what you should do is to put the fishing line around the perimeter of the pond.the heron does not land in the pond,they land outside the pond and walk up to it and trip on the fishing line.this scares them.some people cover the pond with deer netting.

I have the pond netted right now and I hate it but I like having my fish snacked on a lot less. The net is just laying on top of the water and anchored to the sides. I need to get it off the water as the fish will be (and has) coming to the surface to scout for food. I saw the idea of the fishing line and that wouldn't be too bad other than dumb me tripping on it. Having the pond netted all year will really take all the fun and beauty out of having a pond :-(.

Would the fishing line need to be right up to the edge? At what height?

Hi muddy feet,
We put the fishing line up to stop a barred owl that was taking our fish when they came close to the pond's edge. I have seen the owl since and also a smaller one but no fish have been taken since the line went up. So far no heron has landed but they do fly very low from time to time. Our dog chases buzzards and other large birds that fly over so maybe that keeps them away. We put the line about 10 to 12 inches above the water so the lilies could grow. Hope this helps.
Michelle

I have a two foot plastic fence around my pond edging to keep my turtles from venturing out. Two years ago I witnessed a migrating heron land directly on a plant shelf. Fishing line surrounding your pond is not going to stop a heron from entering.

Netting will stop a heron, but would also make it difficult for frogs to enter and leave your pond.

I think fishing line stretched across a pond is the best solution. It's almost invisible and causes major problems for heron. Heron are large. Most have a wingspan of 5 to 6 feet. So the fishing line does not have to be real dense. Just enough to deter movement.

About 2 feet above a big beautiful public Japanese Garden pond I noticed fishing line stretched tight into a grid of approximately 3 foot squares. It hardly showed. Min

Thanks for all the help. I was able to get the line up over the pond yesterday and the net is now off. I drove some short bamboo stakes around the outside of the pond and attached the line to that. The line is criss-crossed over the pond at about 10 +/- inches off the water surfaced. I have a sprinkler to put up too for extra insurance, if I can remember that I will be doing good :-)

Min3, do you know what the fishing line in the Jjapanese Garden was attached to?

muddy_feet

I have copper pipe for stakes around mine. I used to have it strung over the pond, but removed that, since I don't have problems with other birds. Herons will land outside the pond and walk up to the edge. I have it strung around the pond at about 1-1.5 foot high and 6-12 inches outside perimiter of the pond. I have it strung with 40lb fluorocarbon mono-filament. Stronger so the dogs/raccoons don't break it and fc for its ability to withstand UV rays.

Have a 2500 gallon pond that I have had for about 12 years and herons are a continuing problem with eating any koi smaller than about 7 inches or so. Although netting works it is just plain ugly. I have been using 2 fishing lines for about 6 years with much success most of the time, but the height seems to be pretty critical. I recently have had the unwelcome heron visitor who has taken many of my small koi. I was determined to see how he was getting in and waited for him one morning this week and watched him land by the pond and saw him looking over the pond for several minutes. He then walked over and got down below the line and crawled under it. I of course chased him away. I was shocked at how low he could get.
My lower fishing line was higher than I normally have it at that point, about 14 or 15 inches. My second one was about 24 inches. I have now lowered them to about 11 inches and 20 inches and hope that does it. Incidentally, racoons will be a problem if you do not have straight sides. They will not step into water over 10 inches or so. Make sure you do not have shallow sloping sides. Once they get in the depth does not seem to be an issue. Good luck!