It’s Never Too Late 

Okay, I have to own this. This issue of our favorite magazine is late…way late. That responsibility sits on my shoulders. One weakness I have is not saying “no” enough. I say, “Sure, I can do that”, way too much. That’s what happened, and because of that weakness, we are three weeks late. Apologies, dear readers.

The bad news is…we’re late. The good news is this…the next one is on time, and you’ll get it early July. So, it’s almost like back-to-back magazines.

The best news? This issue of Pond Boss is loaded larger than ever. We’ve expanded by four more pages, mainly because we included more photographs. We’ve gotten good feedback from readers praising pictures in past issues, so we decided to bump up the number of photos this issue.

The Pond Boss VII Conference and Expo is coming along nicely. If you haven’t registered, now is the time. Be sure to book your room at La Torretta now, as we have a special block set aside. You don’t want to lose that discount by waiting.

The program will be fantastic. We’ve changed things from the last few conferences. Sure, we’ll have the core subjects as pond construction, growing giant fish, dealing with runaway aquatic vegetation, and aeration. But, we’ve added more social time, some new cutting edge topics, and expert speakers who help us not only become better stewards of our waters, but how to enjoy our precious property even more. Heck, we’ve even got a beekeeper coming, to teach us about that important ecological topic. We’ve taken our time to find the best experts from all over the nation. The most fun subjects will be several landowners who have done some interesting projects that will hit your creative side. We’ve got intriguing, affordable case studies to showcase. Plus, you’ll get to hang with Marty Stone, our keynote speaker. Marty is color analyst for Major League Fishing television show, and a famous angler who fished both B.A.S.S and FLW tours for years. He loves private waters. Marty is a renowned speaker and fascinating to hear. You’ll want to spend time with him. Dr. Jim Morgan is coming, to share his story of King Fisher Society, Richmond Mill Lake and giant bluegills.

Now, we’re in the process of finishing production of the program, and we’ll publish it online and in the next issue of the magazine. The registration form is in the magazine, ready for your part. We’re excited to bring the Pond Boss family together again. Our staff recently met, and we reminisced about the very first conference, ten years ago, in Arlington, Texas. We’ll never forget the feeling of a family reunion, with people coming together, meeting each other for the first time, but acting like we’d all known each other for years. It was fascinating, watching interactions of people with a common bond…water. Please make plans to attend. It will be well worth it, I promise. The venue is outstanding, easy to get to, on the water, with great facilities, and a good fit for the Pond Boss faithful and our families.

Tell you what…each reader who registers before July 31 will receive a free sunfish poster and a Pond Boss hat. If you register online, add the words “early bird” in the comment section. If you call the office, tell them you want the “early bird special." If you’ve already registered, and see this offer, send an email to info@pondboss.com and tell us you want the “early bird” offer. That fish poster looks great on the wall in a boat house, rec room, or on the headboard of your bed. Everyone needs a sunfish poster!

This issue of the magazine is a little different. As mentioned, we decided to add more photos to enhance several stories. Topics include reader Bryan Immink’s story about tree planting strategies around his pond, Dan VanSchaik’s thoughts about preparing for waterfowl season.

There are feature articles about whether or not you should build hatchery ponds, the differences between varieties of minnows, Michael Gray’s escapades about building a pond on a fault, to a fault. We have Dr. Boyd’s comments how to use a Secchi Disk. To honor the late Dr. Dave Willis, I found a story we ran years ago about the timing of spring spawns. We added some really good photos to that story. Since it’s spring, we’ve tackled another topic of aquatic plant management, how plants work in a trophy fishery, by biologist Dylan Kwak. Another field biologist sent an intriguing photo of a diseased bass you’ll want to see and hear about. Cornwell discusses timing of stocking fish…a common thread of discussion this time of year. There’s a short piece about renovating a small pond. We pushed silt out of our two hatchery ponds here at LL, 2. That story will give you a few simple ideas. Otto finishes telling the story about installing a plastic liner in a nice-sized pond. And, there’s a short piece about repairing wind erosion around a lake edge. Dr. Neal has an interesting story about managing coastal ponds…those are tricky because of water chemistry. Been thinking about starting a fishing club? Good information about that, too. Birdman Mel teaches us about purple martins, Eric West gets scientific about feeding fish, and I have a tasty recipe where we made breakfast sausage from a feral hog.

So, we invite you to kick back, peruse these pages, take time to register for the conference and enjoy your pristine waters. After all, better late than never.
Fish On!