Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Feeding In Winter

Flatlander - If your fish have been fed all fall & accumulated a good layer of fat, you do not have to feed during ice cover. In the north I feed until they quit eating in the late fall. This is usu when the water temp drops below 50 to 48 deg. F. I start feeding again in the spring when the water reaches 48-50.

Once the water gets below 55 deg the amount of feed eaten is a lot less (50-70%) and I only feed two or three times a week usu on the nicest days and the water has warmed a bit. In the spring active feeding at the surf does not begin until 54-58 deg. but they will eat some sinking feed at 46-50 deg at least for bass, bgill and perch. Full ration feeding occurs usu around 60-68 deg. Thus this is why most sources say start feeding at 60 deg.

I regularly overwinter fat fish in a cage under ice all winter with no feeding (Dec to mid Apr). They are always in good shape in the spring providing they have a good fat layer going into winter; this is paramount. I also keep snow away from around the edges of the cage for sunlight penetration so algae on & around the cage makes oxygen.