Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations A Quick Survey (two questions)

Pond 200 yards behing house, other two ponds on dairy where I work (which is why I started researching fish kills and found Pond Boss)
Had aquariums since I was a kid and now I can count 10 to 15 different species in troughs at any given time.

1. I live 400 yds from my pond.
2. We had an aquarium for a while. Always loved fresh water fishing.

1. I live on the property where my ponds are.

2. Fished a little with my grandfather. Enjoy feeding my catfish over catching them.

I live 70 miles away and bust my butt to get there every weekend and use every excuse in the book to go during the week.

Never had an aquarium but have been fishing all my life. Bass boat hasn't moved now in 3 or 4 years.

1 - Pond is at 100ft. It IS the front yard.

2 - Kept tropicals in aquariums (Has lost alot of interest since getting the pond)

Started fishing trout in the mountain streams of New Hampshire at 6 yrs old.

1) my pond is 70 feet from my house

2] i did not have an aquarium, but i kept many fish in a stock tank as a child.

Been away from the message board too long, nice to be back.

1) My pond is 183 miles (2 1/2 hours) away. I'm there once a month during summer, every other weekend during hunting season. Somewhat remote area, fish seems safe, no signs of trespassers.

2) I had several aquariums...as a kid spent all day catching turtles, still fascinated by water. I would have been a Park Ranger, but not enough $$$...I'm saving that for my "last" job !

Man Eastland, that's brutal! Once a month during the summer! I hope that the once per months are for more than just a weekend.

So out of 19 more reponses, 20/31 of us live at our ponds vs. 11/31 who don't.

15/31 had aquariums vs. 16/31 who didn't.

And as far as I can tell, all 31 like to fish or liked to fish but now just like to see/feed/observe their fish.

Man Sunil, you should see the Texas summers in remote areas, the average man will die from heatstroke ! I can just sit and watch my waterline drop as I fish. Luckily we have decent weather from Fall to Spring, 3 out of 4 aint bad. (lol, Texas jargon) The fish do grow a lot faster in the South, one small advantage. Land is very pricey around all the major cities, I'm lucky to have what I have, and a 2+ hour drive is better than "wishin I had something". Hard to find good hunting any closer too...that's just as fun when the fish aren't biting !

Ponds now encircle the house, I'm headed for a moat effect to this property, the house may not be much in the way of a castle, but the final touch just might be a drawbridge... 'Far from the madding crowd' you might call it...

As I nipper I roamed what little was left of aquatic habitats in the sprawling industrial Midlands of England, ponds, aquariums and vivariums were a magical glimpse into another world...

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html

My pond is 1 1/2 ride from home at property where we have our "get away house". Plan to retire there someday.

Had fish tanks when I was a kid and love to fish. Especially top water LMB fishing.

It's all part of my "stress relief" program as my wife loves to call it. :-)

Have a 19 ac lake 80' from the back of my house. Hopefully will start the waterfall and streambed with a single 10,000 hr pump moving the water even closer to the house and future glass addition in the near future with the water returning back to the lake to recycle back around again. My wife wants a few koi in some smaller lined ponds throughout the 200' water course back to the lake and new patio/hot tub area.

Had many tanks as a kid with fish moving up to African cichlids. I have a 200 gal tank I want to get going again once the southern exposured addition is built with the African's again.

Rowly

I can see it now Rowly a glass porch submerged in the ground 6 ft opening to the top pond before the waterfall! The ultimate in aquariums.

Bob

Great posts! Nice job, Sunil.

Bruce

lake is 22 miles from house,hope to live there in the next 5-10 yrs.are sooner if i decide not to keep current wife.however i do go there everyday to work,feed horse and cow.

I live on my property, near austin, texas. have a two acre lake in the back yard and several koi poinds and an aviary (enclosed with ponds for mandrin ducks). Have a creek that runs through the property and I an scheming on how to develop it into a chain of lakes. NCRS does not want to be helpful. I want to develop the property for wildlife to attract migrating waterfowl and raise big fish. I need someone to look at my property and lend suggestions????

Bruce, to quote Dudley, "it weren't nuthin."

Really though, I was curious as to why I'm so into my pond whereas other friends who have similar interests are not into the same thing (some have ponds in their families).

So I was looking for anything common in all of our backgrounds. Fishing was the main common thread amongst all of us. I thought the aquarium thing would have been more common, but it was just around 50% (it could have been less for some answers were a little vague on the aquarium question).

The question about living at the pond was also a curiosity of mine due to the fact that if you lived at your pond you 95% sure spent more time at your pond than those of us who did not. Although some of you who lived close by to your ponds said you were at your pond most every day.

Our house sets on a hill over looking our pond which is about 150' away and we have two creeks that run through our property.

I had aquariums the entire time I was a kid. My wife had a couple ponds while growing up and a cabin on the river. We also had an in ground pool, but my best friend had a pond and there where several within a mile of us. We usually swam in the pond which my dad never understood. We also had a few boats and we went camping a bunch around lakes.
My brother lives in a suburb that’s built around a lake and he had an aquarium until he got married. He never fishes just lives on a lake.
My brother in-law is a crazy fisherman and he lives within sight of a large lake in SE KY.
Our other civilians aren’t settled down yet.
Kind of makes me think that our family likes water. Never made that connection before.

20 minutes away from my lake,a little over 5 acres.i do go out there everyday to feed the animals(horses & cows)during hunting season i spend alot of time on property,other than that 1-2 hours per day.

My lake is about 1/2 mile away. Several other ponds also within about 1/2 mile.

No fish aquariums. Grew up on livestock and grain farm with many ponds. Few of which are even close to having been optimal for fish (designed to catch water for livestock use).

Been fishing entire life. Never knew much about fish management. Searched for website like Pondboss for long time without success before being directed to it by someone on www.crappie.com.

Another point is being made here, I think. After a while, many of us use our lakes as aquariums. When I personally fish, all that I'm doing is sampling the fish population. I love to see that everything is growing well and healthy. We have a fish viewing area on our lake. A person can look straight down into about 3 ft. of water and see 20-30 fish waiting to be fed minnows. These aren't little fish but LMB, SMB, HSB, rock bass, and assorted other species up to 3 lbs. These fish are only 2-3 ft. away and the kids often get splashed when when the fish scramble for the minnows. It is an incredible view of wild fish.

Our pond is about 100 yards from the house. Only fished about 20 times my whole life. One fish bowl that I remember. Goldfish I think. The cats are getting ready to harvest. Next spring should be some great fish dinners.
Homer

I have one pond in my best friend's front yard. I live in town and the govt. makes it a royal pain to put in a pond. My buddy only lives 5 miles away. Just put in 2 - 35 acre lakes at work.

Always had some type of fish in a bowl or aquarium or swimming pool. Been fishing since I was old enough to remember and then some!

Thanks for allowing everyone to share old stories.

Norm, you're right on.

For probably most all of us, our ponds are big aquariums.

Now we have to figure out a way (without scuba diving) to be able to observe our fish down in the water at their actual level/elevation.

Not like a shark cage, but more like a small plexiglass room sunk into the pond.

1) Ponds are out behind my house.

2) Had several aquariums as a kid. Caught fingerling bass and put them in with the tropical fish. It was fun to watch them eat my mom's fish but she wasn't too happy about it.

Have been a diehard fisherman since I was a kid and have spent significant vacation time on fishing trips all over the midwest and Canada. Only fish my ponds to sample the fish like Norm mentioned. What would be the challenge fishing? The bass follow me around the ponds in schools looking for handouts.

As the pond ages I know I'll have to cull a few fish, but will cross that bridge when it comes. Its funny but I've almost turned into a full time catch and release fisherman on recent fishing trips. Enjoy seeing a fine specimen and letting him go (except for salmon, which are tough to release).