I am assuming that feeding should be stopped at some point each fall. My common sense tells me that I should stop when fish stop aggressively feeding. Curious as to what is recommended.

I usually stop when water temps hit 55 degrees.

When the fish slow down eating slow feeding. Stop when they eat very little - that should happen around 55 as Shorty pointed out.

I stop when they quit feeding, or feed very little. It depends on weather. CC will stop feeding before BG. Last year CC stopped feeding in mid-late November. BG fed for a couple of weeks longer.

Water temp or ambient temp ?

Water temperature.

Water temps. They are much less reactive to sudden change and are what controls fish metabolism (most are cold blooded).

Like Ewest, I will feed until they quit eating.

I stop when the water temperature gets down to about 50. This also corresponds when the fish become very slow feeders. It usually is somewhere around the last of November or first of December "here".

Often times in later November I will reduce the amount of feed being fed if the fish are slowing down. I will also switch to the warmest part of the day and skip cold cloudy days and only feed when it is sunny and the fish seem active.

I hand feed only. I kind of let the fish tell me when they are done, but that is right around 50 degrees water temperature.

To the OP:

Listen to your fish, your common sense feelings are correct.

I watch the fish, but also this time of year I finish up what feed I have on hand. I usually don't buy any more feed after November 1st.

I have the same question and I knew this forum had the answers. However, I have a follow-up question. My fish were still feeding aggressively until a couple weeks ago. I still have approximately one bag of feed left in the feeder. It got cold last week and now the feeding has almost stopped. I've tested different times of the day to see if they were more aggressive at noon. But nothing seems to make a difference. Its mostly just minnows pecking at the feed with the occasional gulp of a BG. So should I pour out the feed into a heavy duty trash bag and wait for the spring? Will it go bad in that amount of time? If so, I can start hand feeding on warmer days. Or should I continue to feed and hope it eventually gets eaten?

Thanks for your help.

You could hand feed, then stop if you don't get response for several days. In cool weather, every other day, or every three days may be all they will feed.

If you want to store the feed, Put it in a sealed plastic bin and keep in a cool dry place, where rodents cannot get at it. It should store until spring. Then, feed it first.

Light snow here this afternoon, surface temps at 43 degrees this afternoon. I am likely done feeding till spring.

If you can find those blue or white plastic 30 gallon drums with cam lock lids they make great feed storage bins. That is what I use and I keep mine outside in a covered but open shed. Rodent proof, varmint proof and they are the right size I can still reach the bottom to get all the feed out. I use them year round and dump my feed out of the bag into the barrels as soon as I get it. I also have a 30 gallon galvanized trash can with a snug fitting lid and it works about as good.

I carry over some feed every year. In fact I like to because sometimes I have trouble finding feed early enough in the season when my fish are already hungry but no feed in the stores yet. So I start out with the carry over feed.

Tractor Supply here will have feed by mid February.

TSC stores vary. The store in Joplin quit carrying any fish food at all. At least the last time I checked. I had to go to the Ft Scott store.

Pittsburg just had a new TSC store open this summer, and to date they are carrying both Purena Game Fish Chow AND the Sportsman Choice Trophy Fish. Plus both brands catfish food. I don't know if they plan on keeping both all the time, or just seeing what sells.

I only feed either of those two when I can not get the Purena Aquamax Sportfish MVP, which I get special order from a local feed store. It is my main go to fish food. I also feed some Optimal bluegill feed and am currently mixing in about 10% of it with the MVP.

I should have enough of the MVP and Optimal on hand to finish this season and start next year.

If it stays as cold as it has been, feeding will soon be over here. But I do not expect it to. It is supposed to get up to 79 here next Sunday so I suspect we will still have some warm weather and feeding time yet. Fish fed really aggressive this afternoon and water is only 56 degrees.

I fed up till around the first of December the last two years and I would expect about the same for this year.

Water surface temp at 48.6 this morning at 8am. Cnbg still fed and ate all the food though it took about 4 times longer to finish all of it. That is the coldest my pond usually gets here in east Texas but... weather reports say we may have 60 straight hours of freezing temps starting this Sunday. That is extremely rare here!! As of this morning I am still feeding the same amount as all summer long. With my fish still feeding this good at 48 degree water am I asking for trouble with water quality?? I suspect with 60 hours of freeze temps will drop to record low for surface temp.I guess once again my question is...even in 40's surface temp, should I keep feeding as long as they are willing to eat? I know I will have to back off on the amount at least but water quality issues have me worried. Pond is in really good shape right now. Aeriation has been turned off for several weeks now and visibility is still about 18 inch on a sechi dish. Any advise? Just don't want to screw up a good thing!!

Flame, I cut off both my feeders this morning. Surface water temp was 39.5, and the CNBG at the feeder on the dam were still actively feeding. The CNBG in the hatchery pond, and at the feeder in shallow water were not.

Our outside temp is supposed to hit the teens Sunday night, and there's no way I want my CNBG rising into that surface layer to eat. To me, it's just one of those just because you can, doesn't mean you should scenarios.

I like your thinkin on that Al. Probably turn feeder off tomorrow. At least until surface temps come back up. I'm still 10 degrees warmer than you. If I just turn of my TH Feeder how long will it save my settings? I may turn it back on in a week or two.

Flame, I just set my throw times to zero. I'm not sure if the settings will stay if just the solar panel is hooked up.

Outside temps here are supposed to hit -20 degrees early Monday morning. Right now it's not clear if the high on Sunday will make it above zero.

Stay by the fireplace!

Thanks Al, and Zep, I love the fireplace video!! You guys stay safe and warm and have a great New Year!! Shorty, it's so cold at your place you don't even have a temperature!!!!

Ok guys, you talked me into shutting down the last feeder running today. Dam, did it get this cold last year? I worried last year about losing my TFS but didn't, so now I have to worry about it again? I am beginning to feel like a worry wort!

Yes we had a couple days this cold in Dec/Jan last year.

Tracy, I log everything that I might need about my pond. It's a hobby and I just enjoy doing it.Last year on New Year Day the air temp at 8am was 60 degrees. Water was 59.5 and I had between 27-30 inch visibility. Seven and eight days later we hit 22 degrees, then 20 degrees.Water temp dropped to record low to 47.5 degrees. 3 days later on 1/11/17 surface temps went back up to 62.75 degrees at 5pm.Never got below 50 degrees again until yesterday when it hit 48.6. I suspect from Sunday thru wendsday I will break all my record lows on the pond!! I'm a true pond stat nerd!! But I enjoy it soooo much!

Flame that is very cool! One day, when I live closer to my place I would LOVE to start keeping records like that.

Flame come do that for my pond! I'm not to good at record keeping. Now that I'm retired (retarded) don't seem to have time for anything.... lol

Pat, that is why I am all the time texting you questions about things. I want to learn. Must have always been a wildlife guy. Even though when I was 18 yrs old I went into mechanics and have made my living in mechanics for a large part of my life and then real estate for almost 20 years...when I first went to college I majored in wildlife management and minored in zoology. Life changed that corse but I believe I am doing now what I always dreamed of doing!! And you guys have taught me a lot!!

Ice on the big pond this morning. It looked funny seeing the ringnecks swim around sheets of ice.

As a side effect of stopping feeding, the GBH have disappeared. The cold water has driven my CNBG away from the banks, and the GBH were waiting on the feeders to throw to draw them back in. With the feeders off, there's nothing for the GBH to snipe.

I had 2 gbh fighting in the tree tops yesterday.Today I see none. Maybe they took each other out!!! Yea right! Good point Al. Maybe mine will quit pooping on everything now.

Weds morning, my big pond was at 47 degrees, and the hatchery pond was at 39.5 degrees. Neither HSB or CNBG ate at the dam feeder, and only smaller CNBG ate at the other big pond feeder. The CNBG in the hatchery pond not only ate, but they ate aggressively. It's worth noting that there is no small(fry to fingerlings) forage in that hatchery pond, and other than pellets, they had no other option for food.

We had a warm wet southerly front hit, and last night at 5, all water temps were just below 57 degrees. Large CNBG were still not eating at the dam feeder, but the HSB ate hand thrown Purina Largemouth pellets very aggressively. The smaller CNBG at the other pond feeder got a one second throw, and CNBG were getting knocked out of the water by LMB. That was the first time this winter LMB have targeted the feeders. The smaller hatchery pond fish ate at summer levels.

With the night time temps starting to warm up around here, it might be a good time to start hand throwing food to get a feel for the daily feeding activity of feed fed fish. At this time of year, results can change daily.

My surface temps have been in the low 60s for 3 days in a row now. cnbg feeding like it was 75 degrees!! I am already debating when to turn my aeriation back on but I'm sure Mother Nature probably still has a few surprises up her sleeve. All chance of frost is usually gone by Easter here.