As I'm sure none of you have noticed...I've been fairly absent on the forum lately.

I've probably spent 20% of the time with this great group that I did over the last 4-5 years.

I've spent approximately 2,000 hours starting a new dental office. The timing was right, and I was able to pull this off in no small part due to the incredible help from many of my fellow Pond Bossers.

So thank you.

As soon as things started to settle down at the new office, I was put on high alert by my family that they were tired of the half hour drive to the farm. They loved the farm, but they just weren't going that much, and they wanted to create a different situation.

So I started looking to change things.

I know I'm being a tease, but I'm pretty sure I just hit a grand slam home run. It took a lot of work, and a lot of luck, and a great wife with a great eye....and serendipity. And God.

Mostly God.

So, back to being a tease....

I don't want to jinx myself before things are actually closed, but I think we've got the property of our dreams.

More later.

But thanks for still being my friend even though I've gone mostly AWOL for a few months. I'll be back eventually in full force.

Sorry, but finding the farm of your dreams is just unforgivable.

(kidding)

All I can say is, congrats, Bruce! I'll say a prayer that everything works out and you get the place - if it's the one you teased us with photos of a day or two ago, it looks truly like paradise.

A big congrats Bruce. God and a good wife are a good combo to have on your team. Can't wait to hear the details of the place.

Congrats! Now what makes me think this has something to do with the missing "Map" thread???

Please don't let this go the way of the "new fish food" thread!

I hope I didn't dash my chances of getting some Condello strain BG next year.

Wow, Wife and daughters moving further from the Malls.

Life is all about living your dreams and being happy every moment that you can. Good luck..............

Bruce,

When you enlist the powers of the "A" team, you can't go wrong!

Well it's a good thing that you publicly apologized. I had begun recruitment for a disciplinary squad that was going to exact revenge for your transgressions over the past year. Absenteeism from this forum is not taken lightly. I guess now the squad shall be placed on hold pending your promise to improve you time commitment here.

Do not disappoint us however. As soon as the "property of your dreams" is closed you must post aerial and ground photos, interior and exterior photos and a topography map. You must describe the property in uncompromising detail. You must make up a limerick about your lameness and post that on pond boss as well. Until these tasks have been completed you will be placed on top secret double probation.

Speaking now from a personal perspective, and temporarily ignoring my role as an elite member of the disciplinary squad, I congratulate you. Starting a new business is extremely time consuming and stress inducing task in and of itself add to that the prospect of moving and that increases your stress exponentially. I did the same thing, I stared my own practice in 1995 and moved my residence 1996, so I can sympathize with your plight. I hope you get that property, you absolutely deserve it.

PS
Don't take my personal comments as weakness, the disciplinary squad shall exact it's punishment should you not adhere to our conditions.

Theo, Brettski and Sunil we can place the thumbscrews, water board and cat-o-nine tails back into storage. Oh and Theo, can you make sure that Brettski actually puts the cat-o-nine tails back into storage, I noticed that he has nearly worn this one out with his "personal research projects."

Owwie!

Owwie indeed, and the limerick better be good!

I've never been to Nantucket.

There was once a Pondmeisiter from Lincoln
Found a forum that got him to thinkin'
He'd spend time with the folks
Who knew puddles the most
To stop his fish from dyin' and stinkin'

That is acceptable. Bravo!

Best I could do under a five minute time constraint.

Congrats, thought I'm not sure what God had to do with it.

You'd be shorting yourself on credit unnecessarily.

You stole that one, you know?

Bruce good luck !!!!!!

I spent half an hour looking for "the missing "Map" thread??? " to see what happened.

Assuming you get a new place then what happens to the Condarossa?

It was definitely a high value target!

Conderosa is for sale. I'm going to talk to Bob to see if I can advertise it on this forum.

So then you would be relocating the Condello Institute for the Creation of Ludicrously Proportioned Blue Gills?

I think you just did.

What about the fish will you transfer them ? I realize this is jumping the gun but what are the plans ? Dad's Pond ?

For you know whos sake how big is the new hole? That's enough to hold us in wait for now.

Big Bluegill Master,
Bought four point seven acres,
And found a new life.

Lots of good fodder for the conference.

New lake is 15 acres. Plenty of room for a few other fun stuff, including raising a few CSBG.

Luckily I have about eight local ponds nearby that have nothing but CSBG at this time!

If only someone could provide Bruce with a displayable image from his Google Map. (Sigh)

I did the same thing. I may be to blame for him shutting it down when I mentioned that my in-laws lived close. "Shut up Dude, you're jinxing the deal!"

I still can't get the map to show up on this site.

Poop.

Holey moley Congrats Tooth Doctor.. What a place

Congrats Bruce. Enjoy it to the maximum as I know you can and will. Great place

Bruce,

Hope the deal goes through flawlessly!

I've hired armed guards to prevent the CSBG from escaping the new holding facility when you're ready. Many are requesting an early parole this fall and most will be released next spring.

Congrats Bruce! I can't even imagine how big the CSBG and HSB will grow in your new LAKE!

15 acres!!! That's huge. Now you can REALLY be dangerous!!

Fantastic, Bruce. I can't wait to see how big your mutant bluegill get with that much water to roam.

Here's a view from the building site.



And a view from the water's edge. I know some of you guys have stuff like this all over the place, but my area is relatively featureless.



Actually this only shows about the last two acreas at the very tip of a "C" shaped 15 acre lake.

How cool is that? How deep is the lake, looks very dark, must be deep.

Wow, that just screams small bass!!! Any idea what the fish community is like in the lake already, or is it virgin territory for you to bring to life?

It drops off immediately to 12-18 foot depths. There is virtually no littoral habitat, which is fine with me.

Believe it or not, I'm absolutely not interested in managing the BOW. It's fine the way it is, and if I involve myself in it, then if something goes wrong I'm to blame.

The currently philosophy seems to be working just fine, which is to maintain a complete C & R fishery for LMB (tigers, from what I'm told). This seems to be yielding the classic low Wr LMB population, with nice panfish potential.

CJBS is right on the money.

Current residents report some catches of larger individual LMB, which I'd assume are the cannibals.

I think I'll stick to managing the forty or so ponds on my list right now and let this one continue on it's merry path.

I would go further than nice and say it has incredible bluegill potential if it has no shallow areas. There's a little lake in AL like that by the name of Ketona...

Bruce what about your fish (the hand picked best of the best) and you Dad's pond ?

Ahh, a quarry/gravel pit. That usually means less productive water, which doesn't equal big or at least monstrous bluegills. Thus, we will see the Condello initiative up and rolling again. Will it be feeding, will it be fertlization, will it be other???? Can he really let this one take its course without active management? Meanwhile, what a gorgeous resource with that wonderful water quality. It will be a pleasure for you to sit on the porch in the evening and see that site, Dr. Bruce!

http://www.finefishing.com/1freshfish/aaspecies/panfish/bgillrec.htm

Lake Ketona is an old limestone quarry; it produced the current and former world-record bluegills, four pounds twelve ounces caught by T.S. Hudson in 1950 and four pounds ten ounces caught by Coke McKenzie in 1947. It has steep banks with little shallow water, along with a very high density of bass; biologists who studied the lake concluded that the steep banks that drop quickly into deep water were one of the major factors that led to the unusual growth of the bluegill due to limited spawning areas.

At the bottom of this page is an underwater photo of some bluegill in a rock quarry in OH that according to the photo's caption are in the three-pound class; using the diver's hand for comparison, at least a couple of them look to be 13" or better:

http://www.internationallegendsofdiving.com/PastEvents/2007wrap.htm

Here's a 2004 press release from the KY DNR which notes that the largest bluegill submitted to the state Trophy Fish program that year, 1lb. 15 oz., came from a rock quarry:

http://www.kdfwr.state.ky.us/022704.asp

Walt that was in AL. and is described as a phosphate pit and a limestone quarry. Phosphate = very fertile water in the south when limestone is present. Most of the Northern pits (Dave's reference) are not like that and they have low water fertility (rock , gravel and granite pits). There are only a small % of pits in the US that have limestone and phosphate together with good water (Fla has a bunch). IMO the difference is in the water fertility primarily and to a lesser extent the reduced competition for BG food (LMB crowded) not so much because of steep banks (little BG spawning area). In a LMB crowded pond the BG fry/sub adults are almost totally eaten whether BG spawning is high or very low. The biggest predator of BG fry are other larger BG by a wide margin. They in turn are eaten by the LMB.

Now if Bruce feeds and fertilizes he may have a pit that is close to those you mention as Dave suggests. That will be interesting because while he may have similar water conditions he may not have the growing season length but could have a life span advantage. Interesting to see how this unfolds.

Bruce, I just checked the property out on Google Earth. Some real nice farm land in the area as well. Maybe some of your new neighbors will give you permission to hunt? I am sure there is some excellent, deer, upland game bird and waterfowl hunting in the area!

The Ohio site mentioned:



The use of Portage Quarry as a business dated back to the late 1800s when the limestone was highly valued for its level of dolomite. It was reported that there was no purer dolomite in the world. Dolomite was used for building stones and an aggregate in concrete and asphalt for roads. Geologists report that this type of Niagara limestone indicated that it originated as an enclosed or isolated portion of the sea basin.



That plus fertile soil will yeild those BG you see.

What's the bet that Bruce will just have to do something to the lake?

10:1 odds he won't be able to be hands off...

Dock at least???

My initial sampling, done by angling, showed LMB relative weights in the 75-85 range, and bluegill Wr's in the 80-90 range.

LMB seemed clustered around 12-13 range with some fish in the 17 inch range. Mostly what I could gather was from multitudes of fish just swimming by. They seemed to be unintimidated by my presence. Low angling pressure will do that.

The bluegill were mostly in the 7-8.5 inch range. Some of the BG X GSF hybrids were close to 10 inches. One reliable report stated that there was a black crappie caught that was 14 inches just a couple of days earlier.

Sounds interesting... When do you close on the property?

Granted, Eric, limestone is great for fertility, hence the practice of liming; but I've never read anything about the Ketona Lakes being former phosphate pits, and I just re-read (twice) the article I linked to and there's no mention of such; I wouldn't think a limestone quarry could also be a phosphate pit. I read the article in Outdoor Life that's referenced in the article linked above when the former came out, and it didn't say anything about the lakes ever being phosphate pits.

The Ketona lakes would seem not to be overly fertile, because Coke McKenzie said that one could see the bottom in ten feet of water. That's not much of a plankton bloom. Some biologists from the state of AL did a study of the lake in an effort to determine what made the bluegill grow so large; they even transplanted some of the bluegill to other area lakes thinking that their genetics must be better; but they concluded it was the high bass density, and the absence of spawning areas, that accounted for the difference in size. They did allude to the positive effect of the limestone; they also mentioned that McKenzie's fish was nine years old, which is three years older than what they had previously believed a bluegill in the region could live to be. The longevity factor obviously will help Bruce, as you noted.

I agree that it should be very interesting to see how Bruce's elysium unfolds, to say the least. Isn't 8" a little above average for bluegill in that region that aren't being managed, Bruce? I think I'd have a very hard time not managing that sweet of a BOW if I owned it.

No shallow water not only limits bluegill spawning - and fewer bluegill fry means the overcrowded bass can thin them more drastically than if there were many, as is normal - but it also means there's no refuge for the fry and mid-sized bluegill alike to escape predation, no small factor in itself.

In-Fisherman

"Pits created by mining operations often fill with rainwater, springwater or groundwater from the water table. Where water chemistry is suitable, bass and many other species thrive. Pits are typically deep and clear, with manmade structure such as shelves, roadbeds, mine shafts, and spoil piles.

Biomass is usually low due to infertile conditions, but trophy fish are possible. Some Florida phosphate pits are fertile and produce extraordinary bass fishing where the harvest is controlled. And the world-record 4-pound, 2-ounce bluegill was caught in Ketona Lake, a flooded limestone mine in Alabama."

The Fla lakes waters flow through natural limestone formations into the old phosphate pits so the two in common happens.

In much of the south the limiting factor in water fertility is acidity ( the lack of limestone). Once lime is added nothing else is required. Some locations require P but others do not. That is why it is necessary to know your watershed/water and not just blindly add fertilizer.

Here is another report on Ketona:

"Biologists, eager to learn the quarry’s secrets, sampled its bream and found no genetic reason for the massive fish. They did, however, find an environment suitable for producing big bream. There was nothing magical: The habitat had just the right combination of minerals, population control and fishing pressure.



According to biologists, the presence of limestone promotes high growth rates and higher productivity, because it enhances nutrients."


The point is all pits , like all ponds are different. Those that are old hard mineral pits (rock ,aggregate , granite etc) are usually infertile. As noted by IN-Fisherman.That was the point Dave and I were making.

Looks like Bruce already has a good handle on the fish populations!

"Looks like Bruce already has a good handle on the fish populations!"

We would expect no less.

I expect that he already has some of them measured , weighed and named by now !!! A few may even have been moved to his bathtub ! -

At 15 acre, the crappie may be a little easier to manage. Are you glad there are crappie or upset with the challenges they may give you in managing them?

I do realize that some pits are infertile and thus not very productive; I would never dispute that. I just was differing with the statement that a pit could not produce monster bluegill, which obviously is not true. I agree a hundred percent that not all pits are created equal.

But I do think it's important to note that the biologists who studied the lakes concluded that one of the two main factors in the unusual size of the bluegill was limited spawning areas. That's their conclusion, not mine, though I've observed the same thing, i.e. ponds with lots of shallow water are much more likely to be overpopulated with bluegill.

I like crappie, so I would love to have a nice sustainable crappie fishery, however I've been told that the few that are in there are a result of a stocking a few years ago, and there are no small individuals.

I guess either the bass density is so high that their reproduction is being suppressed, or they don't have adequate spawning substrate.

Like I said before...I really don't want to manage this fishery. Too much pressure. If something went wrong I'd be to blame. I just want to blend in and be one more good steward of the pit.

I will however be proactive if the other members want to establish and/or reinforce existing plans to keep nutrients down. I love the minimal fertility they currently have. Really nice clarity, which I appreciate quite a bit.

The best of both worlds Bruce.

Ponds you manage and a lake that you can look out and admire with minimal concern for it's care---Able to gain the pure enjoyment of it!!

You are a blessed man!

Seems like all the rock, SMB would do well in there. Not sure if they could hold their own in a lake 15 acres with LMB though? I just can't believe you're not gonna put some HSB in there!

Will you own the whole lake or is there shared ownership? With your talent and knowledge Bruce, I doubt you would damage the fishery. But with 40 other ponds to manage I can understand the hands off mentality...

There's an association with several other members. They all seem pleased with the fishery as it stands, so I'll quietly sit by. If they ever ask me for advice I'll have plenty.

Ah, that explains it! I couldn't fathom why Bruce wasn't going to amp up those bluegill to state-record sizes. But an owner's association is a pretty good reason.

Been in those shoes... You're either the hero, or someone that everyone complains to. I can now completely understand the hands off approach!

Bruce will you have any small ponds that are yours to manage on the property. You may sense my concern of losing all the work and science from the Condorosa? Will you continue that (like the RAS and data collection) at the new location or others ? If not I understand , times change and life moves onward and upward.

I know that Brucille says he's not going to manage the large BOW.

I am willing to place money on it that he will not be able to resist the larger BOW.

I submit that Brucille is not capable of denying the call to duty of any BOW.

He may think he is, but I think we all know better.

I think he'll have a hard time resisting the urge to give those 8" bluegill some new friends with the initials CSBG...And then he'll want to make sure the CSBG get fed...And so on, and so on...

Heck he even manages carp in the bathtub !!! -

I blame you for everything that goes wrong on my pond so what difference does it make?

Actually that makes perfect sense to me, management by committee is no fun, just ask 2cat.

You guys are funny.

I suspect in addition to indoor tank activities, Bruce, you will succumb to experimenting outside again. Hopefully there are no covenant restrictions against small ponds filled with large fish. You have shown that some remarkable work can be done in BOW 1/10 acre and down (I am specifically thinking of the large exterior bathtub with trout, on the bottom end of the scale).

I don't think that Mrs. Condello is gonna look too kindly on bathing outside with trout, OTOH, she did marry Bruce so I would imagine that she might be more tolerant of this type of activity that other spouses.

"Honestly, Honey, it's a jacuzzi. See all the bubbles?"

I wonder if I could pull that off for a minnow farm?

Walt said: "I do realize that some pits are infertile and thus not very productive; I would never dispute that. I just was differing with the statement that a pit could not produce monster bluegill, which obviously is not true. I agree a hundred percent that not all pits are created equal.

But I do think it's important to note that the biologists who studied the lakes concluded that one of the two main factors in the unusual size of the bluegill was limited spawning areas. That's their conclusion, not mine, though I've observed the same thing, i.e. ponds with lots of shallow water are much more likely to be overpopulated with bluegill."

Walt, you certainly make valid points. Any time we generalize, we can always find exceptions. That’s one of the darn hardest things about being an educator, actually. I hope you realize that I just fired off a quick note, trying to “gig” Dr. Condello a little about his future challenges.

Yes, some pit-type waters are more fertile than others (the phosphate and limestone pits come to mind). Also, even the infertile ones tend to get more fertile with time. Yes, record fish could come from any water body (even the ones I discuss below). A unique individual can always show up nearly anywhere. I certainly did not mean to generalize to the point to discount Walt’s point on this. By monstrous, I was thinking of those huge, PLUMP Condello bluegills that I had held in my hands! Again, just typing quickly and not trying to write a scientific paper.

Having said that Walt is right, I will also stand behind part of what I said. In our part of the Midwest, which I will call SD to CO to KS and back up to MN (those are the places where I have experience with the pits), sand or gravel pits that are dug into the water table are relatively infertile compared to hill ponds in those same areas that are indeed on fertile soils. I think part of this infertility comes from the ground water movement through the ponds. In addition, these tend to be very attractive waters – blue, clear, you can see fish, etc. My wife would love for us to own a pit and build a house at such a location. The typical steep sides for the pits lead to effective predation by fish such as largemouth bass on panfish such as bluegill, just as Walt said.

OK, do I have any evidence? Well, when I posted the original note, I was thinking that productivity = standing crop. You could argue that, too, and say it is too general. However, SD hill ponds and small impoundments averaged about 70 pounds per acre for largemouth bass in a study we did; maximum was about 100 pounds per acre. In contrast, we did a population estimate on largemouth bass, in a crowded population, on a very pretty 13-acre sand/gravel pit that was long established, and the biomass estimate was only 33 pounds per acre. George Bennett, the old IL Natural History Survey biologist reported similar results, although I won’t dig up his old papers.

When great pondmeisters like Dr. Bruce manage for big bluegills, they really like to produce those with high Wr values. The Condello bluegills have those Wr values of 130 or 140 or 150! Those are the truly cool fish that he produces. It is very difficult to do that in less fertile waters. Exceptions again occur, of course, such as when people use a feeding or fertilization program. So, that really was my point. I was just trying to josh around with Bruce, but there was some validity to my story.

Edit: What do we always say? 'It all depends....'

And then, we have intensity of management as a huge factor.

To me, the perfect pond, is usually one with fertile soils, good management, a dependable water supply and a liberal application of cash.

Dont be surprised to see a large feeder bolted to the rocks in the near future. Then a black hose running down into the deep, dark water...and 90% of the fish in the lake concregated in the area...in their private condellominiums.

Congrats big guy and gals.

And no GSF (couldn't resist).

My report card:

Fertile soils = check

Good management = not even in my wildest imagination (and that's pretty wild).

dependable water supply = yea, right, third drought year in a row.

Liberal application of cash = you've got to be kidding. I stocked $1,000 of fish three years ago, plus probably $500 in chemicals over a three year period. So that's $1,500 spend on a three acre pond in almost four years of ownership, or $375 per year or about $125 per acre of pond per year. Dang my fish are almost abused.

Ok so I'm 1 for 4.

So perhaps a D- if the grading is liberal.

Yea,but if you add in the maitinance on the deathstar it pushes you up into the top ten percent.

That doesn't count Tom. All of the GSA stuff is for national security and whatnot.

Dr. Willis, thanks for your time on that explanation.

We are very lucky and accordingly very grateful to have your participation here.

I second that notion.

Plus 1.875 (because my opinion should count for almost two people).

Thanks, guys. You'all know that I learn more than I leave here.

Perfect timing, though. I was just finishing a big pot of gumbo, wife asked a question about the meeting, so we came to the forum to find the program, and of course I had to check a few of the other threads. Now on to JHAP and his Sacramento perch!!

1. You must learn an incredible amount, then.

2. Y'all Southern Dakotans spell y'all funny.

you'all = northern version of y'all without the drawl.

I must have missed that episode of "Grammar Rock".

Dave Willis said in part: "I think part of this infertility comes from the ground water movement through the ponds."

I have a dug pond on the property, and about 50% of the bottom of the pond is below the water table level when we dug it. I notice that the water seems to clear up pretty quickly, and it doesn't seem to keep an algae bloom going for very long.
It will vary in size from 1 3/4 ac to 1 ac depending on the time of the year. Right now it's dropped almost 10" since the last rain 2 weeks ago. (very sandy soil, and only ran into clay at 9' down, but that was mixed with gravel)

Given that scenario, do you have any suggestions on fertilization application rates and timing? The pond is located 30 miles SW of South Bend, IN.
Thanks!

My cousin recently moved to NC, and wanted to know what the plural of y'all was.....

y'all's or you-uns. either is acceptable

y'all is the plural - dude, yo, or hey bro is the singular.

"yous guys"

In central PA it's "yuns".

In Texas its "buy your own beer".
Bill,any chance you could email me a bowl of that gumbo?Im hungry.

Esshup -- I have no experience to help with a fertilization plan for a sand pit. I also have never seen any technical information or a study on such an effort. I did see some calculations one time on one pit, and it had about a 3-week turnover time, meaning the entire water volume was exchanged once per 3 weeks by groundwater flow. That's probably about the minimum time to get the fertilize in, and see a response from the algae to get some energy moving up your food web.

Let's see if any of our good field folks can help. N8ly, Greg Grimes, Bill Cody, and Bob Lusk come to mind. Don't want to offend anyone by not mentioning names, so please chime in if there is any experience at all out there. Meanwhile, I'll send Jeff Slipke an email (Southeastern Pond Management) and see if they have ever done this.

CJ, it's "Yinz Guys" in Pittsburgh.

It's "dudes" in California, as in "Hey dudes, up for some tasty grindage?"

Its nice to know our threads have lane-changes and exit/entrance ramps.

Here in Nebraska we absolutely crave low fertility water bodies. We have way too much algae in general. If I could just fish ultra-clear water the rest of my life I'd be happy as a little lark.

In Nebraska we just say "You all", or "all of you".

Well poo-poo on you then.

This place is really the schnizzle...incredible views, plenty of room for a nice Morton, ample space for a natural "swimming" pool/pond, and is literally a hop outside of Lincoln - it's even closer than my place. I envision a beautiful double decker deck, beach, dock, and a kick arse rope swing not for the feint of heart.

When we sampled the BOW two months ago it yielded lots of 7-8" BG and I nailed a couple 15-17" LMB - WR all under 100 as Bruce indicated - guess this is due to the limited forage/habitat? There has to be millions of crayfish in this lake, and I think SMB and RES would perform really well and round out the fishery. Bruce can say what he wants, with all good intentions, but he'll be managing this lake by default within a year - I'd bet. He'll have a solid source of SMB with any luck, only a few miles away next year!

I love the Conderossa...in just two years I have made many memories, and would love to see it go to a pondboss family member - not some stranger. If anyone is interested in the Conderossa we'd have our places in close proximity - and I'd love to meet/hang/help out on projects with the new owner. I'd like to also mention, for absentee landowners, Bruce has a nephew who is a very intelligent, hardworking guy and knows all the ins and outs of the spread. In addition to several ponds that exist screaming for experimentations plus two with monsterous resident fish, I'd like to add there is lots of timber, rolling hills, a live creek, many morel mushrooms, and turkeys, quail and pheasants.

Did I mention you also get to be my neighbor/buddy? [Hope that's not a deal breaker!]

Perhaps clandestinely, if he's seriuous about his stated apprehensions, but I believe I'm with you on that.

Dr C (in my best Judge Smailes voice) "well, we're waaaaiting!!!"

In a couple years...

Thanks guys (and Dr. Willis!).

Esshup, although it may seem to be a bad thing that getting fertilization to bring an algae bloom to happen is difficult in a ground water pond, but if there is a 100% turn over every 3 weeks I would think you could stock higher numbers of fish with less threat of a die off or affect in water quality?

Esshup, I heard back from Jeff Slipke.

Here is what I asked him: Have you or any of your folks ever undertaken a fertilization program for a sand pit that is dug down into the water table? The ones where the water exchanges every so often from ground water flow?

Here is Dr. Slipke's answer: "I don’t have any personal experience fertilizing such a pond. I have dealt with spring-fed ponds that preclude fertilization due to excessive flushing rates. In those cases, fertilization just stimulates the growth of filamentous algae/macrophytes. In the case of the sand pit, my guess is that it would depend primarily on the water exchange rate. If water exchange is low and the pond stratifies, then the nutrients would likely remain in the photic zone long enough to be utilized by phytoplankton. If the exchange rate is high, then you might just end up feeding the growth of macrophytes."

Where is Shorty?

Perhaps he can take over the Conderosa?

Man, I wish. It's for sale at a VERY reasonable price right now.

I'd even give him a 5% Pond Boss discount, and throw in both utility vehicles!

Would he get to keep the palm tree? That might be a deal clincher.

What about MJ? Does the deal include MJ?

I'll pay YOU ten dollars extra to take him.

He's got a bad attitude.

"He's got a bad attitude."

Well, he had to learn it from somebody.

There's 2 GBH's standing on the For Sale sign right now, discussing the plan with MJ.

LMAO--

Best laugh of the day.

"Hijack mode on"

Dr. Willis:

Thanks for the reply. The ground is sand down to approx. 9', then it turns into a clay/sand/gravel mix. When renovating the pond last year, the water filtered thru the sand until it hit the clay mix, then entered the pond basin. We had no water enter the pond from below where the clay mixture started. I'll see about getting a boat on it to see if there is any stratification. I do have a bloom, but it seems to last a couple of weeks to a month. In September so far, we've had .08" of rain total, and the pond has dropped 13". I'm running a 28 gpm well into the pond now so it doesn't drop any lower.

Have a good time at the conference!

"Hijack mode off"

We will corner him at the conference and make him talk. ( note to self: pack the thumb screws)

"( note to self: pack the thumb screws)"

And the rattan for caning.

Esshup -- at the risk of more hijacking I'd like to hear from Bill Cody, Cecil, Theo, or Nate Herman about fertlizing up in your part of the country. How much is that management technique used?

Here is SD we essentially don't fertilize, as we are so darn worried about winterkill and that tends to over-ride everything else. About the only exception is fish culture ponds where the fish are harvested that same year and don't need to overwinter.

Thus far, Bruce has admitted that he is planning one pond on the new property, better than his Dad's pond at the Conderosa.

Actually, he also admitted that he had a place for another small lined pond like the 7200 gallon constant-flowthru pond. Well, maybe a couple of these ...

Bruce, send me a PM, Jen and I are 3-4 weeks away from putting our house on the market.

Closed!

Word.

Way to go Mabro!

Nice. An 'official' congrats.

Bruce -- when is the next regional Pond Boss gathering so we can trash (oops, I mean "see") your new place?

Time to celebrate or is it time to get to work ? Congrats either way. So now you can detail the place and plans - no doubt we will all have great ideas on how to spend your $ on the new place !!

I'll have a meeting tomorrow if you want!

Hopefully there will be a new house on the land by next May. Then a dock, and then a beach.....

No this simply won't do.

We require:

1. Topo map.

2. Three dimensional color plans of pond, house, landscape,hardscape, softscape, escape, and any other words that end in scape.

3. One of those trick computer walk-through presentations.

4. Listing of all fish that are in the ponds, that you will put in the ponds, that you might put in the ponds, and ones that you would never put in the ponds.

5. Proposed name for new property.

Details, we need details.

Congratulations my friend. I can't wait to watch this unfold. Now go drill some teeth.

6. Address and anticipated dinner menus for the next two years.

Oh, oh. JHAP's "demands" sound like a call for Kayla Condello to provide computer-related services for her dad!

The names and #s of the fish that will be moving from the Condarosa to their new home.

I feel a trip for 'ole Mudcat Joe coming on.

After seeing the new homestead with Bruce, all I can say is, the site is LOADED with potential!

Sorry I'm jumping in late. The title of the thread made me think it was about baseball so I didn't bother to open it until now. My family is half European so I don't care for baseball or even football. I'd rather watch a soccer game.

That said, I wish you the best Bruce. We've shared your ups and downs here and we all feel like we are part of your family. You're an asset to the site and I look forward to you keeping us posted!

BTW the Bordello's are doing great. I'm getting ready to seine this years production and I think I had four different hatches! The last hatch must have been recently as they can't be more than a half inch long!

Cecil, I thought that was footbal! (or is that rugby?)

Well the Germans on my mom side of the family call it "Fuseball" and to me it's more football than what we Americans worship. After all they use their feet (occasionally head) while we use both our feet and hands.

Communists. That's what we called them in high school while they were kicking a ball around and I was running my butt off in track.

After our weekly 10 mile distance run for cross country practice (high school) on our way back we ran into a football player that said he had to run four laps around the track and was really sweating like a pigs *** in July. He was whining about it. We couldn't stop laughing. I still chuckle when I recall that.

2 big ol' thumbs up on C2 (Conderosa II) !!
It's a long commute, but I might be able to Dski into building just one more structure...

I'd love to have you visit sometime!

I think Brettska's saying he wants to build your new house for you.

Well, we DO live in NeBrettska.

Jeesh, I can't even get a roof on our little apartment project. What are your aspirations for the C2 abode, Brooster?

We're already getting quotes on the plans from a builder. If I can get it on the right format perhaps I can post it on the forum.

Ha. Yeah, I ran CC too and heard much of the same in the fall. My HS sucked at football so when anyone asked why I ran CC instead, I always told them I liked to win.

Mine did too but the football team still got much more attention.

Yeah, that's true. And I forgot it's XC, not CC.

I'd like to play a game with the members of Pond Boss, but I need help doing it.

Could somebody please find a way to post this map on the forum?

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&source...ved=0CAsQ8gEwAA

I'd also like to find a way to post the map two to three more times, but each time zoomed in the next level.

This could be a fun way to fight winter blahs.

Well, shoot.

I don't see the quarry lake anywhere on that link..



I'll try again.

I can do that, but need an address or a link that works.

It's there, just too small to see....

Are you looking for this?

Me too.

Bruce, I have it on my notebook and the quality is excellent. What exactly do you want?

I'd like to see a focus on the water itself. You can see a lot of the shallow areas, and I have to determine where I'm going to fish.

Who else is coming?

(Bruce said he was flying any Pond Boss members out, on him)

Who else is coming?

Sunil, Fly into Sioux Falls and I'll pick you with my truck and boat. I feel a potential good time deal going on! I hope we won't be expected to help with construction or landscaping.

Dwight, we should bring tents and camp out. I think May/June would be a good time frame.

There's an older law in Nebraska stating that if you occupy some land, while living in a tent, and create a dug-in latrine, and a dug-in garbage dump containing 80%+ total mass made up of 12oz. glass bottles, you immediately gain squatter's rights to the total land plot.

Can I help with the bottles?

A buddy of mine had a nice 10 acre quarry pit pond south of Boardman OH rigt near Pine Lake.

It was good fishing, but you could only really fish the shoreline and a few shallow flats. The flats were like less than 10% of the surface area. It was only LMB & BG as I recall. The main depths of this pit were like 40'.

In Bruce's case, I think I recall him saying the depths were in the 20'+ ranges.

If that was right, I think some walleye and sturgeon need to be added.

There is a newer law that states the establishment of a new Corona Reef in a lake gives you full access and usage rights to any land or edifice on or around said lake in perpetuity.

We can use this as our case study on how to 'annex' a Pond Boss 'friend's' pond. You know, it's just good times all the way.

I'm in!

OK...

So far, excellent.

I need Dwight's shot of this to be shown from one click, then two clicks out.

Ideally it would be sequential where you would see the three shots from progressively closer (or further).

Then we can play. I promise it will be a cool game.

The question will be....

"Where does the ______ _______ ______?"

By the way, Esshup's shot is older. But there's a really cool clue to the puzzle that can be found on his picture!

That lake has such a cool shape...

OK. Can you please, please, please give me one more click from a further out view? It will make it perfect! Just for all your help I will give you a prize of ten "Wiper Magic Jigheads" that I custom make.

Edited my post to add a further pic.

OK, here's how the game is going to work. First of all, I'm going to need to move Omaha's pics to another thread. I want this "game" to be easy to find on the forum.

There's also going to be prizes.

The only person who's not allowed to play is TeeJaeh, because he's personally been to the Quarry.

When I ask a question, I will state how many points answers are worth.

Answers don't have to be exactly correct to earn points.

I will decide who gets points and who doesn't.

The winner will receive a special prize package. Since TeeJaeh can't play, I'll email him the prize package so he can keep it in the prize "vault" for the winner to enjoy.

The game will go on as long as I want it to.

The winner will get something pretty cool.

Time to move this to it's own thread.

(I'm a) freak.

Oh jeez, I can see this might get ugly.

They both have equivalent power; kinda like Luke and Darth.
What next?....
Bruce......you are my son

The ersatz cousins on that one season of Dukes of Hazzard?

Uh oh. We're in uncharted waters here now.

To quote the bad guy, Cutter, from Clear and Present Danger, "I'm not sure where that leaves us."

Do you think the barrel roof over the front door should have pillars or be cable hung like that?

We're working on that. The entire structure has to be "geometrically stable", so the entry way has to be it's own building. There's a designer trying to get it to look right.

I want to see what the lake view side looks like. It better be lots of glass. Nice looking place!!!

Looks great Bruce! I'm guessing the Morton bldg will be on the left of the house?

Yes, plenty of glass on the back side. 24 feet high bank of windows. The Morton building is underneath the garage.

Very nice Bruce. I assume it's coming along nicely?

Roof is going on today possibly. It's amazing how fast it moves.

That's got to be an incredible feeling to watch your home go up in front of your eyes. Very cool. You are a blessed man Bruce.

Wow, very palacial. Love it.
Sunil built a shed in his backyard for his PB guests. What's your plan?

I stayed at the Conderosa.

How'd it compare to the Sleep Inn?

Beautiful place, congratulations Bruce!

Brettski, my shed out back is only for certain PB members. There's plenty of room in the house for the respectable PB members.

OK...now I'm confused
What are you trying to infer, Sunil?

Here I'll break in down for you Brettski....

Some of the elite pond boss members will stay in Sunil's house.

Some of the less than desirable members will stay in the shed.

If you or I ever stay an Sunil's place our accommodation's will be Wal-Mart Brand trash bag out by the fence line. Not even a luxurious 1.5 mil heavy duty trash bag is in our future.

JHAP, you are partially correct. Ricki will get to stay in the house.

THEY MAKE 1.5 MIL ???

So...
when Sunil says he is "taking out the trash", is this a houseguest event, or is he taking pot shots at the bags along the fence?

UNDER the garage???? Then you need a tunnel leading directly to the quarry!

No, he invites me over for HUGE Muskrat removal.

We used hollow-core (parking lot technology) to create an underground "Morton Building"



The garage totals 4,800 square feet. Should be enough to raise a fish or two.

Awesome.

There's plenty of room for plenty of guests.

DIED needs to come for a vacation. That was his prize for winning the contest.

The accomidations were MUCH nicer, but it was noisier.

Haha! Well said!

OH SNAP!!!

Brettski, did we just get called Muskrats?

Well, no matter, I've been called worse.

Ahhh, I get it, it's all about a new facility for the "Condello Institute for the Creation of Ludicrously Proportioned Blue Gills."

Bruce, you going to run Geothermal to help keep the tanks warm in the winter?

Tell us more about the garage. Do you mean 4,800 over two floors?

Wow, that is truly spectacular. Congratulations, it's always great to see a dream come together, whether a dream of your own, or that of a friend. I guess it's a little old fashioned, but I still believe that hard work and perseverance will get you somewhere in life. It's obvious that you're well accquainted with both of those traits. Enjoy!!

Bruce,

Impressive! Not sure how, but I missed this thread earlier.

So what kind of fish system are you going to put in, or is that proprietary info at the moment? If so, not a problem. I would strongly encourage a RAS that is modular that you can add on to as you expand. I'm loving the control an indoor system gives me and hope to add a pole barn next year.

I just finished building my second RBC and this time I installed it into a tank by itself to keep it separate from the fish tank. This keeps more of the particulates out that can reduce the efficiency of the filter. And of course it won't be taking up space in the fish tank. Both RBC's will be in tanks by themselves now. I also will have a center drain that is hopefully self cleaning that runs directly into the clarifier tank.

I'm moving my first system into a new larger basement room and adding a second one. Preparation of the room as in epoxying the floor, different lighting, all GFI outlets, refinishing the tanks, and building the RBC has kicked my butt! Either I'm getting older or I'm in over my head! I still haven't started cycling the second tank with fish in floating cages waiting to be brought in.

Wish I could post pics but after 3 weeks my computer is still in the shop!

Cecil, the plan is to pay you to come to Nebraska and consult with me on how to set up the fish culture rooms. Looks like a good place to play, doesn't it?

Cecil, see if you can swing by there on the way back from BPS. 8 hr 45 minute trip from there to your house. Straight shot on 80.

Bruce,

No need to pay me. Your company and talking fish is enough for me. Maybe Cody can tag along again as he's always a wealth of info too. And or Esshup and we can make it one big fish discussion!

Actually I may not be ready to be a consultant yet. I'm still experimenting and it may be possible the RBC is not the best biofilter. They are also a PITA to build! Brier send me plans for a biofilter that uses a blower and plastic media and has more surface area than my RBC's. A heck of a lot easier to build, and I am going to try it for another system to compare.

I've contacted Steve VanGorder to be a consultant for me possibly as soon as this winter. I haven't heard back but the guy is very busy. I have a handle on how I want to set up the pole barn but know this guy can help me plan it in the most efficient way possible.

Unfortunately I can't, although I've visited Bruce before with Bill Cody. I need to get back as one of my wholesale customers just informed me a couple of his customers are driving him crazy to get their fish back even though I haven't had them very long.

Bruce,

What kind of alkalinity and PH does that limestone quarry have?

I haven't tested either. I wonder if our friend Dr. Perca would run a quick analysis for us...

Typical Cecil. You're a good friend.

Thanks for the kind words.

You have lights!!! It looks much different than it did in the twilight.

Bruce, really looking good. Can you take a picture from the mansion overlooking the water?

Nice, you've got a good place for Brettski and JHAP in that basement.

Yes, but I have to wait for that goofy tape to be taken off the windows.

It's looking great Bruce!



Always in the basement. Jeez someday I hope to get promoted to the laundry room.

Bruce congratulations! The place looks incredible! How have you found time for all you have done in the last year?

Hey you're moving up Jeff! Now you have a basement!

They were well behaved enough in my shed out back that they've earned a concrete basement status.

Actually there are rooms on the main level for DIED, since he won The Quarry contest. Perhaps he would let JHAP have a cot in the closet.

Beautiful place, Bruce! Congrats on the progress - it's got to be exciting to see it coming together like that!

Wow Bruce, that looks great! It's really going up QUICK! Congratulations to the Condellos!

Story of my life.

DIED gets rooms.

I get a cot in a closet.

But hey, I'll stay on a cot in a closet.

Lord knows I've intentionally (and unintentionally) slept in worse places.

STAT'S! WE NEED STAT'S!
start with sq footage in each area, then add heights and whatever else paints the picture.
-
What's the W/R?

Everything is 60 X 40 exactly.

Main house level.
Main house basement.
Garage.
Garage basement (pictured)
I'm not sure what the loft is when you deduct the areas that are open to main level.

Is it wrong for a guy to like a garage more than the house.?? Dint getme wrong the house is awesome. But that garage is sweeeeeet. I just built my house and garage my garage is is 30x40 thanks Bruce for making it look small.. I knew I forgot something when I built it THE UNDERGROUND GARAGE DUH. what was I thinking.. Anyways Bruce congrats on the house I finished mine in march and I know it can be extremely frustrating at times but it's well worth it when it's done.. Looking forward to completed pics.. Wish i woulda done geo-thermal I did closed cell spray foam insulation and high efficiency everything and I must say the foam makes the house soundproof which is nice..

You get sheltered because there are laws against what can be left outdoors..............



Don't despair Jhap, some of Bruce's closets are bigger than some Master Bedrooms!

Does a dock come with the house ?

It's "in the works", my friend.

While they have the equipment at the house consider having them make a couple of level spots near the dock so you can have BG beds to watch.

Why is my brain saying: northern Pond Boss gathering, northern Pond Boss gathering, over and over?

Because it means we can go catch a bunch of fish afterwards!!!!!

When? We know the "where."

June, 2011? September, 2011?

A party at Bruce's house --- a/k/a Conderossa II.

I just saw something I didn't think I'd see in a thousand lifetimes. I just watched a shooting star cut through the big dipper...from the inside of my house.

is this code for an event in the bedroom, or are we talking astrology here?

LOL. Astrology.

So does that mean you're all moved in already?

Yes. Fishing on the backyard right now.

With Droid in hand. Check my facebook page.

Well have you caught anything????

Three largemouth, two catfish, two hybrids, five bluegill.

Found em huh?

I've been out a handful of times this year, all with Alex. Kinda funny, we never hooked up once on open water.

Hey, how thick is the ice since our little heat wave?

It's still a solid nine inches. Weather did not seem to affect it.

Good deal. I figured it wouldn't effect the thickness too much, but might create a lot of slushy mess on top of the ice.

The Conderosa has been sold.

It's official. All except the closing, which seems pre-ordained.

So I went fishing at the new place to try to ease the pain.

Evidently there will be some good fishing opportunities at The Quarry as well.

22.25 inches on a flat ruler with mouth closed.
Bounced between 6.96 and 7.03 on an accurate digital scale.

nice!!!!

Looks similar to another photo of you holding a monster bass from Richmond Mill. Congrats at the sale. I'm sure you will miss the place.

door closes, window opens...
A new chapter, well on it's way, Bruce. Make sure your tank is full; ya got alot of miles ahead of ya.

Awesome, Bruce! Congrats on the sale, indeed. I can imagine it's kind of tough to see it go, but as Brettski said, new opportunities about at that beautiful place you have in the works!

I fully intend on returning to a more active role on this site soon. I love the people, the message, and the generous and caring community that Pond Boss, and our mentor Bob Lusk have created. My life is a whirling, swirling, exciting ride right now that allows me virtually no free time. But with the help of my buddies here, I hope to get some of my freedom back within less than a year.

I'd like to have a regional Pond Boss meeting at my house next year.

Who's in?

I guarantee it will be a party to remember.

there goes the neighborhood

OK, Bruce...we are well aware of, and appreciate, your humble character and personality. It's time to ditch that hooey and cut loose with some well-earned bragging and showing off. We want pics...lotsa pics. Inside, outside, looking out over the water, looking up from the water, whatever. Time to show off, my man. Give us a show.

I'm sure the place looks immaculate by now and you should be proud of that fine property of yours. It's amazing. Bruce, we've only met a handful of times, so you don't know me very well, but if I can take anything off your plate (maybe learn something in the process) so that you can be around here more, I would love to. And when this shindig goes down, I will pat the patrons down for fireworks.

Please tell me that you didn't land that monster on a Condello rig and four pound line.

Four pound line, yes.

But with a bluegill pattern, deep-diving Rapala--fished REALLY slow.

I was also in a float tube.

...enjoying the ride around the lake before I reeled him in

Bruce, yours was definitely fatter than the one my daughter caught last summer at the new place...Her's was a little longer, but hurting for food. Caught on 6# test Berkley Fire Wire braid with a nightcrawler targeting Channel Cats.

Big head on that fish. Definitely starving.

There are two distinct groupings of 20-22 inch bass.

There are old fish that are in decline that weight 3.5 to 4.5 pounds, and there are the younger fish that have caught up, and are thriving. These fish are 5.0 to 7.0 pounds. Out with the old, and in with the new.

Bruce that fish is awesome!

Did you have any idea that there were LMB that large in the pond prior to this?

I'm happy for you my friend, all of your hard work is paying dividends.

Back in the cove, huh Rex? That must have been fun to get out of the water unless she was able to drag it to the boat launch area.

"Don't lose that fish!!!"

She is good at wearing the fish down....She fought it about 10-15 minutes and just waited till she could pick it up...She landed it in some large rip-rap/boulders.

Biggest fish she has ever caught and was as happy as could be!

The fish was tagged, but it was un-readable.

I had heard rumors that maybe there were some five pounders, but the seven pound fish is one I never thought I'd catch in Nebraska.

I'm down for a party at the new Conderosa.

Brettski and JHAP said that as long as there's a shed out back, they're in (the shed that is). I'll need my own room in the house.

Sunil, if it's anything like the little get-together we had last year you won't need a room. You won't be sleeping.

Nice fish - see other thread.

We want info on what happened to all the stuff at the Conderosa. Like the fish , equipment , etc. Is it in your basement?

Congrats on the sale. Upward and onward !!

Set the meeting well in advance.

I have moved all of the fish raising equipment to the new house (no small task), and am game-planning on how to best utilize it. It's in the garage basement. Cleaned, maintained and temporarily stored.

The fish too !!!!

Are the neighbors aware that their beautiful water feature is about to be turned into a huge, C-shaped test tube by the evil brilliant Dr Frankenbruce?

I'm planning on being ULTRA-conservative creative on any recommendations.

Wow! Bruce, which one is your place?

Near left. Can you believe the water looks like that? It's always that way. Very unique for Southeast Nebraska.

Visibility ?

All the way to the bottom...everywhere.

Hard to get a good Secchi reading when you lay the disk on the bottom and it's clear as a bell. I'd say around 4 meters.

Since I bought the land.

Average catfish has gone from 2.5 lbs to 6.5 lbs.
Average LMB has gone from Wr of 80 to Wr of 90
Biggest bluegill went from 8 inches up to a current 9.5 inches
I've almost broken the state record RES at 1-7...the record is 1-10
I've been in the neighborhood of state record LMB. I caught a 9-2 and the record is 10-12.

Feeding programs work.

So does good water quality.

Simply beautiful.

Truer words never spoken.

A+

Actually, looks a little more like a "C" to me. No offense, Bruce.

Funny! What were those folks thinking when they didn't shape the pond like an "A" !

Looks like a BC to me.

I'll briefly post this, then I'm going to make the video private again, but here's a video I made under my dock, and then showed at the Pond Boss conference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uriPvDAm5LU

If anybody knows how to embed this more properly, feel free to do so.

That is a beautiful place! I hope you take plenty of time to enjoy it.

Best advice I could possibly get.

"If anybody knows how to embed this more properly, feel free to do so."

..............that's what she said

Oh, sophomoric TJ!

Did somebody hear a "boom"?

Wow, those are some mighty bass!

Bruce, does NE allow state records from managed ponds? Cecil found out that Indiana doesn't.

Sweet!