Nostalgia has prompted me to tell and retell the naming contest of Lady G’s $ Gill aka Mrs’s G’s $ Gill.

It all started at the First Pond Boss Conference in Atlanta Georgia when I donated a few of my little spin flies for door prizes.
They went over so big that I got literally dozens of requests from attendees to purchase these flies that I told everyone I did not sell flies – only gave them away – that got me in a heap of trouble!

Theo Gallus suggested a fly naming contest:
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=6465&Number=61616#Post61616



Many suggestions were made for names and Mrs. G selected the $ Gill fly that was named by Eric West, who won a couple of the flies.
I sent Theo a couple and each participant also received a fly.
I was tired of tying that bug!

After the Atlanta conference I donated a few $ Gill flies for the following PB conferences silent auctions.

OK, Fast Forward:
I said I wasn’t going to tie any more of these flies since too much effort for old eyes and shaky fingers but got to reminiscing about the SDSU caps Dave Willis always sent me for my efforts, I decided to donate six more $ Gill flies in Dr. Willis memory with proceeds going to the SDSU Jesse West Foundation.


I have tied up six $ Gill flies for the upcoming Pond Boss Conference.
Ignore the bad tyin’ job – they aren’t presentation quality due to old eyes and shaky bingers, but I am shamelessly promoting them to raise as much money as possible!

Mr. Lusk is going to auction these flies one at a time in order to win each at the highest bid price.

This is PB history guys, so get out your wallets – there ain’t gonna be no more!
Looking forward to seeing my old friends and meeting new ones at the “ice breaker”.
George Glazener

Wow, Can we reserve one or more for online auction, silent bid via private message to Mr. Lusk until a set deadline, to allow all of us who can't make it to the conference to bid?

Thanks George, very kind indeed to remember Dr.Willis and support a good cause.

I second that Canyon! Dr. Willis helped me many times. What a great gesture George and Bob!

Can't believe that contest was 9+ years ago. I still think I should have won!
Georgie, those flies are beautiful. I never used the one you so graceiously sent me. Got it sitting right here on my desk…

Randy...I'll put it to good use!

I want in on the absentee bidding! I have my eye on one of George's flys and Tony's syrup! Come on Bob! Give us guys that can't make it a chance!

Edit: I would happily pay shipping and handling!

Please forgive my intrusion into George's thread...I'm happy to send down a few bottles of syrup for the auction, if it's acceptable to those in charge. Esshup has volunteered to deliver it for me, but I need to get it to him on Monday. Could someone please let me know before then?

Sorry for the hijack, George.

Tony, you got Bob's phone number? If not, LMK and I'll get it for ya via PM. He texts too, and I get a faster response from texts most of the time.

Or call the office first thing Monday Morning. Give me a shout or a text on the cell phone. If I don't pick up, I'll call you back when I'm free.

After the pond consult on Monday afternoon I'll be heading to the hotel in Evansville, but I can make a side trip to meet ya somewhere.

Good idea Scott, Drop me a # and I'll text him in the morning.

Jasonville is not too far from here, depending on what Bob says I'm sure I could shake free and meet you down there. Don't want you traveling out of your way, so I'll come to you if I get the OK.

T, your syrup is exactly in line with the spirit of the auction, and will likely fetch a hefty winning bid. What's more authentically Pond Bossy than one of our favorite family members homemade maple syrup or hand tied flies from George? Maybe a bottle of syrup with a Geo fly inside? Surely would double the value!

No hi-jack Tony!
This thread is intended to stir up some enthusiasm for the Silent Auction – proceeds going to an GOOD cause!
Most, if not all items that are put up for auction are from vendors – I think it’s cool to have some items from forum members.

Just think, ten years from now you will be saying...”I can’t believe its been 10 years since I put up my prized maple syrup up for silent auction at PondBoss VI Conference at Dallas".

Best,
George

Tony, you've got a PM

Tony, I'm gonna publicly throw this out there.

As a light usage syrup guy, which syrup should I bid on? I just got a phone call saying they're on their way to TX.

Al...waffles at your place this Spring!

Looks like a medium syrup on that waffle to me, but I am not a pro.

I'll tell you what...everyone who runs into Scott at the conference needs to give that guy a pat on the back. He's completely fearless.

We met up early this afternoon, driving on roads that at times, induced that dreaded white knuckle syndrome...some serious slick spots out there, and he was headed into the worst of it, loaded down and pulling a trailer. Headed for a pond consultation in a location that I HOPE was not too far off the beaten path. Stay safe esshup.

Al, the light stuff is mild and smooth, good for pancakes and French toast. The dark syrup has a stronger flavor, not as sweet, and is great for cooking (baked beans...outstanding). Also very good on pancakes or over ice cream.

You could always try the medium grade...a sweet, tasty, good all-around syrup.

Thanks George!

I was thinking it would be awesome in a barbecue sauce!

My boss says we're officially bidding on the light syrup. Thanks.

You PB guys better hit a ATM before the conference, because I'm gonna bid like a gangster wanting a bottle of Cristal. Just sayin'.

Tony, thanks again for offering up the syrup. I'll thank George too, as I'm holding all 6 $ Gill flies in my chubby little hands as we speak. I "may" bid on a couple of those also. "May", as in I've been told not to come home without flies and syrup. I don't think she was kidding.

Scott should be at the hotel by now. I just talked to him, and it has indeed been a rough drive down.

Sure, I'm game.

It probably would be.

A couple quick thoughts... this year we also tapped black walnut trees. And while the walnut sap is collected separately from the maple, stored, and (hopefully) boiled and bottled separately, there is always the remote possibility of contamination. And if someone is allergic to tree nuts...well, you get the idea. Also, syrup does not have to be refrigerated until opened. If you want to store it for an extended interval, toss it in the freezer...it will thicken but will not freeze.

Tony, is there a way to have this shipped (when I outbid Al)?
Airlines would get real nasty if I tried to bring that on board...

If you are lucky enough to snag one of those babies, just stop by the front desk at the hotel and they should be able to arrange shipping for you.

When we ship the stuff we use either USPS or UPS. USPS hates to ship liquids, or so they tell me, but to be honest I never volunteer what's in the box. Wicked of me, I know. Wrap it in plastic, pad it like your life depended on it, and away it goes. So far so good...no breakage yet.

Did anyone ever find out about absentee bidding? I see George has signed those flies.......

I want in!!!! The money is going for a good cause. Why not try to maximize it? I understand it adds logistics to the effort but, if the bidder understands he is paying both shipping and handling, can that be managed?

I can take care of the logistics regarding shipping - I'm staying in Texas for a number of weeks after the conference and I'm sure I can hit a post office after the conference.

Tony, compared to the storm that I drove in on Saturday, today was a dry, sunny day!

I'm in the hotel for the night in Evansville, IN. Tomorrow I have to fight my way thru Memphis on my way to Wynn, AR.

Oh, BTW, the syrup is great. I took a sip outta each bottle.

Tony, the kudos goes to you. You made it, bottled it, and delivered it to me!! You drove thru the same stuff that I did.

I'm not sure if it's been decided but IME money talks...

For us online guys that can't make it, If it's decided to auction off site, I will go on record and start the bid for one of Georges Flies at $500 (and I will pay for delivery. )

Al, you got competition!

I can be a proxy bidder if you want. LMK the max and I'll call ya when the bidding is over.

If there is on-line bidding - maybe the flies should be photographed with a number next to each one so that if a person wants a specific fly they can bid by item number?

Stong, mnfish.

YEP! A George tied Fly combined with helping the foundation...no brainer...A little throw down to all the other guys thinking about bidding on this awesome cause.

So is the silent auction going to happen for us unfortunate souls that can't make it? I can see Scott with like 4 cell phones taking off site bids. lol

Been there, done that at some auctions. Things get busy quick even with 2 phones!

I don't know if it will happen or not, somebody's gotta pester Bob.

That would be a good idea. I was thinking numbering the signature card with Georges signature. Limited Edition!

George, those flies are great!!!

Competition? I think mnfish hit a walk off home run first at bat.

Outstanding bid for a great cause.

He did!

Here's what the trailer looks like after day 1 on the road:

Okay, boys!
Let that bidding begin! Scott, you are the official auctioneer for those items in the silent auction that folks here on the forum wish to bid on.

George, we'll see you Thursday night and talk about minimum bids and how we want to work on that. mnfish, I suspect you just bought a very special piece of artwork...signed, too!

Scott, I'll be at the hotel tomorrow by 3:00, so if you want to match up and come up with a game plan, we can do that whenever you arrive. I can see the moderators keeping everyone in the loop as the conference goes.

George, it's a great honor for you to be able to attend, even for a short time. Hard to believe you're knocking on the door of 90, and you'll be there! Kudos! You'll be surrounded by Pond Boss family. It'll be a good time.

Here are all 6 flies tied by George for PB VI. If you want a particular fly, they're numbered across and down, 1 through 6, with 1 being in the top left fly, and 6 being the bottom right fly. George will be at the meet and greet Thursday night, and will sign and date all 6 flies.

I also included a closeup.

Again, a great cause, and all monies bid will be in Dr. Willis memory with proceeds going to the SDSU Jesse West Foundation. Guys, this is a great way to help the best and the brightest kids keep moving forward, and advance the research that will help direct the future of pond ownership.

Is there a number we need to call to get a bidder number or something?

I'll go $100.00 on #3 as I have them laid out in the pic, based on Al's description above.

I'm here at the hotel now with the maple syrup. I'll get together with Bob in the morning and work out a game plan.

I better get up to speed quick, I don't even know what day the auction is!!

esshup you set it up how it works best for you, but in my experience being involved in silent auctions before, there was a value to having it truly 'silent' Meaning for sure it is better if you do not know who you are bidding against (keep silent who the high bidder is on any particular item) and in some cases it was even good to keep the top bid silent too! That way if you really wanted it you had to go high and hope you went high enough.

But since there are multiples of the same thing, then not all the flies will go for the same price.

So perhaps you number them as in JKB's posting.

Then you open bidding (now, or at some appointed time) and every 2-4 hours or so you just post what each fly bid is up to. You pick a close time and maybe post every 10-15 min in the last hour or if the bids are going up furiously.

If the bidders at the PB get together have a white board or marker board with a running tally of the totals then they can see progress from silent bidders who are not there. Those present can submit slips of paper with their bidder number or name into a closed box or simply hand them to you and every so often those bids are added to the tally sheet that is posted. You will have a paper trail from bids from those at the conference and in your private message box from those of us who are not.

Those of us not there can send you a private message adding our bids and you can update the marker board or posted scorecard. You could take a picture of the score sheet or marker board to make it easy to keep us posted on what the bids are up to on each fly.

At our school auction that i was involved with over several years we had 2 bid rooms with stuff, one had a white board with item numbers and the current bid and we submitted paper bids with only the current total going up on the marker board. The other room worked like this and then in the last 15 min of the auction the current value that the item was going for was hidden so people had some idea where they were at but then had to just pick a number well above that and hope they won

For what the ideas are worth...

OK. What I'll do is have the laptop in the room with the items, and post what the running items are. The auction will run from 5:00PM to 8:30 pm Central Time Saturday.

Al already put up the pictures of the flies.

Here are the pictures of the Maple Syrup. They are numbered 1, 2,3 and 4. The numbers correspond to the "run" numbers on the jars. #1 is the lightest syrup, #4 is the darkest. I'll let Tony fill in the details and nuances on each run.

It might be easier to send Text Messages to the people that want stuff. No later than 5 minutes before the end of the auction, text me your highest bid and I'll make sure that it is gets on the card. If I know of a higher bid, I'll text you back and let you know if you want to adjust your "highest" bid. I think that will work quicker than me trying to carry around my laptop and look at PM's on the forum.

PM me your phone numbers and what you want to bid on, and the amount. If you go to the Hoosier Pond Pros website, the phone number is listed there. 574-806-_ _ _ _

Text me your forum name, real name, contact information, item(s) you want to bid on, and the highest amount you want to bid. That way I can have someone from the Pond Boss Office contact the winning bidders and get their payment information. I'll do the packaging and shipping (I think Priority Mail will be the easiest). I'll use the smallest flat rate box that the item will fit in. I prefer to use a box vs. a padded envelope - a bit more protection that way.

Hey Scott,

Thanks for the info on what a silent auction is. I'm use to the online auctions that are like a cross between Chess and Poker, and I'm not talking about ebay

I guess we all know what the opener is on Georges fly #3, and that is at least in the bank for SDSU.

Kinda have my eye on a jar of Tony's motor oil.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sent you a PM.

Smartass you say

Just trying to define things

Which one? Never bid on anything unless there is a clear definition of what you are actually bidding on.

Is there a list of things up for auction that I missed somewhere or is the absentee auction for the flies and syrup only?

Only see those two for now. I don't think they planned on this.

Thanks. I think you're right and I am good with that. I consider it dang nice of Esshup putting forth the effort to give the guys that can't make the conference a shot at those two items!

Quick fact: Before I showed him how to do maple shots, Yolk Sac's vocabulary was limited to just three and four syllable words.

I'll see if I can get a list of auction items tomorrow morning, and pictures of same. I'm using my laptop in the moderators booth for the rolling slide show, but will have to steal it for posting pictures of the items (if I can get them, a description and the minimum starting bid.)

That maple syrup and the bottling is a work of art sparkplug!!

That would be cool.

What's this minimum starting bid stuff

You can put me down for Sparkies #4 shoe polish as an item of interest, shall we say

Unless he changes it, I've got him down for fly #1. mnfish, LMK if you want a different one.

Something with a 1 of 6, limited edition, numbered and signed by George, could be valuable, just saying

Thank you, the bottling schematic is all my wife's idea. Me being me, I would've probably poured the stuff into a pint mason jar and screwed down the lid. Maybe used a magic marker to scribble on the date. I suggested that, but the look she gave me left little doubt that we would not be adopting that motif.

She designed the labels last year, and the "Bluegills and Botanicals" thing is a big hit with everyone who knows us. There is no essence of Lepomis in the syrup however. The wax dipped caps and hang tags are new this year, also her ideas. I'm just the cook.

Now I get it. If not for your wife, you would just be a bum on Skid Row

I think that's probably an accurate assessment JKB!

You got it right sir. Let's START with #1. Assume nothing fellas and get your check books out for this great cause I will PM you ESSHUP

Yeah, right

My top bids are $150.00 for #3 on Georges flies, and $150.00 on Tony's #4 juice. I may not go higher than this

OK. It turns out that a number of items were donated that were on the walls of Dr. Dave Willis office. I can't put everything on line, and there is too much stuff for us to get ready in time for the physical silent auction. So with that being said there will be an on-line auction held after the conference. Date to be determined. Those items were brought this morning. There are a few items that I will list, but not all.

In regards to payment, here's the information that the pond boss office needs.

Name
Address
Zip Code
Credit card number
Expiration date
Security code on back
Phone number
e-mail address

If you are the winning bidder, contact:
robbin@pondboss.com
903-564-6114

A cashiers check/Money order will work too.
The items will be shipped out towards the end of the week as they won't be back in the office until Wednesday. The bidding price does not include shipping - she will just pass on the shipping costs, and she typically ships Priority mail flat rate box.

Some items that were added to the online and physical silent auction:

Texas Hunter Professional Series Feeder, LM175 Donated by Texas Hunter Feeders
100 pounds of feed capacity
20" wide x 22" long x 46" high
Opening bid $500

TFO Fly rod/reel combo. Donated by Todd Overton
5/6 weight
$100 opening bid

"The Ultimate Predator"
Custom made print for Dr. Dave Willis
Opening bid $150 Approximately 8" x 10"

Secchi Disk Opening bid #$0

I just learned that the internet connection in the conference area is restricted (i.e. poor signal) by the hotel. That is so that non paying guests don't hog the bandwidth. Send me a text or call me on the business phone 574.806.4237 with your maximum bid amount by 8:20 p.m. CST. That is when I'm shutting off the bidding for the items. The physical bidding will still go on until 8:30 p.m. CST. That gives me time to run around and write down the amounts on the bid cards.

If anyone wants more information, text or call me. There's so many more things that I physically don't have time to put up here, it's a crime. Many more things were added at the last minute.

Just as a heads up, there WILL be a auction on-line after the conference with some of the items that were on Dr. Dave Willis office walls. There will be a bunch of items and all the proceeds will go to the Jesse West Foundation too.

There's approximately 50 items in the silent auction. See what you guys miss by not being here???

You've all seen pictures of Georges flies and the syrup earlier in this thread. Here are the other items that I'm listing on-line.

Texas Hunter Feeder Pro Series Feeder, DF175.


It holds 100# of fish food. The feeder has a value of around $900. The auction price does NOT include shipping from San Antonio for someone that is not willing to drive to me to pick it up. I'll bring it back up North when I return if someone can wait that long. FYI, shipping should be around $100.

TFO 5/6 wt combo package. Fly Rod, reel, carrying case and I don't know if there is line there or not.


Secchi Disk. Only one will be auctioned off tonight.


The Ultimate Predator. This was one of the items that was hanging up in Dr. Dave Willis's office. It was custom made for him.

This really is a silent auction. You need software

I just got the word from Esshup that "no news is good news." If you haven't heard from him then your bid is still good.

For those that can't text, but have email. You can send a text thru your email.

Here's how:

AT&T – cellnumber@txt.att.net
Verizon – cellnumber@vtext.com
T-Mobile – cellnumber@tmomail.net
Sprint PCS - cellnumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Virgin Mobile – cellnumber@vmobl.com
US Cellular – cellnumber@email.uscc.net
Nextel - cellnumber@messaging.nextel.com
Boost - cellnumber@myboostmobile.com
Alltel – cellnumber@message.alltel.com

You need to know the carrier the recipient is using.

Not sure what esshup has.

The recipient can also respond from their cell phone -via- text, and it will go to your email.

Before the end of the auction, Esshup said he will try to post a list of all the available online items along with the current high bid.

Edit: Might just be a text to the current bidders.

Got a text from Scott

Me too!

3X on the text! Can't wait to read the totals. Making a difference from the couch.

I got my text also....

I'll be fishing with George's fly, while I have crusty light maple syrup in my beard, while I'm wearing my SDSU ball cap.

I couldn't have asked for a better text.

Thank you all for bidding. I don't know the whole totals, but the on-line Pond Boss crowd raised $1,845.00 dollars for the Jesse West foundation strictly from the on-line bids. I included my bids and Al's bids even though we were both there.

The following people need to call the Pond Boss office and arrange payment and shipping if you didn't donate the item back to Pond Boss for another Jesse West Auction.

In no particular order:
Dave D.
Eric West
JKB
mnfish

Please tell the office girls what your forum name is because that's the way I had you listed on the bidding sheets. They will need the other information too, that I listed above. They mightnot have the complete total, because they might need your shipping address to figure out postage.

Good show everyone!

Scott, thanks for all you did. I'm sure that your efforts contributed greatly towards making the online process a success. Not to mention your willingness to act as courier.

For those who purchased a bottle of syrup, my family thanks you, as I'm sure the Jesse West foundation and SDSU thank you also. Please enjoy it....use it! We have heard a couple comments suggesting that it was too "pretty" to eat. Nothing could be further from the truth.

My family had a great time producing those bottles of syrup, all while marveling over nature's processes that allowed its creation. We're thrilled to have you share in that experience with us.

Tony, I was told last night to get my rear in gear and buy a waffle maker. I guess that means we're cracking ours open soon. I have to agree with you though. The love and effort is on the inside of each bottle.

The Hall family want to thank you and George again for what y'all did.

Thanks to all the bidders and Scott , Al and the PB staff !!!!!!
Also a big thank you to the gift contributors !!!!
George you went way above the call of duty !!!
I got my text also .
If anyone is still interested in a George fly I am donating it back to PB for the online auction of the remaining items.
On behalf of all the students and SDSU we thank you all for the outstanding efforts. A lot of people both students and pond owners have and will continue to benefit from your efforts.

Well said. I have already committed to donate the fly I purchased as well. There will also be a bottle of Sparkie's syrup available for the online auction!

Ok, here we go. My boss(who the fly was intended for) said to re-donate our fly also.

Great minds must think a like fellas. IME - It' very rare to get a win/win/win situation like this one. Such an inspirational group of guys.

To all the SDSU students that benefit from the Jesse West foundation... go get em and learn the world something new!

mnfish, I assure you I'm not in the great mind's club, but the kid's from SDSU were at the conference, and they were as energetic and excited about their career path as any group of college students I have ever been around.

They ultimately made the re-donation decision an easy one. In a few years, these kids will be speakers at the conference too. The future of pond management looks to be in good hands.

Hello to all of my PondBoss friends, old and new, and especially the ones I didn’t have a chance to meet and visit with on a personal basis,
Thanks for the caring welcome and hospitality received at the ice breaker and dinner Thursday night dinner, and the the very special Saturday morning.
I just don't know where to start – words alone cannot express my gratitude!
I am calling this my PondBoss “Reunion” Conference – thank you all so much.

I love the idea to recycle my flies – they are not presentation quality and to see them provide support in memory of Dave Willis, and provide further additional educational benefits to SDSU recipients of the Jesse West Foundation scholarship fund is especially heartwarming.

Very special thanks to everyone!
George

George the thanks goes to you, Your efforts have made a real difference in the lives of the SDSU students. Well done - well done indeed !

I think I need one of those SDSU hats. It's time for a hat of some sort... Will there be any offered up on the future online auction?

Me too.
I'm going to have to insist on the "NonGMO" edition, however.

Enhance your horizons, Yolk.

Yes we can arrange for SDSU hats. They are great and have embroidered fish/birds etc on the side .

I believe there will be at least 3 at the future auction. I don't know for sure if it will happen before I hit Indiana or not. In my travels here internet will be hit or miss.

Thanks, esshup and ewest. Will watch for updates.

I'd like to get in a bottle of that Syrup spark. I had to leave before auction.

There will be a bottle available on the upcoming online auction.

Hey guys - the only win I had was a Willis Team tshirt, which I left in the bar trying to keep up with Sunil and Lusk that night. If anyone happened across it, let me know - I'll pay for shipping for it's safe return. I'm disappointed I blew it - I wanted to wear it proudly in Lincoln. Hotel is looking out for it too, so far, no calls.

Forgive the waffles, it was our first attempt.

Whatever winds up being bid on sprkplug's maple syrup is not enough. We had no clue real maple syrup tasted so good. The love and effort is on the inside of the bottle, and it's way to good to just sit it on the shelf as a memento.

You mean it's not spiked with high frutose corn syrup? Looks delicious Al.

Thanks, Al.

I had some and it was great!!!!!

Talked to Robin today. Very nice gal! Felt like we were old buddies! She told me about all the ice and how the southern folks don't know how to get around! I couldn't get thru on the number above but 903-564-6144 worked.

Bill D and others. I believe that the silent auction will have to wait until I get back to Indiana. Where I am at now, I have no internet, no cell phone. It's a dead area. I have to run to McDonalds in town to get a signal for the internet, and get in the truck and at least drive to the top of the hill to get cell signal to make a call or send/receive texts. The local provider basically locks out Verizon subscribers so driving to where I hit a different cell tower is the only option. I can get signal there if I want to get one of their phones and sign up with them. Ain't gonna happen.......

Still waiting.

EDIT 4-15: On it's way. I guess things got pretty busy there.

Robbin is the sweetest gal!

No problem with me. Not an emergency.

JKB, give the PB office a call. They have all the goodies. The new silent auction will have 30+ items in it, and it was decided to only do one a week to lessen the work load. I'll put up a listing of all the items, and what order they'll be auctioned off in. There are some hoops to jump thru on the PB office side in conjunction with SDSU in regards to getting the correct receipts for tax deduction purposes, and pictures/descriptions that have to be done. Problem is that now it's our (Pond Managers) busy season and this takes a back seat to the more important tasks of servicing our customers.

Talked to Robin today and it got shipped out, maybe this past Monday?, but they have been busy with everything going on around there.

From my conversation, this auction stuff is a definite back burner for this group at the moment.

It's really nice to pull stuff off on the added +side if you can, but changing direction with established commitments in hand... Maybe when it slows down.