Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Silent Auction Update

Hi folks. I'm getting close to having everything finalized for the silent auction details. A couple of loose ends still, and then I can report a complete cost-accounting. At least, Sunil told me that was the correct term to use.

Right now, I can tell you that we exceeded $11,000. I'm not quite sure yet if we will be able to crack the 12K. I can tell you that the forum-only auction provided over 10% of our total, so many thanks to all forum pondmeisters.

Stay tuned. I'll provide the final number when I get it, and then will also discuss the endowment use.

Cool really cool Dave.

Cool indeed, HeyBud, as you were one of those Forum contributors!! Thanks again for that.

OK, folks. I've gotten some final numbers from Ewest and Grand Boss Bob, and I think that I can provide a good update.

We did indeed crack the $12,000 mark (by $31.95; don't ask me where the odd numbers arise). Some forum members will be happy about the odd number (you know who you are). We still have one unclaimed bid out for $750, but Kathy hasn't been able to contact that person.

Of the total, $1475 was raised just within our forum members for that after-conference trip to Lusk Lodge 2. While the pictures and stories show that everyone had fun, it was awfully nice of Bob and Princess Debbie to take on that task right after the conference (and just before arrival of granddaughter!). So, many, many thanks to all of you who helped support that part of the fund-raising effort.

Similarly, thanks to all who donated, and who purchased. I'm afraid to go into long lists for fear that I'll forget someone. For example, thanks to Dwight for the laptop, especially given the fun bidding until Dr. Bruce prevailed. Thanks to George Glazener for all his work, and his connection with the Temple Fork people. I'll stop there, but those of you who attended the conference know what a great diversity of items were donated.

The money, of course, goes to the Jesse West endowment to support applied fisheries research. The first year's money (about $1500) was used by Melissa Wuellner for her walleye-smallmouth bass competition work. If you attended the conference you heard her speak, and if not, you saw her article in the July/August issue of the magazine. The 2008 money (about $2000) was used by Justin VanDeHey, who is working on something called stable isotope analysis. The short version is that we can tell gross diet characteristics from fish muscle tissue. Justin is going to look at the use of fin clips and scales (nonlethal) instead of the muscle tissue. If it works, he'll be able to compare historic fish diets in a water body from old scale samples to current diets. Say that a new prey item such as rainbow smelt or gizzard shad was introduced -- we could assess the diet change before and after the introduction. We'll bring Justin to next year's conference. The 2009 money will be above $2500.

A final thanks to Cecil and the moderators for the wonderful diorama. I ordered a stand for it, and once we get the stand and get it in place, I'll post some pictures.

All you others, both donors and buyers, please chime in. We're doing a good thing with the Jesse West endowment, and working to help students. Our long-term dream is to some day get the endowment to a point where it would support a full-time graduate student for pond research. Slow and steady wins the race, eh??

Thanks to all! That does not seem like nearly enough, but I really don't know what else to say.

Dave,

I'm glad to hear you cracked $12,000 and the diorama is working out. Once I get that pumpkinseed painted I'll ship it to you to put it in place with the wooden dowel.

And once I get that world record redear done complete in a shadow box we'll have to see what we can fetch here on the website for the fund. I am ordering a couple of replicas for a customer on Tuesday and will get some fins that I need for the redear and Bruce's world record bluegill.

Can't wait to get them done!

Congrats, Dr. Dave!

I'd like to thank the people who donated the great auction items I managed to have the top bid on - Food Source Lures and whoever donated the autographed David W. Willis (the "W" stands for "What you talkin' about?") Fisheries and Wildlife book that is currently constituting my morning reading every day.

P.S. Somebody owes me a flashlight engraved with dental instruments when they're not too busy playing with their new laptop. Thanks to you, too, Bruce.

On a personal note I want to thank all of you who have participated ( donors , buyers , attendees ,forum members and mag subscribers) in this journey. Like most things about the Pond Boss experience its the passion of this family in its undertakings that makes it special. In this case its not so much about the dollars but about the lives you touch and enrich through your efforts. Here is one of those lives , a outstanding young award winning fisheries scientist who you helped to catch her dream. In the process you added to the overall applied fisheries knowledge and made it possible for others to follow in her footsteps. From small seeds grow mighty oaks. We have planted those seeds in fertile soil and we can now enjoy watching them grow . We have accomplished something that others are noticing in astonishment. Private pond owners as a shining point of light leading the way through giving . Life is not about what you get its about what you give. Take time to be proud of what you have achieved and the good works you have started.

Melissa and those that follow her thank you and so do I .

With that smile and looks and being on the Internet she might be approached by a modeling agency. Wouldn't that be a waste of a scholarship.

OK, at the risk of missing someone, let me list our contributors on purchases for the 2008 silent auction. Some folks are here by forum name, some by actual name, and some by both. It’s a long list! I couldn’t read a few names, and we lost a few of the bid sheets along the way.

Lusk Lodge 2 trip: n8ly, Shawn Vob and family, AaronM, student moderator [:)] Chris Steelman, Bar0, Heybud, and teehjaeh57.

Donations for the Arlington auction: Dwight Bremer; Nate Herman (Herman Brothers Pond Management); TJ Hudson (Dish Uplink LLC); Greg Grimes (Aquatic Environmental Services, Inc.); Todd Overton (Overton Fisheries, Inc.); Bob Lusk, Bill Cody, actually donated by Pond Boss Forum moderators; Tom Wells (Away with Geese.com); George Glazener; Fred Bingaman (Deer Park Distributors); Tom Everett (Buster Boats) and Bob Lusk; Ted Lea (ForeverGreen/Clean Ponds); Brandon Powers and Rick Pope (Temple Fork Outfitters); Mike Holliday; Larry Harper (Cedars Ltd.); Mike Otto (Otto's Dirt Service); Annamarie Mangum (Jenson Technologies); Eric West; Rob Neumann (In-Fisherman, Inc.); Ed Rogers (Foodsource Lures); Dave Willis; Forrest L. Wood; Babe Winkelman; Jason Blake (The Pond Guy, Inc.); Maria Angel (Diversified Waterscapes); Mitchell Morton (Foster Lake & Pond Management, Inc.); Kyle Jones (farmtoolbox.com); Cody Smith ; SDSU.

Winning bidders: Justin Herman, Nate Herman, Dr. Bruce Condello, Mark McClelland, Dan Bolin, Jeremy Smith, Barry Wittschen, Tyler Stubbs, Steve Alexander, Dennis Murphy, Dave Davidson, Bob McFarland, Mike Otto, Diana Quick [Pond Boss bookkeeper! :)], Dave Hickman, Bill Wingo, Fred Bingaman, Theo Gallus, Mongo (?), and JHAP/JWHAP.

Thanks to all. We couldn’t do it without folks participating in all parts of the auction.

Now, I have no doubt that I missed someone. So, if anyone spots a missing person, please let me know. Obviously, I don’t want to offend anyone, but I did want to pat some folks on the back.

Dave, I didn't see JHAP and JWHAP on the list. I think they got George's flies.

Thanks, R. Larry. That was one of the bidding sheets that I lost. Hail the Green Sunfish!

Yep we bid on and won George's shadow boxes of flies and the Ray Scott hat, book and video collection. Great fun.



Music to my ears, ahhhhhhhhhhhh

Dancla? Looks like it's more a problem with your reading.

Well, sir -- my reading is certainly open to question. What was I thinking? I was hurrying instead of thinking through the situation! Thanks -- as always!!

The "current" final figure on our silent auction proceeds is now $12,081.95.

Twelve grand is not too shabby for a bunch of fish wranglers. I really enjoyed the silent auction it was both fun and supported very worth while cause.

Hear, hear!


Some day we've got to get the story of how the first Florida Largemouths were driven across the Gulf states to Texas by a group of determined Lonestar State fish wranglers, braving hazards such as hostile native anglers and choking dust storms every step of the way.

I am in the process of filling out my questionaire, and my main suggesttion for next year is to bring in TP&W biologists involoved in hatcheries, stocking of various species, and managemdrent of public waters.
After all a pond is a microcosym of a reservoir.

Your suggestion of history of Florida LMB program in Texas is very interesting and would be an excellent topic.

George I tried to get some involved. I am not sure they want to be included. Some may even be competitors and unhappy with us up-starts. You and I have been over the "what is the real answer on fla LMB wrt TP&W" - one time it is X the next time it is Y.

I don't know the story behind it but I do know that this process resulted in the creation of the Texas Longhorn Large Mouth Bass.



I don't remember why, but I created found this photo a while back. So it's good to have an excuse reason to post it again.

I think the truth is Texas saw how well it worked in Calif. and just copied them on a larger scale. That was before Calif was the left coast. - -

I'm fairly certain LLMB came about because my dad thinks our feed-trained LMB from Todd Overton have a burnt-ornage tint to them. Todd thinks they only look that way because my dad has amber-colored lenses on his sunglasses.

I think they're just fun to watch!

Perhaps the last Silent Auction item to be delivered arrived here today - the Cabela's LED Flashlight custom engraved by Bruce Condello. Bruce put the Jaeger Wald (aka Casa Gallus) farm logo and lettering on this flashlight; it's mate, delivered at the conference, was covered with PBCon themed-engravings.

I must say Bruce did an excellent job rendering the Gothic lettering we use for the Jaeger Wald name. He also did a version of our logo (a bull and a horse jumping over the same fence in opposite directions) that was spot on perfect. A second (or perhaps first) version of the logo on the flashlight is ready should we ever expand into sheep and goat husbandry.

Some might think that 2 1/2 months a rather long to engrave a flashlight; however, you must consider that 1) there are surely many hours of work put into each engraving, 2) Bruce does the engraving with his dental drill, and 3) he only has access to the dental drill when he's at work (that's, what, 2 days a week?).

Anyway, I wanted to show off Bruce's great work and thank him for the excellent job!

Wow those turned out beautiful. This winter when Bruce is in his office much more (I think he works three days a week during winter) he ought to engrave a dozen or so flashlights for the next Pond Boss conference with the Pond Boss logo. If he had a dozen engraved flash lights at the next conference I'll bet they would sell out. Seems like he should have plenty of time on his hands: Full time angler, full time dad, full time husband, part time dentist, part time pond manager, part time Big BG web host, part time PD moderator, part time.... well you get the idea.

If it seems unlikely he can find time for all those activities, just remember he increases his efficiency by never taking off his waders.