Spring in our Steps

Remembering back in the spring of my life, in my early 20’s, age 30 looked a long way off. Now, in the later seasons of life, I look 39 years back, when I turned 30. Six years into the fisheries management business, thinking of the moment, not really looking toward the future, trying to make a living.

Today, rolling into my 69^th spring, it feels good to know trees are about to bud, fish are preparing to spawn, and nature it doing what it does this time of year.

One of the biggest differences between then and now is how much more sense it makes. It’s even more amazing today to see the resilience of nature and how we can do just a few little things to do our part as stewards to guide our property, our ponds and lakes where we’d like them to go.

Just as we wrap our brains around what we are doing, Mother Nature throws us a curve and we have to adjust. Just when we think our pond water is perfect, something happens. We think our food chain is perfect, until we see some fish losing weight.

The best news is we can all be fascinating how our ponds react to its circumstances and then what we can do to mold it toward our goals.

Pond Boss is designed to help you get the best information, easy to read and understand, to give you some guidance and ideas how to manage your precious waters.

We consider it a privilege to be able to do that.

This issue is loaded with some great information. Is “catch and release” the best idea? Read fisheries biologist Dave Beasley’s idea and science-based thinking. Getting ready to stock a pond? There’s a variety of ways to do that. See inside these pages. Ever wonder how a pond ages? Check out Otto’s story. Interested in water chemistry? Attracting birds? How to identify aquatic plants? Want to know more about quail? Yep, right here.

Thank you for your support and the honor to be of service.

We hope there’s some Spring in your step in this season of refreshing.