Editor’s Letter

Goodbye to a Quirky Pond Summer

By Bob Lusk

As we watch most of Summer, 2025 in our proverbial rearview mirrors, I can’t help but reflect on the weather. We were fortunate to travel to, through, and from at least 20 of these United States.

The common thread was weather. In July, there was a heat dome that moved across the nation, into the Upper Midwest, that saw soaring heat, records bursting all over that area. That particular heat wave came on the heels of abundant July rains, in some cases, horrific flood events. Reservoirs and ponds across much of the nation were at peak capacity…in August.

That’s pretty rare.

Then, milder temperatures offered what we hoped would be a respite. But it actually set the stage for some catastrophic fish kills. Summer, 2025, may go down in history—at least in my history—as one of the top summers for fish die offs. Most of them had a common theme.

Hot water, rain, cool weather, followed by more heat, then record-setting rains shoved too much cool water into stable ponds on top of dense algae blooms.

That was a recipe, the perfect storm, so to speak, to upset and upend ponds being pushed to the best production year, yet.

Looking back, overall, the summer was unusually mild. Ponds that haven’t been pushed have weathered the storm, and are set to have a great fall season.

As you dig into this issue of Pond Boss, keep in mind your efforts this fall to make sure you go into winter with the healthiest body of water possible.

Happy water, healthy habitat, plenty of food and all things you need. Pay attention to water color, the temperature, how much rooted plant life you have.

Remind yourself of objectives. Keep them in focus. Think about ambience and how that blends with your management strategy. Want your fish to grow this fall? All three of these topics are covered in this issue, along with some primo meat from Dan V, when and whether to start over with a pond, renovations by Mike Otto, all right here, in these pages.

Yes, there’s still lots of topics, timely for the upcoming season.

Thanks for being an important part of our Pond Boss family.

Happy fall!