Greetings, faithful followers of all things Pond Boss! Happy Birthday to our United States of America!

We're gearing up for the Pond Boss V Conference and Expo. If you haven't registered, please do so. Also, confirm a room at Big Cedar Lodge. Those rooms are going pretty fast. We don't have a full house yet, so you have some time. But, don't wait too long.

I'll announce the program soon...I'm far into it and close to having it ready to announce. Just got to add a few more speakers and get the topics totally in order.

In the meantime, it's been the best spring we've ever had. Here's a big pat on the back to our subscribers and advertisers! The magazine is growing at a decent rate...about 5-6% per year. But, let's beef it up. Share some ideas...drop me a note and let's brainstorm how to grow Pond Boss into something of greater significance. We have a wealth of knowledge via this forum and our writers can't be topped. I'm all for coming up with some ideas to push magazine subscriptions upward...at least double, in the next two years.
How would you do it? Most businesses grow by word of mouth...by referrals. I hope each of you refers someone to subscribe to the magazine.

What would help?

For those of you with ideas, start a thread in Questions and Observations on the forum and let's get it going.

On other topics...this has been a spring to remember, although it's been so busy that much of it seems like years ago rather than just a few weeks.

From a fisheries standpoint, here are a few tidbits you might find interesting.

We stocked several regular customer's lakes this spring, but a few of them have taken a different approach. We'll see how it works.

Here's the theory...these four or five guys want to grow the largest bass they can grow. So, we doubled the forage rates and began feeding the fish early this spring (or late last fall).

With all the interest and talk about genetics, I started thinking about it. What are the biggest problems with growing giant largemouth bass? Two key components...food and culling to get fish to the right age without any loss of growth time.

So, I did some math. The recommended stocking rates for new lakes for largemouth bass is 50-100 fish. Those rates have been in place for years and years. But, half of those fish are males. They won't grow huge. That means we start with 25 to 50 females, assuming they all live. But, those numbers don't account for fish with passive behavior tendencies, those shy ones...or the most aggressive, fastest growing ones. Say, just for argument's sake, that 10-15% of those remaining fish are aggressive, fast growing bass. If we have 25-50 and 10-15% are the "best of the best", that means we start out a lake with 2-8 fish per acre which truly have the potential to grow to double-digits. That's assuming zero attrition of those "best of the best".

So, what if we stock 200 genetically superior bass per surface acre? What are the consequences of that choice? That means we start with 100 females, of which 10-15 of those (if my numbers are anywhere near correct)have "the right stuff" to make it to double digits. But, what will 200 bass per acre do to the food chain?

Hmmm...

Traditionally, biologists advise their landowners to begin culling in year 3, because that's when the originally stocked bass have reproduced and their young are overcrowding the food chain.

But, if we intentionally overstock in the beginning, there will be a need to begin culling after 18 months...by taking out the males and under-performing females.

If you'd like to discuss the merits of this idea, someone start a thread in Questions and Observations and we'll see where it goes.

Last, we've had some really intense travels this spring. My wife, the queen, decided we hadn't been to the Northeast enough, so we are leaving LL,2 in the capable hands of our favorite house-sitters and headed to Boston and points north in a week or so. Anyone in that neck of the woods? We'll have a car and might be able to swing by and take a look at what you have and visit. Drop an email at pondboss@texoma.net

So, until next blog,

Fish On!


Teach a man to grow fish...
He can teach to catch fish...