Greetings on this un-labor day, all.
I'm sitting in the movie room at LL,2, watching news coverage of Gustav.
Having been in New Orleans just last week,our hearts are with the people who, for the second time in three years, must deal with Nature's fury.
Last week was arguably the busiest last week of August ever. Monday, I spent some of the day meeting with Lee Roy Mitchell in his Dallas office. Mr. Mitchell, founder and CEO of Cinemark Theatres, bought an east Texas ranch formerly known as Staway Ranch. It's on Hwy 31 east of Athens. He has hired me as a consultant to help him develop the fishery and a fishing program. It will be a fun project, fairly close to home. It's a three hour drive from LL,2.
Mr. Mitchell and his wife, Tandy, have another ranch north of Palestine, Texas.
Mr. Mitchell has re-named the ranch Eagles Nest Ranch. He wants to intensify management of the 100 acre lake on the property, finish renovating a lake almost 30 acres as well as a smaller fishing pond and five hatchery ponds. It will be challenging, but fun. Besides, that's my favorite thing to do nowadays.
Also on Monday, I spent time with Walter Bassano, my busness manager. We went over some business and made a few plans.
Wednesday, I accepted an prior invitation and headed to Springdale, Arkansas for a brainstorming session with Outdoor Water Solutions. They are wanting to do some aggressive marketing and are looking at Pond Boss to be a vital part of their plan. I met up with the key people at OWS and spent several hours talking and exchanging ideas. After a relaxing evening and cookout, I climbed in the manly Dodge and headed back south, arriving home at 1 a.m. Then, up and gone before 7 Thursday to head to meet up with Mr. Mitchell and spend the next three days working on his program.
Sunrise over Scott's Marsh Lake at Eagle Nest Ranch. That's the focal point of the ranch...larger than 100 acres. I've consulted on this lake before. Recently, Paul Dorsett of Total Lake Management Services electrofished it. Mr. Mitchell has used both Paul and Todd Overton as fish suppliers.
Here's another view of the lake from the back end of a beautiful cove.
Another gorgeous view of a different cove of Scott's Marsh Lake.
One cove of the lake has a mature, springfed wetland. Look at the diversity of the plants. Very nice.
Here's a closeup of some parrotfeather and a small pool entering the wetland portion of the lake.
Mr. Mitchell and his team have renovated two lake cabins on the property and now are building a recreation building with a fire pit.
Next, they are building an exceptional boathouse, which will be complete with fish bait tanks and fish cleaning station. The boat house will have four stalls for boats. I'll get to help shop for boats.
The 30ish acre lake is interesting, too. We've designed the renovation for the lower 20 acres around the dam to be completely open, with no structure or cover, whatsoever. That area of the lake, with water as deep as 30 feet, will be aerated, probably with two lake life pumps, maybe more. That area will be designed to grow threadfin shad and hybrid striped bass. The upper end of the lake has abundant structure and cover, as in this photo. The remaining 10 acres or so is designed for largemouth bass. as this photo shows.
Another photo of fish structure in the upper end of the lake.
Saturday morning, about 7 a.m., young Ethan Lovelace, aka LOVELACE LAKE on this forum, called me. I've hired him for some afternoons and Saturdays to help with my ponds. He was panicky. Seems we were having a fish kill. Small bass and bluegill were piping in a tenth acre hatchery pond. After a few quick questions, I had him turn on the well and open the drain. We've overfed these fish and now we get to deal with the consequences. When I'm not at home, it's easy to miss some signs. Ironically, we don't have anyone paying regular attention to the ponds here at LL,2...except for Ethan. He earned his keep. Total of 20 dead fish and thousands saved.
Here's a photo of black, mucky algae along the draining edge of the pond and a few dead fish.
I headed home Saturday and paid close attention to the sick pond.
See a few small dead bass and a couple of large dead bluegill, but the majority were saved.
We ended up draining 80% of the water and are now replacing with fresh well water.
Then, yesterday, the grandkids and some neighborhood kids came over. We had a great time, swimming in the pond. Our 9 year old grandson, Ethan, wanted to do a little work while he was here. He picked up a carboard box in a brushpile and I saw a stinging scorpion scurry out. Being a biologist sort of guy, I was fascinated to see the scorpion's brood clinging to her back. I sent Ethan for the camera and shot a few photos. The photos sent chills down Debbie's spine. Looking at a scorpion covered with many, many tiny scorpions don't do much for my wife. Here's a cropped version of the photo.
Momma scorpion covered with babies. I counted more than 50 from the photo.
Fish on!
