Goose attack

[leadhead]

While fishing the Musky today I got attacked by a crazed goose. I must have gotten too close to a nest and the next thing I see is this goose fly down the river aiming right at me. He knocked me into the river and kept comming after me. Damn bird wouldn't let me get to the bank. I had to shuffle around it while it hissed at me the whole time. And he broke my rod.
Bears? Bears are pussies.

lh

 

[Andy]

Geese can indeed be aggressive when defending their nests; I always give them lots of room so they don't feel threatened. That's part of Mother Nature's scheme of life and why geese have been so successful in holding their own as humans increase in number and their habitat is encroached upon. Many other species haven't been so fortunate.

 

[Trouser Trout]

Are you sure that wasn't Grey Goose?

 

[tompg]

one attacked my car while moving through a big parking lot one day. They are fearless. It did look pretty cool in the rear view mirror.

 

[leadhead]

Sorry Trout, but I know how to handle the Grey Goose. As if Sidney Crosby wasn't reason enough to hate Canadiens.

lh

 

[Randyflycaster]

I too got attacked when I was fishing. I guess a nest was nearby. The whole incident was pretty scary, I must admit.
Randy

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

That's incredible and too bad about your fly rod. At least you weren't hurt though. I've heard that swans can break bones if they hit you with their wings. I'd imagine geese are capable of inflicting similar injury. Last season I saw two geese attack a family of ducks on the West Branch of the Croton. The geese kept going after the ducklings - nipping at them and actually grabbing one and shaking it a couple of times. It was pretty crazy but none of the ducklings seemed to be seriously hurt.

 

[gadfly]

Does your rod warranty cover Acts of Goose?

 

[PRomano]

I can't stand them. Besides being nasty all they do is eat and shit making a mess all over the place. I think the government should start a new campaign to get rid of them. "Eat more goose, the other white meat" sounds good to me. :guns:

 

[Drossi]

They're MF'ers, I got into it with one on Saturday but I was much luckier than you. I was scouting a remote section of a stocked stream and while I was walking (and looking at the river) I happened upon one that was nest. The bastard got up hissing and flapping in my face so I grabbed a branch and menaced it back. Then I turned tail and got out of there. Nasty rats with wings. My uncle got acosted by one that lived on the point of that island out behind Hot Dog Johnnies. He's an older slightly built gentleman and had to fend the damn thing off with his Leonard. :holy: Mercifully the rod was spared. He ended up taking a bath.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

I can't stand them. Besides being nasty all they do is eat and shit making a mess all over the place. I think the government should start a new campaign to get rid of them. "Eat more goose, the other white meat" sounds good to me. :guns:

I'd be all for it except that they taste like crap! All dark meat that tastes like shoe leather. At least I think so which is why I stopped hunting them. When geese charge you because you are too close to their nest, they will back down if you hold your ground. Plus they have no teeth to bite you, they are just getting you to move away from their nest. No need to panic although they do scare you at first if you don't see them on the nest and they come after you.

 

[Ryan R]

I'd be all for it except that they taste like crap! All dark meat that tastes like shoe leather. At least I think so which is why I stopped hunting them. When geese charge you because you are too close to their nest, they will back down if you hold your ground. Plus they have no teeth to bite you, they are just getting you to move away from their nest. No need to panic although they do scare you at first if you don't see them on the nest and they come after you.

Oh not so fast, some males will definitely continue an attack until you move back out of "the forbidden zone." Heck Brian, at the Hackettstown Hatchery we had a male fly into the damn truck (cleaning the screens on the pond inflow & outflows is dangerous business during geese nesting season.) No teeth per se but that bite is still painful. Kind of like a sow with cubs nesting geese each seem to have a set zone they do not want you to enter, or else the male will attack until you leave that area. Once you're out of that zone the male will quickly stop and return to be near the female on the nest. So if you do get attacked, run your ass down the stream in the opposite direction for at least 25 yards or more. Believe it or not I've kind of purposely tested this theory out both when I was at the hatchery and out on several streams.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Oh not so fast, some males will definitely continue an attack until you move back out of "the forbidden zone." Heck Brian, at the Hackettstown Hatchery we had a male fly into the damn truck (cleaning the screens on the pond inflow & outflows is dangerous business during geese nesting season.) No teeth per se but that bite is still painful. Kind of like a sow with cubs nesting geese each seem to have a set zone they do not want you to enter, or else the male will attack until you leave that area. Once you're out of that zone the male will quickly stop and return to be near the female on the nest. So if you do get attacked, run your ass down the stream in the opposite direction for at least 25 yards or more. Believe it or not I've kind of purposely tested this theory out both when I was at the hatchery and out on several streams.

Ryan - you know just how big and ugly I am. I've never had a problem:toilet-humor:

Geese are one of those animals like bears where they can easily sense fear. At least that is what I am going with....and I don't fear a 7 pound bird that I can kill with my bare hands. I was walking at the former Gruendyke dam site with a colleague last week looking at some recent willow and dogwood cuttings I had planted when a goose charged from an unseen nest. My buddy panicked and ran and he was chased a good distance. Then the goose turned and came after me. I took three or four hard steps right at it and it "blinked" and flew into the river honking the entire way. You just need to read animals and their behavior sometimes. Standing your ground or taking the offensive has always worked for me with most wild animals. It also works with most humans

 

[Ryan R]

Ryan - you know just how big and ugly I am. I've never had a problem:toilet-humor:

Geese are one of those animals like bears where they can easily sense fear. At least that is what I am going with....and I don't fear a 7 pound bird that I can kill with my bare hands. I was walking at the former Gruendyke dam site with a colleague last week looking at some recent willow and dogwood cuttings I had planted when a goose charged from an unseen nest. My buddy panicked and ran and he was chased a good distance. Then the goose turned and came after me. I took three or four hard steps right at it and it "blinked" and flew into the river honking the entire way. You just need to read animals and their behavior sometimes. Standing your ground or taking the offensive has always worked for me with most wild animals. It also works with most humans

You're right, you can probably get 98% of those males to "blink" by doing just that. The key to reading animal behavior is being able to quickly recongize when you're dealing with the other 2% and making the necessary adjustment in your own behavior to "oh shit, lookout."

 

[golden beetle]

you guys are saying that the victim of the goose attack was probably scared.
Are you suggesting he was some kind of wimp or weakling?

You think he's been bitten by squirrels and gets his leg humped by the neighbor's poodle?

 

[Green Man]

I say grab the bastards by the neck and shake! There are too many of them anyway.

 

[JUSTYN]

I have had a goose problem in my backyard lately and i have also noticed that if you act like u are more powerful they will back off.

 

[leadhead]

I must admit that when I first saw this bird come flying at me I had a bit of a HOLY SHIT moment. I was just able to put up my arms before he hit me and I spun into the river. He kept coming at me until I was able to get my feet under me and then we had a kind of Mexican stand off becuase he was blocking the only way I could get out of the river. I was yelling and waving my arms around and he wouldn't move. I was finally able to shuffle my way around him and get to the bank. I'd be laughing my ass off at myself if I didn't break the rod.



lh

 

[Bamboozle]

I don't know which would be worse, being called a wimp for carrying a wading staff or being called a wimp for running from a goose.

All I know is when wimpy me is carrying my wading staff, no frickkin' goose stands a chance!

BTW - Grilled goose-ka-bob skewered on a Folstaf with potatoes, onions, and small tomatoes is DELICIOUS!

 

[bugman]

Maybe we should just all get together walk the rivers and break all their eggs. That might be a way to contol them.

 

[Bamboozle]

Actually the technique used by the experts is to shake the eggs violently to kill the embryo then place the eggs back in the nest. The unsuspecting goose will continue trying to incubate the eggs to no avail.

If you break or remove the eggs, the bastards will just lay more!

I actually wonder if a Ronco Egg Scrambler would work?

Another option is to pray for floods. A LONG LONG time ago I was fishing the Letort after some serious flooding. While the stream was fish-able, the meadows were flooded along with most of the goose nests. We actually gathered eggs and had them for breakfast one morning. Luckily all of them were freshly laid or we would of ended up with partially incubated goslings in the skillet.

:beingsick:

 

[coolkyle]

Friday afternoon on the SBR the geese wouldn't leave me alone. They repeatedly swam over my rising fish, wouldn't stop staring/honking at me, and I kept yelling at them to go away. Then yesterday at Garden State Plaza (whatever creek that is), a goose threatened to bite my girlfriend on our way to the car. Of course she acted scared, and it got madder. With the previous day's goose-athon fresh in my mind, I walked toward the goose and shouted obscenities, and he turned away from me and stopped hissing. Pussy.

 

[Rusty Spinner]

Friday afternoon on the SBR the geese wouldn't leave me alone. They repeatedly swam over my rising fish, wouldn't stop staring/honking at me, and I kept yelling at them to go away. Then yesterday at Garden State Plaza (whatever creek that is), a goose threatened to bite my girlfriend on our way to the car. Of course she acted scared, and it got madder. With the previous day's goose-athon fresh in my mind, I walked toward the goose and shouted obscenities, and he turned away from me and stopped hissing. Pussy.

That's it ck - teach that bag of feathers who's boss!

I had to "save" my daughter and two of her Girl Scout friends yesterday when we cleaned up the Musky. The three girls got chased by the male and two ran past the nest and were not chased while the third girl turned back and ran with the goose in hot pursuit for a long distance. She found me and told me that the other 2 girls including my daughter were now stuck on the other side of the nest and were afraid to come back. I walked down to the nest and did my big-and-ugly thing with this goose and he just hissed but wouldn't come after me. The girls walked behind me and he once tried to flank me to get at the girls who were squealing in fear until I headed him off a second time. He just followed me being careful to keep his distance until he was convinced we were no longer a threat to his nest and his lady.

 

[dcabarle]

Actually the technique used by the experts is to shake the eggs violently to kill the embryo then place the eggs back in the nest. The unsuspecting goose will continue trying to incubate the eggs to no avail.

If you break or remove the eggs, the bastards will just lay more!

I actually wonder if a Ronco Egg Scrambler would work?

Another option is to pray for floods. A LONG LONG time ago I was fishing the Letort after some serious flooding. While the stream was fish-able, the meadows were flooded along with most of the goose nests. We actually gathered eggs and had them for breakfast one morning. Luckily all of them were freshly laid or we would of ended up with partially incubated goslings in the skillet.

:beingsick:

What do they taste like? Are they disease free?

 

[Rusty Spinner]

What do they taste like? Are they disease free?

I'm pretty much of the opinion that if they tasted good to most people, we wouldn't have an overabundance. I shot a few in my earlier hunting days and followed a few recipes to cook them and found them to taste like $*&# :beingsick:

Your mileage may vary on the taste, but I don't know them to harbor any diseases. I've heard they make decent jerky when ground with spices and dried, but I can't say I've tried that.

 

[Trouser Trout]

What do they taste like? Are they disease free?

I never had the eggs, but i have bagged many Canadian Geese and I think they are delicious. My favorite way to cook them is split over a charcoal water smoker.

 

[leadhead]

I think Dennis ment the eggs. I don't know what they taste like but I'm pretty sure all fowl carry salmonella(it's in their crap). It would be on the shell of the egg, not in the egg itself.


lh

 

[Bamboozle]

What do they taste like? Are they disease free?

I thought I already posted an answer to this but in any case...

...if you are referring to the eggs, they were pretty good, bigger than a chicken egg with a big orange yolk and a more intense egg flavor. I've had my share of duck eggs and they kind of reminded me of those. I'd eat goose eggs again in a second!

As far as being disease free, here's a REAL irony:

On the trip where I ate the goose eggs, we stopped at a HoJo's (that will give you an idea how long ago that trip was) on the way to Carlisle. A few hours later I got REALLY sick which I suspect was a case of food poisoning caused by my usual over-easy egg breakfast.

24 hours later after a lousy night sleeping in the rain in a leaky lean-to on the AT, I was fine. We scavenged the goose eggs that morning, I ate them and was FINE!