I find myself doing the same thing! In one case I snuck over to a neighbor's pond to give it a fair assessment. Apart from the geese everywhere, I was really quite jealous of the vitality of the pond. Loaded with life! My large pond by comparison is really quite quiet, though due to this it is perfect for swimming due to this. His soils appear to be quite different than mine, and it is only about a mile away.

I think it is due to the crushed dolomite dust soils and very hard water. In fact I am getting "reef" buildup on the dock and rocks from bacterial colonies that is getting more than an inch thick in places. The fish don't seem to mind, but it certainly seems to have impact on how much nutrient is available in the water for life.