I've been reading Pond Boss for several years (hand-me-down copies from a friend), and visiting the web site for several months in anticipation of one day owning some water of my own. It happened on July 1, when we closed on a 45 acre property near Honey Grove in NE Texas (in Fannin County, about halfway between Bonham and Paris). While the property itself is not too large, it does include a 12-acre lake entirely within my fenceline. The property was mentioned in a posting - Selecting a Site - on May 9th, and needless to say, that helped speed up the decision process. The lake is 34 years old, and has depths of up to 25 feet. There is a lot of sunken timber, creekbeds, and shallow flats. Also, a lot of trees that have fallen into the lake, creating some nice structure. An electroshock survey conducted in June showed pH of 6.5, alkalinity of 60ppm, and hardness of 40ppm. I'm still in the process of figuring out what all of this means, but my consultant told me that everything falls within acceptable ranges. Visibility is 12 inches. There is a lack of forage fish, and an overabundance of small bass. We'll be working on removing several hundred small bass, and stocking a large number of bluegill, perhaps in September. We're also going to add some fathead minnows and golden shiners as supplemental feed until the bluegill take hold, as there only appears to be bugs and other bass on the current menu. Needless to say, I'm really excited about the possibilities. I'm also thrilled to have a place in the country to take my three daughters, ages 9,7,5. In fact, the property has already paid for itself -- I watched my five year old catch her first fish last week! It was a fiesty green sunfish, and she followed it up with two small bass! Anyhow, I just wanted to introduce myself to the group. I enjoy reading all of the posts, and I look forward to asking many questions, and perhaps offering a few answers or suggestions, in the coming years. Also, please let me know your thoughts on the lake study results I mentioned above -- I always trust the crafty veterans (speaking of, I had the opportunity to meet Dave Davidson and his Padner (Trevor) this past weekend when he was kind enough to sell me an old canoe -- great guys!). I'll try to post some pics of the lake. Thanks.
