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  Fishin' with Capt. Gus! ~ Blue Heron Island
May 23, 2010
If you haven’t visited the Blue Heron rookery on Lake Norman, now is the time. The island is a beehive of activity since the chicks have hatched and are maturing. The active parents, take turns hunting for baby-food twenty-four hours a day. When they aren’t foraging, they gather nesting materials (mostly sticks and branches) used to enlarge or repair their gigantic nests. At times there are so many blue heron circling the island, that the air space resembles a busy airport.
In case you don’t know how where Blue Heron Island is located, it is the smaller of the two islands between Markers D4 and D6 in Reed Creek. While the island is off limits during nesting season (do not beach your boat or walk on the island), the birds can easily be viewed from a boat with binoculars.
The nesting season begins in the spring and continues until summer when the chicks are old enough to fend for themselves. What makes Blue Heron Island so interesting is that the birds colonize in the tall pines, each with multiple nests. A closer look finds each nest with several chicks, all hungry and chirping loudly between feedings.
The more you watch, the more you will be fascinated at how the young recognize the parents as they glide back to the nest with a mouthful of food. It is quite a sight to watch birds that weigh up to seven pounds make three point landings between the branches of a lofty pine trees.
Blue Heron are expert at fishing, but also eat snakes and small ground animals. They wade patiently and then stand in place until their quarry is close enough to snare with a quick thrust of their blade like beak. While an adult stands upwards of four and half feet, its neck is very skinny. So thin in fact, that if a fish gets side ways it can choke to death. The neck of a juvenile bird is smaller yet, which makes choking a major reason for the species’ high mortality rate.
Viewing tips:- The shallows surrounding Blue Heron Island are covered with rocks and stumps. Do not venture too close.
- The best pictures are taken with a telephoto lens and the sun to your back.
- Binoculars are recommended. Everyone in the party should bring a pair.
- Listen for the chirping chicks that sounds the return of a parent with food.
Upcoming Events:
Free Fishing Seminar - “Bank and Dock Fishing for Sunfish, White Perch, Catfish and Bass” will be discussed at Gander Mountain, Exit 36 on Thursday, May 27, 2010 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Bring the entire family, including the kids, to this free event. I will cover everything from fishing with cane poles, hooks and bobbers, to using live and cut baits. I’ll also give suggestions for places to fish. Contact 704-658-0822 for additional information.
Hot Spots of the Week:
Fishing has been good to very good for bass, perch and cats. Stripers are suspended in water to fifty feet on river and creek points. Live baits are best, but schools of fish can be coaxed into biting vertically fished jigging spoons. Bream and small channel cats are in shallow coves and can be caught on red wigglers.
The lake level is about 1.5' below full pond and the water surface temperature is in the seventies and eighties
Captain Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures, Inc. is licensed by the US Coast Guard, a member of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association, and is an outdoor columnist and a full time professional fishing guide on Lake Norman, NC. Visit his web site, Fishin' With Gus! at www.FishingWithGus.com or call 704.617.6812.
For additional information e-mail Gus at Gus@LakeNorman.com
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