A Big thank you to Mr. Bob Lusk. The PB convention was ,I believe, a HUGE success!! I was able to gain alot of knowledge, and more importantly build relationships with some great people. The members of this forum family are amazing people. Bruce,dave,theo,ewest,wild bill, Bob, todd, sunil, George, and MANY others, (dont feel bad if i didnt write your name)are truly passionate about what they do and HOW they do it. I feel proud to have met so many wonderful guys and gals. The convention was informative ,organized (even with bruce's computer retardation), and most importantly GLORIOUS FUN. I cannot wait until next year!!! Everyone who was unable to attend, you MUST go next year. It is quite an experience putting a face and personality to a screen name. I just want to thank BOB for having the vision and dedication to do what he does for us. The speakers were awesome and the vendors where helpful and genuine. I know some lifelong bonds where started and hopefully will continue to grow and thrive. As much as the fishies in your ponds!!!

Fatty McButterpants

AKA Greg Thrower


PS Nice shirt Juicy Brucie!!! Still putting out the vibe I hope !!

Bob Lusk and the Pond Boss crew did a first class job on their first convention. The collection of talent assembled and topics covered was the best ever. Never before has this type of convention been done for pond owners and a big thank you is given for a job well done. The amount of effort put forth was evident in the results.

Job "well Done"
Tentmaker Farm---David Jennings

It was an incredibly well organized. It was incredibly informative. Best of all was putting faces with the many friendly people we know from the website.

I can't imagine how anything could have been done better.

And whoever came up with the idea of the lunch apron -- what a great idea.

Thanks to the whole PondBoss staff, to all of you who worked so hard on your great presentations, and to the vendors (this is gonna cost me money).

Ken and Lynda G.
Catmandoo Pond, WV

As usual, Fatty memorably communicated everything I wanted to convey. The convention was amazing, and I truly feel humbled and blessed to have shared information and ideas with such a dynamic, diverse, intelligent group of people who are as passionate about their ponds/tanks/lakes as I am. I know I built friendships that will last.

P.S.- All the rumors about Sunil are true.

David

I really enjoyed myself, The Speakers & Presentations were fantastic ! Nice to see everyone too

I had no idea that Mr. Lusk was a computer Guru too...in one of the break-out sessions, the computer screen was going berserk, flickering wildly...Bob took matters into his hands and fixed it ! He grabbed the cord like a big watersnake, firmly wrapped it twice around the microphone...the PowerPoint slide appeared, the screen functioned flawlessly !

My hat's off to all ! And thanks Ewest for the advice and the takeaways

Eastland - Russel Rosenberg

Fatty/Greg -- Kudos to you, Theo, and the rest of the moderator crew for that great support during Dr. Bruce Condello's presentation!

Ditto to what Fatty shared. It was great and really nice meeting all of you.

P.S. Bruce, when will you be marketing a LMB strain that preys ONLY on female BG so we don't have to go through the culling process to grow Humongus BG.

Yes, it was great to meet so many people and have direct access to so much knowledge. It was very well run and organized. I was glad to see, up-close and personal, many things I want to buy for this pond I will soon have, such as the floating islands, aerators, 3 different kinds of feeders, fish attractors, and much more.

It was well worth my getting only 4 hours of sleep Wednesday night, starting work at 5:00 AM, then driving to Dallas and arriving at the hotel about midnight, so I could be be at the conference, when the doors opened, on Friday. Then, driving back home Saturday night, so I could work some this Sunday.

If I had to pick on anything, it would be to have had a 20 minute talk on raising Catfish in small ponds, but I gleaned many tidbits scattered throughout the multitude of other presentations.

Great job and well done!
Thanks for the classy new BBQ apron, too!
Kevin

I only got to attend Friday due to family commitments Saturday but am glad I went. The conference was well planned and packed with info -- well worth the trip from KC, MO. I am hoping info on the video of entire conference will be headed our way!

Thanks again for everyone's effort!

Nick

Fatty needs a new moniker. He ain't fat. Of course, I'll always think of him as Fats McB.

DaveD you were a blast, A true representation of a good ole texas boy!!!

Thank you, Bob Lusk!

Where do I start? First thanks! I think most everyone will talk about how great it was to match faces with names, to hangout together, to learn as I did from many of the speakers. However it was even more for me and I did not even realize it until I got home. Cody you know me usually quick answers mostly b/c I’m not a wordsmith and pretty busy. However wanted to tell a little story to express what I gained from this meeting. Matt also said to tell everyone what a great time he had. He is now trying to figure out a good name for posting on here.

We arrived in ATL to unreal heat 90 degrees (about 20 higher than normal). I kinda hated to land b/c I was just getting into Bob’s new book. I was the first paid customer btw and proud of it. Our baggage was lost for a brief period but that gave time for my wife to bring in Wyatt my 9 month old. What a feeling to see a smile that big and reaching out for hugs and to be held once he figures out who you are. Once we got home Wyatt and I both took a nap (rare event for me).

After a nap we loaded up in the stroller. We took a walk down to the new fifth pond, tiny one and saw our first fish in there, some fatheads stocked on Friday, cool. Wyatt noticed all the tadpoles as well. Then threw out some food for the hungry trout in pond #2. Wyatt giggled as they feed like crazy since not being fed sicne thursday. From there up the hill to my neighbors pond that my house over looks. I thought this thing needs some fertilizer asap it is so clear. No problem with that however on this day it allowed me to see some amazing things. A big fat crappie was hanging out in the edge of a tree I cut down last year.

Then a school of 6-7 inch bass came by and I thought Lusk would call those teenage punks looking to cause trouble. I saw no less than 30 bass in the next 15 mins as well as 8 different beds being guarding by the males. The weather while I was gone had fired up the fish. I watched a bluegill suck in some algae then spit it out, what Cody did he just consume? I know there was some zooplankton mixed in there. Just beside the male bluegill was a female redear well over 10 inches pulling in gravel substrate and spitting it out I watched it several times, prepping her bed.

We walked back into the cove and there a big 3 lb female was being swarmed by a smaller ¾ lb male bass. Man did she have some awesome patterns. Wyatt could see some of this but also enjoyed the new stick he found he chewed on it like it was a cookie. The dogs were running and rustling in the leaves while I could hear water running into the pond from the upstream source as it trickled over the rocks. We saw a woodie fly in but flew away as Wyatt said “bah” as he pointed at it. I guess they might be using that wood duck box after all. We even got to see a heron fly in and I did not even get upset to see him.

Wyatt pointed as Xena the bird dog (you know they normally do not like to swim) was making a loop around the pond I guess to cool off. We walked back down the hill close to the road just in time to see the Belted Callaway cows the locals call them oreo cows black white then black. They were walking really close to the road. Along came the zebra donkey mix (folks stop on weekend to take pictures) that keeps guard over the cows, Wyatt never got see them better than this. We were about to head back home when the guinea chickens flew close by making that crazy call they make, Wyatt just laughed. I got home and we were gone about an hour and told my wife that was about the coolest hour I have ever had.

I know I would not have enjoyed it so much if it was not for this meeting. I enjoy what I do but am rushed for time on most pond sites. I did not even realize the meeting until then helped me to gain back the passion for ponds and the outdoors that I had when I got into this business. All of this really happened does it happen every day and I just miss it. Either way THANKS EVERYONE! I will try to take some time in my busy schedule to enjoy this wonderful field I work in.

I would have to say one of the funnest things I saw was during Cody's presentation on Panfish Sampling.

It was his litte work boat/dinghy. That is the funniest thing I ever saw!. The thing looked like a death trap for any non-swimmer. Seeing him in there pulling up a fish cage had the whole audience roaring. Accoring to Bill, it's a very stable work craft, but I have my doubts.

As other folks have indicated, most all people are very similar to how they present themselves on the forum. Accordingly, I expected Cody to be a very serious guy with every spoken word having the weight of a battleship.

To everyone's benefit, that is not the case at all. Not that he is not packed with knowledge, but more so that his passion shows through as if we're all little kids again.

What was one of the jokes he told??? "Kinky is using a feather.....sick is using the whole chicken?"???

All in all, the whole thing was a pretty heady experience.

As for Ray Scott, what a guy...but if you don't have 15-20 minutes to spare, don't try and introduce yourself with the expectation that he's just going to shake your hand and move on.

Man, hearing all this stuff really makes me bummed that I missed it all. Are tickets on sale for next year yet?

Yeah Shawn...I'm right there with ya. Missed it all myself. Aw well, got the prairie grass mowed down (after fixing the Bush Hog blades), the trail mower all snazzed up (new paint and all) and managed to fry up 15 lbs of CC and BG filets for some family friends yesterday. It was a great weekend...but sad I missed out on the meeting.

Maybe next year... :p

I came up from Houston, with the dirt worker that's been on the hook to sculpt my small piece of the planet, before the rains began last August. I thought it would be a good opportunity for him to meet folks, understand the passions of the people he works for, and get us on the same page.

Well, it did more than that. He is now fired up about working on the 2 acre pond, behind his house and making a trophy Bass Lake out of it. I've volunteered my newbie knowledge and physical assistance, but, also and honestly, with the idea in the back of my mind to have me another fishing hole in the area. My funding and watershed are still limiting me to a .5 acre pond that I plan to expand later.

This conference was a fantastic experience for me. Friday, I was wishing it was for 3 days, because I had so much I wanted to see and folks I wanted to talk with. Saturday afternoon, I was wishing for a nap and not wanting to leave to go back to the concrete jungle of Houston.

This was a hugely motivating experience. I can't wait to get moved up to the thriving, caution light metropolis, of Evergreen, Texas!

The convention was great!! As a pond owner and forum lurker I am amazed at the sense of community shown in real life at the meetings. Every moderator or speaker that I asked for advice was forthcoming and glad to help.
I can't wait for the DVD so I can "attend" the sessions that I missed. I might suggest for next year that the speakers have printed handouts of their charts, links, outlines, etc. I would also like to hear some talks on ponds with goals other than monster LMB, such as kids/wives/guests ponds for the fun of catching, catfish in the mix, and more on the accounting and legal aspects of management.
I learned from every session but the best tidbit I took home is the suggestion to carry a bag of native grass seed in your pickup to sprinkle on hog wallows and create little food plots. The best quote was to the effect that management is basically the same both above and below the water line regarding habitat. Thanks again to all of the organizers and speakers.

Thank you everyone for a wonderful experience. For me, the conference was summed up after it was over. Informally, Bob had everyone gather around and talked about the magazine and the forum. Three comments stood out.

Greg Grimes talked about how much it meant to him that over 100 peopled congratulated him on the birth of his son and how much that meant to him.

Cecil Baird talked about how he is on other forums that are very mean spirited and that this forum is one of the few that isn't.

Dave Willis nodded to Dr. Anderson and said that they thought that they had small pond management pretty well nailed down while Dr. Anderson was at Missouri. Now, he said that small pond management is bursting forth with new ideas due to this forum.

There were so many wonderful people at this conference but I want to single out one person. That is Bill Cody. You can't appreciate how funny and knowledgeable his is until you meet him in person.

Thank you again to everyone for contributing so much to this conference.

Greg...thanks for taking the time to type what was on my mind today...now I don't have to.

I echo very similar feelings...a renewed passion for what I do. A lot of folks romanticize our job, but truth is we hardly have time to enjoy the ponds we manage. Just today, while visiting with clients, it was refreshing to look into the water the same way I did when I began this career.

Words don't do justice to the great group of folks Pond Boss has brought together.

Can't wait for next year's conference. ...there will be another conference, won't there?

Cheers,

Trent

Norm,
I have to agree with you about Bill Cody. I still have my seatbelt fastened from the "tour of the pond". Now if I can figure out how to get myself back to normal size so the BG don't look so big (or maybe I am just still seeing Condello's BG in my head and wishing I had some like it).
Mike

For others information, Sunil was impressed with my small work-sampling boat. Here is a photo of it in action. I am the guy in the small photo. The boat is an exceptionally stable boat for its size. The one in the photo is the third one that I made, each one has an improvement. In the future I plan to put the plans and details of how I built it in Pond Boss magazine.



Regarding the joke Sunil referred to at the convention, I will not retell it here. See me at the next Pond Boss Convention for a one-on-one replay.

Bill,
That would be much appreciated and useful for me and my less than acre pond. It will have to be limed, periodically, along with maintaining 2 floating islands, and aerators.

I look forward to that issue, along with all the others.

Best Wishes,
Kevin

I spent 45 minutes working from the canoe tonight and Bill's boat is DEFINITELY more stable than that.

Just got back in town a few minutes ago and would have to say I had the time of my life even if Sunil did try and kill me the very first night! I met so many wonderful people and can say there wasn’t a stranger in the bunch. Thanks to all the Moderators for their extra efforts and George for taking the time to share all his great wisdom and knowledge. Already looking forward to seeing everyone next year.

Oh yea, great boat Bill and your Panfish Sampling Breakout was my favorite.

Robert.

My first full day back from the convention I DID NOT WANT TO DO taxidermy so I tinkered with the ponds all day. When the wife asked me how my day was I said "fine."

Unfortunately i can only get away with this so long until the bills are due!

I know the feeling and I wish I could have gone to the ponds today. Had to work to pay those bills. Maybe we need a recovering convention pondaholics group.

That's where I've been for the last two days, just kicked back at the ponds.

I'm back in the grinder today ; a good reminder why I NEED MY POND!!!!

The convention was great! Bob and everyone else that put this together deserves a big round of applause. I want to thank everyone that was willing to spend time answering my questions especially George. He taught me how to tie the pellet fly and I have already caught fish with it. I also want to thank Sherman for his tax advice and also the guys at sweeny for fixing my fish feeder out in the parking lot. I will see you all next year.

I was just worried sick all weekend, what if you drank too much and didn't eat right, what if you spent too much time talking to the guys and ignored your wives, what if you stayed up too late and didn't get the proper amount of sleep?
I tell you it was a tough weekend and to top it all off somebody thought that since you were at the convention that it would be a good idea to take the forum down for "routine maintenance" so I wasn't even able to check on you to make sure you were alright. And now all I hear is "Great this", "Great that", you had a "Great" time and never gave me a thought.

It sounds as if you guys had way too good of a time. Wish I had been there, I do envy you.

Rad, great post! Like your sense of humor.

Hey Bob, how about a Super-Saver Group Discount for a 4-Day, 2nd Annual Pond Boss Conference in Thailand?

Just wanted to express some words of thanks to All who attended the conference for the warm welcome & words of encouragement. A special Thanks to Trent & Emily Lewis for getting my presentation loaded. I'm not very handy with computers yet. Never took or spent much time with them, that's about to change. Who was the first face I would see, you got it -- Sunil. It was an exciting weekend - bar none! The air was full of electricity & limitless knowledge. Ed Eitel's ranch is a must see for me. Sherman Wyman & I shared some special thoughts on dove hunting. So much to say, so little time. A BIG High Five to Bob & staff for an outstanding job WELL DONE! Thanks for all the faces & memories!!

Mongo,

Because of you, I plan to take the tractor into the woods this weekend to start digging little "wildlife" ponds everywhere I figure I can trap water.

I was also planning on burning about 50 pine trees I recently took off my dam (that's a whole nother story). Because of your presentation, these pine trees will become brush piles in my 5-acre food plot "meadow."

Thanks for your great presentation.

Ken

Mongo glad you posted. Like you the first PB person I saw was Sunil. Man he did a great job of keeping the networking up and going. Plus he bailed out a few folks with computer help. I just hope you guys didn't charge to much to his card. Sunil if its to bad call for reinforcements.

Yeah, Sunil was Mr. Generosity....and Mr. Social Director. Thanks Sunil! You were the one who turned the convention into a party.

That's enough sap for me now, but thanks...my pleasure.

I have a theory about why everyone of us got along so well. I'll have to compose my thoughts and make an offering.

Sunil wasn't the first PBer I saw; I was on the same flight as Ted Lea. But who was standing outside the hotel when our shuttle (with 5 conventioneers in it) pulled up? Sunil (with a Corona).

He may be more than one person; that would explain how "they" can handle all that beer.

You're not kidding, Theo. Sunil was the first PBer I saw as well. "They" sure know how to make you feel at ease and throw a party. Seriously though, Sunil was the glue that kept us together outside of the convention activities. Sunil, you are awesome!