunting it EVERY DAY if you have a big goose population with frequent migrators. The other option besides not hunting it is also waiting for the geese to leave to feed, and shoot the first group or two that come back, and get outta there. Both strategies have worked excellent on our ponds. One of our ponds (7 acres) in particular 2 years ago we hunted 53 days in the season with 6-15 bird limits per day. If you have traffic through there, you can really produce from a properly managed property. It has really helped that we place 2-3 nesting boxes on each of our lakes to encourage a resident population to start as well!! Hope this helps...sorry for writing a short novel!!  HM


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## ADN (Sep 27, 2005)

If I controlled an area that could be used by geese as a roost AND I controlled the land around it, I would hunt the fields and leave the roost alone.

You also have areas that can be used for midday loafing areas, I would leave those alone too. If geese are using water, I would leave it alone if at all possible.


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

I almost forgot in all of my rantings to mention THE most important ingredient for a successful pond management program and that is aeration. In our area, we'll hunt the geese over the open water until the freeze up, then we'll aerate the pond, and hunt over the open water just as long as the major roosts in the area remain open. This year in Colorado was the exception to the rule. 5 of our ponds are aerated, and all the other major reservoirs in the area froze over and got covered with snow, so we stopped hunting our water properties and our ponds became THE roost in the area for the geese because of the aeration program. We had over 6,000 stay on the 7 acre lake alone. The big deal here is to use good judgement as to the amount of geese you have in the area, and for your management plan. Typically you will be wasting your time saving a roost under 10 acres in size unless you aerate it...especially if you plan on hunting the fields within 1/4 of a mile of it. If you plan on hunting the property outside of that perimeter...go for it, otherwise take advantage of the great hunting to be had on your little pond!!


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## fungalsnowgoose (Sep 11, 2004)

If you have the time and the moeny a nesting/loafing island might be a good thing too


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## shae1986 (Sep 28, 2006)

Well it might not be a roosting pond without the cover but i would still not have any. It might be a great transitional pond. We hunt one in my buddies pasture like that, its surrounded by beans and corn in the pasture and its a small pond. The geese are only in there the spring of the year and never in there in the fall, but we put some decoys in there with some mallards and they just drop right in. Works out great.

A. Shae


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## strand (Sep 29, 2004)

How big is the pond?

Some of the recommendations are ok, but really think on a hemi-marsh format. Basically a 50/50 ratio of vegetation to water. Also, you need not be worried so much on green food (as stated above) as much as you should on providing and maintaining a solid macro-invertebrate trophic level. ie. scuds, shrimp, bugs, etc. They will get all the energy rich grains they need from the surrounding fields. Lastly, try not to exterminate all the trees, they add a bit to the landscape and if managed correctly add nutrients to the soil.

Later


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

If your pond is adequately deep enough to have rooted aquatic vegetation, (which most ponds that hold water all year round do) then your pond has an abundance of macroinverts. If you want a good duck hole too (ducks forage on the macroinvertebrates), If you plant the green forage in shallow water, let it grow, and flood it, the macros will move into the flooded veg, and the ducks will be there for the macros, and the geese will be there for the flooded greens. Planting the greens in and around the pond will increase the productivity of the pond by making it a feeding area AND roost / rest area. Flooding the pond in stages also helps as well. We've noted more ducks & geese in ponds with flooded short greens than we have in the flooded corn / millet until it gets severely cold. The important thing to remember here is that the ideal duck pond and the ideal goose pond are two very different things.


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## strand (Sep 29, 2004)

Definately Hatchetman. That's what I was eluding to, but I was trying to provoke a little more info out of jripper. Anyhow, where you from? Just curious beings you mentioned flooding corn and millet fields and you are obviously familiar with control structures.

Later,
Kendall


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

Hey Kendall  ...Private Sector Wildlife & Fisheries Biologist from Colorado. Have managed several projects in various states though, including several large grain fields. I just love creating new habitat for the 'fowl...particularly in Colorado, since 9/10th's of the folks hunt fields....the water is such a sure thing....LOVE IT!! It's great to see someone else with a biological interest in waterfowl hunting & management!! :beer:

HM


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## strand (Sep 29, 2004)

That's cool Hatchet! In CO, is a private sector biologist something similar to what the private lands biologists in ND would be? It sounds like you guys are getting pretty involved in habitat construction and manipulation which is definately interesting stuff! Have you been doing a lot of wetland construction up that way or is it more preservation/restoration?

Anyhow, I am trying to finish up my F&W Bio major/Criminal Justice minor at UND so we will see where it takes me. Only one year left... :lol:

Later.


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

Kendall... I do lots of private sector work and habitat manipulations for several different companies and individuals (gravel companies, private ranch owners, etc). Lots of habitat grading, wetland & pond design, food plot, brush & forest manipulations, aquaculture, taxa lists, macroinvert & fish I.D., F&W biology etc. Graduated from CSU in F&W biology 2001. Maybe I'll pursue a masters someday, but damn...that school sure cramps my hunting style!!!

On the wetland end of things probably 70 percent new construction, and 30 percent restoration. Thankfully most of the properties we're working with still have virtually untouched riparian zones!! Anyway, sounds like you're going for a warden position eh?? Probably a good direction to be headed. I know Colorado's "older" biologists and game wardens "the boomers" are all retiring in the next 3 years, and there's a plethora of positions coming open.....  Hopefully that's the situation where you are!! Great talkin' with ya!!

HM


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## strand (Sep 29, 2004)

Again, very cool Hatchet! Anything and everything about habitat construction, preservation, manipulation, etc interests me a ton. We don't get exposed to a lot of the how-to's of the work you do up here at UND. Did CSU hit on the technical aspects of that or was acquired once you were hired?

Yeah, I'm definately on the road to enforcement. I love biology and will certainly get my share of field work as a warden, I like communicating with the public, and I love law so this career path just seems to fit. A warden's job is not understood by a lot of people (including classmates of mine), but I guess it takes a different personality and mindset.

Anyhow, have you published any of your work or have any papers and such available? The way I learn about these things is through journals and technical papers as UND is NOT strong by any means in these topics. They take a more theoretical approach combined with way too much cellular/genetic/molecular classes. Enough to make a guy uke: 
That's why I look for wetland design/construction materials as well as maybe a book/guide on the macroinv stuff you were talking about. Do you have any resources?

Later.

You can PM if you like or just throw it up on the board.


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

Kendall....That's the worst part about almost any college education... 9/10ths book work, and no real work. Through the program at CSU I did a lot of pleading (and paperwork) with my degree to substitute many of the classes CSU thought were necessary for the ones I wanted. It worked. My advisors actually found it refreshing to see a student that knew what they wanted, and they happily signed off. Most of my field experience I obtained from volunteering for the CDOW, local biologists, and CSU. After volunteering I got hired for several smaller projects, which I learned most of the Bug stuff first hand from collection, to preservation and I.D. Then took up some fish projects and learned most of the field I.D. firsthand as well. Since then I've been learning by doing, and CSU had some great habitat management materials as well. You can get some very good materials from the CSU cooperative extension as well. 
:beer:


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## strand (Sep 29, 2004)

Yeah, such is college life I guess 

Hands on is definately far and away the best method of learning. Thanks for the info I will look into CSU for some reference.

Later,
Kendall

Oh, and signing off classes is the best thing to happen to my college career. :lol: :beer:


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## PJ (Oct 1, 2002)

I wish I had a pond to manage! Blaze it up! 8)


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