"How American Ponders Was Born”


By Jerry Esten

To those who don’t know American Ponders is my web site. It is administered by  Sean Stevens of Vancouver BC and myself.

I built my pond about 5 years ago. I did some research but not nearly enough. I am not good at reading directions either, hell I don’t even ask directions! Typical male huh?



I did find a site called American Water Gardens or simply “AWGS.” I “met” many fine folks there and got excellent tips. This site was badly neglected and was about to fold.

I did make numerous attempts to acquire the site. My inquiries were never answered.

I tried e mail, snail mail and faxes!

There was a bright young man on the site who had the knowledge to start a site. Zac knew about hosts, domain names etc. I had no clue.

With Zac’s help “AP” was born! I chose the name while on the phone, never even thought about it! I just said what popped into my mind !  Zac was very young, some think perhaps 16 at the time.  He had yet to master the art of dealing with people and managed to be very rude.  I am being kind!  He was paid to leave, yes you heard me.  It was Worth it.  Now what do we do with no computer Guru!   Some times things just fall into place and there was Sean ready, willing and very able

Now 4 plus years later we have 1500 members and grow daily.

We have a myriad of “forums” all related to ponding, as well as a “Chit Chat” Forum where members can do just that. Many members have gotten to meet in person and we regularly exchange plants.. The site is http://www.americanponders.com/   Come visit!
We have some remarkably talented members.  Too many to list here.  You guys know who you are! Truthfully I'd be afraid of leaving someone out.

We really are international ! We have members from Iceland, Lithuania, The United kingdom, Turkey, Mexico and a sterling group from Canada!  I know I am leaving  some out, feel free to advise.
I would love to mention some many members by name. but I know i'd miss a few, so I don't dare.  You guys know who you are!

Register to view photos, it takes a minute and is Free!

"Max" by Gander.

I think this is one of the best pond photos ever.  I expect Becky Thatcher to show up any moment.

I made a post on our site,so members may contribute their knowledge of our origins.

Here they are below....

Esther writes:

We were on the (what started out as) AWGS forum. I remember that Jerry was new to ponding and couldn't get his water sparkling clear. He was having a party inside of a week and was desperate to get the water cleaned up, so I told him to hang something mesh under his waterfall with quilt batting in it. That is how I met him. We emailed a bit. I was very unhappy with that forum as it was not monitored at all, and had decided to leave. Jerry asked me if I knew anything about starting a forum. I didn't but gave him the name of a guy who already had a pond forum going and also told him Zac's name and that he was capable of doing the techy stuff. The next thing I knew, Zac had it up and running and bit by bit, we all came over from AWGS. And we lived happily ever after. LOL Thanks Jerry and Sean.


Rad Michelle:
Well I wasn't exactly in the boat from the beginning but i like to think i'm apart of the crew by now. i was a heavy heavy lurker stuck to this site and read every-single-posiible-thread on here before i decided to jump on board. pun intended. hehe. i think i lurked about here for 2 months before first post and found so much help and support, espeically through my personal life... man did i tell you guys i printed out the x amount of responses and still have them in a journal for times when i am sad and blue and everything everyone said is so true now that its 9 months later and i have moved on from that p.o.s. haha. and i stand by my word that my first named hybrid will be named "american ponder" for all the great people here .

Shawn:
Still lurk more than I post... but here is a copy of the original email welcoming me... (I was over at AWGS too..)
Sean has sent you this email from http://s14.invisionfree.com/Water_Gardening/index.php.

Hi folks,
I thought I would tell you about a new Pond Forum that may interest you. I am a co-administrator of this site with a friend in California. Some of you already know who he is.

We are not looking to compete with other forums, if anything we refer to them.

What we are looking for is members like you, for without members, a forum is nothing more than an information gap on the internet.



Most of you are friends of mine who I know either in person or through years of email correspondence so as you all know me, I hope you do not think of this as an intrusion.



The website is called American Ponders and can be located on the internet at this web address

http://www.americanponders.com



Currently we offer the forum itself and a Live chat room for members if they choose to spend some time corresponding in Real Time. I have started an information storage area for quick reference to general information about the board as well as member Tutorials and other helpful information.

The user interface is quite easy and sharing of photo's can be done both Remotely (your own web storage) or hosted by the forum (direct upload from your computer). We also have a Spell Checker built right into the forum software for those of us who need to double check before clicking "Post".
The forum topics consist of Pond Chat, a Photo Album for you to share your photo's, a Plant Exchange and Dealer Deals. We have already received some discounts for American Ponders membership from a reputable Dealer source so membership really does have it's privileges. We also feature an area for Terrestrial Gardening for those who like to garden in the soil and a General Chit Chat area for all other topics.

Our promise to you is, members come first and all issues will be accommodated in a timely manner. Backed up information will also be available to membership on the website archive and never lost.
Take a moment and check the forum out. We are a cheerful group and the membership is growign daily.



Cheers,

Sean Stevens and Gerald Esten "Jerry"

http://www.americanponders.com



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Please note that Water Gardening has no control over the

contents of this message.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Julles:


A coment from "Julles",
 and she is one! (a jewel)


I'm a member of American Ponders, too. Met a guy at our local watergarden store and he referred me to the site.
It's so much more than a ponding site. Besides the "how to's" and the sharing of our experiences, so many of us have become friends. There have even been meet-ups of people who met one another on American Ponders
Very good job on the site, Jerry and Sean!

The Julles
____________________________________________________________________
Wednesday Novemeber 2, 2005
I just discovered this from Blogger. Look at the date.  It was my first abortive attempt! We were still on AWGS ! It said...
I would like to creat a new and better site, but just not sure how.
I would love your input.









Keep Scrolling!

"A San Clemente Island Adventure"

                                                   By Jerry Esten

How do 25 kayak anglers get to this outer island?  Easy, on a Mother ship!

This is Jim Sammons of San Diego with  monster Yellowfin Tuna.

Nope it was NOT on this trip, but was taken by Jim on a kayak!

You can, if you know whay you are doing, catch anything on a yak.

His kayak is by "Ocean Kayak!"  Jim is a guide a "star" and a kayak fishing expert.  if you want to learn this sport, you would do well to contact jim

This is yours truely with a nice yellowtail.  yes, on this trip.  Check all those rods in theStarboard corner!

This is Tom Berringer, of Cerritos CA, in the water and rarin to go.  Look how well he is rigged.  Yes this trip!

I was not keen on this trip, but went anyway, Turned out to be the best ever!


Mark Hunter of La Canada organized the charter and was good enough to invite me.

A group of 25 men and women, yes, females are kayak fishers too, boarded.

Mark booked the “Great Escape”, a fine boat, aptly named, and a superb choice!

We departed from 22nd street landing on Sunday morning at 1:30 on the 20th of August 2001. Loading 25 kayaks on board with all the needed tackle is a chore, but everyone lent a hand.

The sea was flat and almost everyone slept well.



We arrived at West Cove on the NW end of the island at 7:00 in the morning, refreshed and anxious to fish.



The crew was very efficient at lashing the kayaks against the cabin and decks; even a rough sea would not have been a problem. Off-loading takes some time and one has to wait his/her turn to get in the water. With bountiful kelp beds close by many of us fished while waiting. That was a good decision because we

caught bass, barracuda, and sheephead.



The “Great Escape” was loaded with anchovies and sardines. Most of us had live bait tanks. Floating nylon bait receivers were placed near our anchorage.

It was a simple matter to paddle back to the receiver to replenish our bait.



A wide variety of tackle was used. Small reels like the Shimano Calcutta and the Penn 501 and the Daiwa 40x were popular. The Accurate “Boss” 197 was much admired for its good looks and smooth performance.

You would be amazed at how many rods some kayakers carry. Too many for me! Travel light is my motto, but didn’t the boy scouts say “Be Prepared”?

Kencore of Gardena has a short rod called “Panga”. I loved trying it. The “Panga” can handle bass and yellowtail. The Cal Star 6 ft. 195 C and their GFGR 600XL are similar and are tough sticks that will take abuse. Many prefer longer rods so they can reach beyond the bow and handle fish that want to circle your boat.

Sardines and anchovies as well as “iron” jigs, all produced fish.



If this kind of fishing is new to you, you may be surprised to learn that most of the anglers have electronic fish finders just like the big boats use. On this day all one needed to do was watch the surface action. Game fish chasing bait with abandon is a sight to behold.



When yellowtail and barracuda are hot, getting hook ups is likely, and hook up we did!

What turned out to be the jackpot yellowtail dumped Kai Schumann of San Diego. His fishing buddy, Tom Berringer of Cerritos CA, was close by and held the rod for Kai as he clambered back into his kayak wet and slightly embarrassed but cool enough to land this scrappy yellowtail.

Dr. Gary Meyers of Ramona caught a similar sized fish, but lost the pot to Kai by mere ounces.

About 15 yellows were caught, averaging 18 pounds. Some big kelp bass were taken too; 5 to 7 pounds was not uncommon.

Steve Sala of Dana Point was the first to return to the Mother ship with a nice yellow.

A small black sea bass was caught and released.

I was hooked up with what I believe was a big black.

It was on the big ship. I had 20 pound line and had to be very careful. I would gain a few yards of line and then lose a few more! After 20 minutes the line popped.



Dr. Gary was so busy catching fish from his kayak, he was very late returning. He was chided by the crew and was met with a storm of sardines and anchovies dumped on him by fellow anglers. No Gatorade!

.

New kayaks and accessories were compared and tried, Rich Lewis of El Segundo had a new carbon fiber “Wave Witch” from Hawaii, it is light, fast, maneuverable and expensive.

With kayaks you get nothing for nothing. If you want speed, you give up some stability and vice versa, so a suitable compromise must be reached. For kayak fishing a sit-on-top is perfect. Getting back in is a lot easier than it would be with a sit-inside model.

A top quality sit-on-top is not expensive. For about $600.00 and up you can be an owner.



What’s the right one for you? Not all are suitable for everyone. You must try them. Good shops will often let you do just that. They have demo days where you can talk to factory reps and try many boats. There are many factors to consider and professional advice is invaluable.

My Ocean Kayak “Drifter” was not as fast as some kayaks, but the stable fishing platform is a good trade off. For kayak fishing, speed is not important. I was happy with my “Drifter.” Since this trip I got a “Caper” much like the “Drifter.” but smaller, lighter and faster. It too is made by “Ocean Kayak”



I think our group was extraordinary. We have all run into some “bad apples” on party boats, but nothing like that here, Why? I feel that kayak anglers know they need to help each other so a fine camaraderie exists. Old friendships were renewed, and new ones made.

We all felt fortunate to have been part of this adventure.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Capt. Tim Burke. He and his crew were remarkable. It seemed they never stopped working or serving food. You name it, they had it, and it all seemed to appear from nowhere. For breakfast we had pancakes, sausage and eggs. Lunch was Cornish game hen. Even a theatre style popcorn machine was set up for afternoon snacks. Before getting back to San Pedro we were treated to ice cream and fudge brownies! This is roughing it?
There are many boats that cater to kayak anglers. You can locate vessels in a port close to your home.