I was just informed that Bob Pond, of Atom Plug fame,(Striper Swiper and Atom Swimmers) as well as founder of Stripers Unlimited, has passed away on December 26th. I was honored to be on the list of friends to be notified about this tragic event. Bob has spent the last few years of his life battleing Alzhimer's Diease. Bob was a special person indeed. He deadicated his life to striped bass and striped bass survival, even when the subject or topic was in vogue with the rest of society. He deadicated more of his own personnel monies to striped bass research than anyone I know of. He was truely a very special person and he will be missed by his family and frieds for sure. I had the opportunity to go on many research projects with Bob over the year's, trying to find answers as to why stripers did what they did and how they battled to survive. The last trip we did was to Nova Scotia, sampling the Shubenacaidie River system with grad students from NC State, and Coastal Carolina Univeristy. I got to take my son on the trip and we both learned a tremendous amount about striped bass. I will never forget what he taught me. Never accept anything at face value, always question and seek the truth. I will miss him greatly. May he rest in peace and in a place where stirpers grow to 150 lbs. That would be fitting for Bob for the rest of eternity. Captain Jim White--Your Friend.
