I'm about to go off the deep end of the dock.
Welcome Lamar and other Lurkers. Please don't feel intimidated. This is a very friendly group, with many very knowledgeable individuals who welcome all who come with a sincere desire to learn, help, and make friends with people of similar interests. A sense of humor, even if it is significantly off-center, helps a lot.
We've got the best moderators on the Internet, and forum owners who really take an extremely strong interest in what happens on a daily basis. You can always send any of them a private message and they will quickly respond and react appropriately. It is mostly only disrespect, nastiness, politics, and inflammatory rhetoric that gets moderated (and posts for knock-off name-brand purses, male enhancement products, etc.,).
Well, here I go. The first to take this thread off topic, and the first to disagree with a post. But, that is what I feel this great forum is all about -- as long as it doesn't get mean, demeaning, or offensive.
While I'm a fan of this site, I sometimes struggle to keep up with some of the postings because they get so far off topic and turn into one bad joke after another.
Eddie
I'm going to pick on Eddie. He has been an important member here for a long time, and on other sites where I participate. This isn't really directed at him, but he brings up an important point in his post.
First, I can not think of any reasonable retort for the so-called Pond Boss humor. Maybe JHAP or Brettski can explain. But, even in our everyday lives away from our ponds, most all of us have relatives we don't talk much about in public. However, I think all of us feel it keeps the forum going when most of our ponds are under a foot of ice and snow, and things are kind of slow.
Divergence is very important. Uncommon thinking has led to a lot of successes we'd never have attempted, had we not heard many of the unconventional methods people have applied. My pond wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun for my grandkids, our guests, our family, and me, had I never heard of some of the crazy concepts presented on Pond Boss. What pond professional would have ever suggested raising maggots and flies to improve a pond?
Camaraderie is very important. A very large number the Pond Boss forum participants, and their spouses, have spent significant time with one another over the last several years as we've learned more about pond management techniques and each other. These nationwide friendships have allowed us to share what might have otherwise seemed like stupid ideas -- but have blossomed into many important break throughs (just look at the latest issue of Pond Boss Magazine).
Most of us came here not knowing anyone else related to Pond Boss. Many of us came here after lurking for some time, and wanting to know a whole lot more about pond management. I'm just one example. I was immediately welcomed after my first post, and that was over three years ago. I was made to feel like an important part of the group -- and all I came with was problems that seemed nearly insurmountable to me at the time.
Since then, my wife and I have met the students that Pond Boss helps sponsor, and many other students. One of these exceptional students was named a moderator last year. Their professors are an important part of the forum and magazine. The forum owners, moderators, field advisory staff, participants, students, and professors regularly publish in Pond Boss Magazine, and I feel like all are personal friends. Many of us have developed multiple ties with one another, which certainly can cause side trips within the threads. But, very often it brings up important subjects that might not otherwise get posted if we stayed strictly between the lines.
After the pond is dug, and the fish are released, there's not much more to do with the pond.
Eddie
Here I am, again picking on Eddie. But, this is just the kind of difference of opinion we respond to.
At least here in West Virginia, my pond and its inhabitants need frequent attention to keep producing the way I want. To me, my ponds are like a garden. After you till it, and plant the seeds or transplants, you can't just let it go on its own. It needs regular attention to produce good crops. Thinning, feeding/fertilizing, disease prevention, weed control, structure, and planting different crops at different times of the year are all part of it.
Everyone of those topics has an important parallel in my pond. I keep a strict eye on water quality and mineral/inflow content. I keep an accurate record of fish density and size, and cull as necessary. My structure wears out and needs to get replaced. Trout get planted in the fall, and harvested by summertime. Catfish get planted in the early springtime, and get harvested by fall. Big male bluegill are catch-and-release only. Grass carp need regular replacement.
I'm not sure how much of this I would know if it wasn't for my Pond Boss friends.
Just one more crazy opinion.
Ken
