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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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OP
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2 |
What are you most proud about your pond? Is it the giant bluegill you grow? The diversity of fish you have? How much other wildlife benefit from it? That you are able to allow underprivileged children to have a blast catching some fish? What gives you pride about your pond?
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529
Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529 |
The serenity of a pond is a joy to one's heart. Yesterday, I watched 10 or so Ringnecks come in for a graceful landing on my quiet pond; and I just stood there grinning.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 49
Junior Member
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Junior Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 49 |
For me, it's the satisfaction of taking on the project of renovating the pond my great grandfather built in 1920 with nothing more than a slip and a mule. In recent years a giant live oak uprooted taking out the dam leaving it at three feet max depth. Now I'm making something out of what was a half acre mud hole full of green sunfish and duck weed.
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712 Likes: 3
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712 Likes: 3 |
I've learned to swallow my pride . . . . . . and really enjoy them without any feelings of guilt!
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,809 Likes: 315
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,809 Likes: 315 |
Ken's posts always seem to make me hungry.
Why is that???
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,687 Likes: 892
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,687 Likes: 892 |
'cause you've tasted his cooking!
Nothing particular stands out except hearing "You grew that in there? I didn't know you could do that!"
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529
Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529 |
Okay, now that the thread has been hijacked, I hope that's lo-fat cooking oil you're using there. I might have to send in the Kitchen Police and take the food to our labs for further testing.
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,809 Likes: 315
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 13,809 Likes: 315 |
To answer CJ's question, I like seeing friends catch big fish in my pond. And further, the unknown of what is on the end of their line until they see it.
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 342
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 342 |
About 10 years ago, when my father-in-law was beginning to fail from cancer, he started telling me all the things he felt I needed to know about their land for when my wife inherited it from them. Things such as water cutoffs, how to drive their tractor, he made me go up in the attic to look at the heating/AC unit so I would feel comfortable doing it later, etc. One of the things he also instructed me to do was to walk down a certain ravine on the land and find the small spring that comes out of the ground and feel how cold the water is. He told me that he probably should have built a pond down there at some point in his life. That is where our 2 acre pond is now located.
"Our Life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, Simplify" -Henry David Thoreau -
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6
Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6 |
About 10 years ago, when my father-in-law was beginning to fail from cancer, he started telling me all the things he felt I needed to know about their land for when my wife inherited it from them. Things such as water cutoffs, how to drive their tractor, he made me go up in the attic to look at the heating/AC unit so I would feel comfortable doing it later, etc. One of the things he also instructed me to do was to walk down a certain ravine on the land and find the small spring that comes out of the ground and feel how cold the water is. He told me that he probably should have built a pond down there at some point in his life. That is where our 2 acre pond is now located. Captain that is a cool story for sure! I have only had my pond 3 years now. I love the stress free feeling I have when I am there. Sit down on the bench / soon to be deck have a fire and just watch and listen to what's going on around you! That seems to be more and more important in my life as I get older! I also love the face on my 8 year old when he catches a fish!! I love that!
Last edited by RC51; 02/09/12 12:52 PM.
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 15
Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 6,980 Likes: 15 |
I posted this months ago over at BBG, It's the best I can do at explaining how I feel about my ponds.
How about a true story that reads like a fairy tale?
In the early 1970's, my family liked to go camping at a little campground in the county where we lived. It was an awesome place, with 6 ponds/lakes, a playground, concession stand, ballfields, 90 acres of woods with hiking trails, dedicated swimming pond with diving boards and lifeguards, bathhouse with hot showers.... it was a weekend getaway for a lot of the local folks. It was owned by an older, local couple, who had built it all themselves, and took pride in maintaining it.
I remember camping there when I was so little that my mother held my hand when we walked, for fear that I would wander over into one of the ponds. She was then, and still is to this day, a Bluegill angler extraordinaire. In many families, it is the dad who is the outdoorsman, and while my father likes to fish, it is my mother who harbors a true passion for it. She instilled in me her love of this fiesty panfish, and the knowledge needed to pursue it.
The years passed, as they are prone to do, but we still camped there, and the Bluegill fishing was always great. The older couple who had built up the place thought it was becoming too much work, and decided to sell it so that they might enjoy retirement. The new owners made some changes, more bad than good, but still the Bluegill fishing was superb.
By now I was a teenager, and felt I no longer needed, or desired, my mother's tutelage where fishing was concerned. I fished many different waters, and although I caught fish, they never quite measured up to the old campground's Bluegills. The fish caught there were not only bigger, they were consistently bigger.... a rare combination.
More years passed, and the campground was showing it's age. The effort, and expense needed to maintain it proved too much for the owners, and it was sold yet again. This time, the new owners were not locals.. they moved here, a community of less than 2000 people, from Los Angeles, CA. City folks, whose family dream was to own and operate a campground in the country. They were ambitious, they were brave, and more importantly to me and this story, they had a very cute daughter three years younger than myself.
The new owners operated the campground for many years, and still I remained, although now, a passion other than Bluegills accounted for my presence. I proposed to the cute LA girl who lived at that campground, and this past August we celebrated our 22nd year together. We have two boys of our own, ages 8 and 11, and I'm doing my best to pass on to them what I've learned regarding my favorite fish. They are rapidly becoming accomplished anglers in their own right.
The campground? well, it's been closed for years. I still fish it, and spend many an hour cutting brush, mowing, and trying to keep it from growing wild. I am raising Hybrid Bluegills in the former swimming pond, and they are getting some size to them. My wife and I recently signed the paperwork to purchase the campground property from her parents.
Now, if there's anyone still reading this, is where my favorite memory of 2011 comes in. Earlier this Spring, my parents, now long since retired themselves, brought their travel trailer back to that old campground to spend a few days. I cleaned up a campsite for them, turned on the well and the electricity, and they were set. The boys and I went over one evening after work, so they could teach "granny" all about the hybrids that dad was raising. We took our gear, met granny, and started fishing.
It didn't take me long to see that catching big Bluegills was not going to be the high point of the evening, at least not for me. I put my rod up, sat down and just watched and listened. Granny spent most of her time baiting hooks and removing fish, even though they told her it wasn't necessary. They laughed, shouted excitedly, bragged about who caught the biggest fish, and generally just carried on. As I watched the three of them interact with each other, I almost felt like I had traveled back in time, and was watching a scene from my own childhood.
I was a kid again, thanks to some simple bluegill fishing.
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 3,794
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 3,794 |
What are you most proud about your pond? Is it the giant bluegill you grow? The diversity of fish you have? ........................................................... Yes to all of the above! After years of sport fishing in public waters, I discovered you could build a pond cheaper than buying boats and motors, not to mention expensive guide trips and blue water charters. I guess it’s my nature to try to do things that others won’t do and endure the mistakes and failures that ensure success. And thanks to my son Jeff that made all of this possible.
N.E. Texas 2 acre and 1/4 acre ponds Original george #173 (22 June 2002)
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6
Ambassador Lunker
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Ambassador Lunker
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,318 Likes: 6 |
I posted this months ago over at BBG, It's the best I can do at explaining how I feel about my ponds.
How about a true story that reads like a fairy tale?
In the early 1970's, my family liked to go camping at a little campground in the county where we lived. It was an awesome place, with 6 ponds/lakes, a playground, concession stand, ballfields, 90 acres of woods with hiking trails, dedicated swimming pond with diving boards and lifeguards, bathhouse with hot showers.... it was a weekend getaway for a lot of the local folks. It was owned by an older, local couple, who had built it all themselves, and took pride in maintaining it.
I remember camping there when I was so little that my mother held my hand when we walked, for fear that I would wander over into one of the ponds. She was then, and still is to this day, a Bluegill angler extraordinaire. In many families, it is the dad who is the outdoorsman, and while my father likes to fish, it is my mother who harbors a true passion for it. She instilled in me her love of this fiesty panfish, and the knowledge needed to pursue it.
The years passed, as they are prone to do, but we still camped there, and the Bluegill fishing was always great. The older couple who had built up the place thought it was becoming too much work, and decided to sell it so that they might enjoy retirement. The new owners made some changes, more bad than good, but still the Bluegill fishing was superb.
By now I was a teenager, and felt I no longer needed, or desired, my mother's tutelage where fishing was concerned. I fished many different waters, and although I caught fish, they never quite measured up to the old campground's Bluegills. The fish caught there were not only bigger, they were consistently bigger.... a rare combination.
More years passed, and the campground was showing it's age. The effort, and expense needed to maintain it proved too much for the owners, and it was sold yet again. This time, the new owners were not locals.. they moved here, a community of less than 2000 people, from Los Angeles, CA. City folks, whose family dream was to own and operate a campground in the country. They were ambitious, they were brave, and more importantly to me and this story, they had a very cute daughter three years younger than myself.
The new owners operated the campground for many years, and still I remained, although now, a passion other than Bluegills accounted for my presence. I proposed to the cute LA girl who lived at that campground, and this past August we celebrated our 22nd year together. We have two boys of our own, ages 8 and 11, and I'm doing my best to pass on to them what I've learned regarding my favorite fish. They are rapidly becoming accomplished anglers in their own right.
The campground? well, it's been closed for years. I still fish it, and spend many an hour cutting brush, mowing, and trying to keep it from growing wild. I am raising Hybrid Bluegills in the former swimming pond, and they are getting some size to them. My wife and I recently signed the paperwork to purchase the campground property from her parents.
Now, if there's anyone still reading this, is where my favorite memory of 2011 comes in. Earlier this Spring, my parents, now long since retired themselves, brought their travel trailer back to that old campground to spend a few days. I cleaned up a campsite for them, turned on the well and the electricity, and they were set. The boys and I went over one evening after work, so they could teach "granny" all about the hybrids that dad was raising. We took our gear, met granny, and started fishing.
It didn't take me long to see that catching big Bluegills was not going to be the high point of the evening, at least not for me. I put my rod up, sat down and just watched and listened. Granny spent most of her time baiting hooks and removing fish, even though they told her it wasn't necessary. They laughed, shouted excitedly, bragged about who caught the biggest fish, and generally just carried on. As I watched the three of them interact with each other, I almost felt like I had traveled back in time, and was watching a scene from my own childhood.
I was a kid again, thanks to some simple bluegill fishing.
Spkplug, That is awesome dude! Very cool story.
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 342
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 342 |
"I guess it’s my nature to try to do things that others won’t do and endure the mistakes and failures that ensure success." George - that is a very profound statement and one that I personally agree with.
"Our Life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, Simplify" -Henry David Thoreau -
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,189 Likes: 29
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,189 Likes: 29 |
sprkplug, seems like a good article for PondBoss. Should polish it up and have it published! Take some pictures...
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,186 Likes: 44
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,186 Likes: 44 |
Had you asked this question 6 months ago, I would have said something nice about Standing on the site where we will be building our retirement home in about 8 years and how at home and how right it felt to stand there and enjoy the beauty God had given me, but for now it has to be the look on my son's face when he caught the biggest LMB from our pond and how excited he was knowing that he finally beaten me (the pictures are in the image section). Watching him take that step towards manhood was cooler than he could know. I put up my rod after his catch just to make sure I did not accidentally beat his record. I also know that in about 25 years I will get to have a great conversation with him when his son catches the pond record and finally beats him. I expect a lot of true belly laughter on that day. It will be almost be as cool as the day I first held him.
Ponds are for sharing.
Brian
The one thing is the one thing A dry fly catches no fish Try not to be THAT 10%
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 37
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 37 |
Plain and simple....enjoying life and nature with family and friends!
The BEST investment I have made in my pond is subscribing to PondBoss!
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,100 Likes: 287
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,100 Likes: 287 |
Brian; pretty neat ambition.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,713 Likes: 35
Administrator Lunker
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Administrator Lunker
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,713 Likes: 35 |
The good life that we enjoy on Bremer Pond.
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,189 Likes: 29
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,189 Likes: 29 |
So far for me it has been the process of creating something new. Next step: Hopefully making it beautiful, functional, and fun.
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 30
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 30 |
The fact that after about a year and a half, tons of sweat equity and a couple of thousand dollars worth of excavator time and materials I was able to turn a completely silted in ancient pond into a little paradise with large trout swimming around in it :-)
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