Garden Hill Conservation Area

[OldTimer]

Hey,

Anyone ever fish this fair size spring fed pond? (it's the headwaters of the Ganaraska River - near Garden Hill, - above Port Hope)

Info is scant on line....... other than it may have specks and panfish...

Regards,

OldTimer

[prime89]

Hm never heard of the place, I'm looking for somewhere to go fish on the weekend since its a holiday on Monday, anything 2hrs max. Might look it up...of shore ofcourse

[infante]

Trent-severn Locks will open this friday. Those are good place to fishing.

[MichaelAngelo]

(05-16-2012 03:19 PM)OldTimer Wrote:  Hey,

Anyone ever fish this fair size spring fed pond? (it's the headwaters of the Ganaraska River - near Garden Hill, - above Port Hope)

Info is scant on line....... other than it may have specks and panfish...

Regards,

OldTimer

specks?

[OldTimer]

(05-17-2012 01:28 PM)MichaelAngelo Wrote:  specks?

Specks.......... Speckled Trout.......... AKA Brook Trout.

Sorry........... perhaps a vintage expression............

Cheers,

OldTimer

[OldTimer]

I did visit the Garden Hill Conservation on Saturday morning.

(Some background – I occasionally visit a friend who lives in Garden Hill, and have had my eye on this water – looked great last year on my drive bys while going to Rice Lake…………..My friend told me that many hundreds of Canadian Geese wintered here – as the pond never did completely freezer over, and was wide open most of the winter………… I could hear the geese when I was nearby on Family Day in February………)

The driveway was not locked (apparently they lock it up about 6+ months in the winter).

The parking lot was empty, and the grass had been cut. The public washrooms were boarded up and locked (and had been for quite some time). Only one picnic table was on the property. Looked like this park was the victim of funding cuts.

The water was at what appeared was its usual level. This area has been getting rain, and the pond is spring fed.

In spite of water levels - the pond had a major algae bloom happening with very large masses of the green stuff floating most everywhere…….. so great in fact that I did not even bother trying to fish (to avoid the frustration of this).

My thoughts are that the much milder temperatures coupled with the fecal nutrient pollution - from tons of goose do-do, produced this problem.

Scratch another possible spot for me………… really unfortunate they let this place slip and let this goose plague continue………….

Not recommended.

Cheers,

OldTimer

[MichaelAngelo]

(05-21-2012 01:27 PM)OldTimer Wrote:  I did visit the Garden Hill Conservation on Saturday morning.

(Some background – I occasionally visit a friend who lives in Garden Hill, and have had my eye on this water – looked great last year on my drive bys while going to Rice Lake…………..My friend told me that many hundreds of Canadian Geese wintered here – as the po
Scratch another possible spot for me………… really unfortunate they let this place slip and let this goose plague continue………….

Excellent point about the goose plague. For so long I had thought them a protected species. I was happy to hear that there is in fact an open hunting season for Canada Geese

[OldTimer]

(05-22-2012 12:02 AM)MichaelAngelo Wrote:  Excellent point about the goose plague. For so long I had thought them a protected species. I was happy to hear that there is in fact an open hunting season for Canada Geese

Yes there is an open season on Canadian Geese in the fall, and the limit is 5............... In some areas.

However the areas where we need "pest" control do not allow hunting or the discharge of a firearm at any time. Packs of hunters bearing 10 gauge shotguns will never be allowed on the Toronto Islands, or any other waterfront park or conservation area.

This results in the "non problem" geese genertions being thinned out while the geese in conflict with humans, and their offspring, are essentially protected and thrive. These populations of "bad habit" geese in urban areas increase yearly as new generations learn behaviour (and skills) unwanted by people.

It is a fact that the high waterfowl populations in our cities contributes greatly to the elevated ecoli bacteria levels in our waters - which then results in the closing of public beaches and swimming areas. Hamilton's Pier 4 suffers greatly in this regard.

I do note that some states in the USA are reacting to the problem and now allow the humane thinning of Canada Goose populations in urban centers via early stage egg coddling, or corn oil swabbing (i.e. the eggs never hatch).

Tough problem to solve while keeping all parties happy.

Regards,

OldTimer

[dubstructor]

Hate to revive a dead thread.....but I went there and caught:

Bass - http://i.imgur.com/suSYHQL.jpg
Crappie - http://i.imgur.com/WYsan3j.jpg

[OldTimer]

(05-19-2016 03:21 PM)dubstructor Wrote:  Hate to revive a dead thread.....but I went there and caught:

Bass - http://i.imgur.com/suSYHQL.jpg
Crappie - http://i.imgur.com/WYsan3j.jpg

Cool. When?

How were the water/algae conditions?

Were the "facilities" open?