Bill,
Had a mending so to speak with Pond boss and now that Lusk is at the wheel I never had a problem with Bob.
As far as Mike Robinson of Keystone I haven't seen him on here for a while. He keeps pretty busy.
As far as the size of the bass I know he keeps larger bass in his pond. Don't think size makes much difference in colder water as the food digests quite slow anyway. Case in point I once caught a large brown trout in a local lake early in the spring that had a frog in its stomach. It couldn't have eaten that frog an later than fall.
However you are right about adding the fatheads before freeze up. In fact he stops feeding pellets at a certain point see below:
Cecil,
Pellet diet is fine when the water temps are over 60F, but they have a hard time digesting carbohydrates in the colder water, which can lead to hyperglycemia. Also, we never handle our bass when the water is below 50F. At these low temps, bass have a hard time recovering.
Cecil, common catfish or trout pellets leave a lot to be desired, as far as bass health goes. You can get by with them just fine when the bass have plenty of fish to eat and the water is warm, but when you go into a northern winter you start seeing problems. We have switched to a 45% protein 16% fat steelhead diet, and will try a 48% protein 18% fat low carbohydrate diet this year. This type of diet produces less fat in the liver and is easier to digest. It also produces faster growth and less waste in the water. However, it's expensive.
The fish being fat isn't good enough...I've watched some of my "fat" Hybrid Bluegills that looked healthy as can be roll over dead during the winter because of Hyperglycemia. When I cut them open, it was a fatty mess. I'd make sure that the bass have all they want of a fish diet in the fall. If those were my bass, I'd give them a break for the rest of the winter. Don't underestimate the damage that hooking a fish can, and does do. During warm weather the fish can repair the tissue easily, but not during winter.
