I released most last fall, but kept five F1's in my cage over the winter, just to see how they would handle a Missouri winter. I left the cage floating at the surface. The cage is 4' deep. The pond froze over a few times, but only a couple inches each time. We have had a mild winter. I only fed them a handful of pellets every two weeks - they just would not eat. I probably should have added bluegill and minnows to the cage. But all the bass survived in the cage.
They started out at 4" last spring and are about 10-12" now.
