Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Lower Temp Limit for LMB Pellet Feeding

Anybody (hey Cecil!) know the lower water temp limit at which feed trained LMB will readily eat floating pellets? 60 deg F?

Theo I can't say wrt pellets but in general LMB feeding slows at about 60 and gets real slow at 50. However I feel sure that varies with fish acclimated to colder climates.

Here is some info on LMB feeding as water cools.

http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=000315;p=1

My LMB are definitely slowing down feeding right now; I saw 2-3 LMB pellet hits tonight in the time they would have made 30-40 last week. I've got to remember to take the thermometer to the pond tomorrow night (it's gonna cool way down after Tuesday, with a cold front coming thru and lows below freezing projected for Thurs-Fri nights). The water temp's got to be about 60, as the CC have pretty much shut off and the BG are slowing down too.

OTOH my 5 big fat GC are swimmming around, chowing down, and saying "You got HOW MUCH feed left? Bring it on!"

See if this helps.

Feeding Largemouth Bass during Cool and Cold Weather

Feed application stopped when
feeding activity ceased (easily determined through the clear water), and the amount of feed consumed was recorded for each feeding.
The fish were offered feed 7 d/week until afternoon water temperatures fell below 10øC.

Average daily water temperatures generally declined (as did the rate of feed consumption) until ice developed on the ponds. Dissolved oxygen was not measured, but there were no indications that low concentrations occurred. As temperature decreased and fish size increased, the amount of food, relative to body weight, consumed by largemouth bass decreased. With only two exceptions, fish were larger in October than in September; however, fish in six ponds lost weight from October to April . All ponds receiving fathead minnows still had some remaining when the ponds were drained. However, the only ponds that had appreciable numbers of fathead minnows were those having low largemouth bass survival . These results indicate that fathead minnows stocked on the basis of 60% of the total weight of largemouth bass are not sufficient prey for 5 months of ice cover.

Consequently, it appears that a better recommendation for frequency of feeding would be to adjust feeding rates to correspond to rate of gastric digestion. At temperatures above 20øC, feed daily; at temperatures between 10 and 20øC, feed every other day; at temperatures between 7.5 and 10øC, feed every 3 d; at temperatures between 5 and 7.5øC, feed every 4 d; at temperatures below 5øC, feed every 5-7 d.
To formulate a feeding schedule, we averaged
the percentages of feed consumed by largemouth
bass in each temperature range . Whether
the fish were fed daily (Colorado study) or fed
every other day (Texas study) was also taken into
consideration. As temperature decreased, the
number of observations used to formulate our fingerling and advanced-fingerling feeding strategy decreased; 141 observations were made in the 10-20øC range, but only 2-4 observations were made for each of the other ranges. Hence, the recommendations for the lower temperatures are based on limited data. Our recommendations for the percentage of body weight to feed largemouth bass 20 cm long are 2-2.5% between 10 and 20øC, 1.5- 2.0% between 7.5 and 10øC, 1.0-1.5% between 5.0 and 7.5øC, and 0-1% at 5øC and below . During periods of cool and cold weather, fish continue to need food. If fish are not fed, they will lose weight at a rate proportional to water temperature- the colder the water, the slower the weight loss (Love 1970). Conversely, if fish are fed, they will gain weight in proportions to the amount consumed and to the water temperature. The percentage of body weight to feed depends on both fish size and water temperature. Our recommendations and those presented by Sylvia (1981) provide a guideline to follow for cool and cold weather feeding of largemouth bass. When water temperatures drop rapidly, feeding should be halted for a day or two until the fish adjust to the colder conditions. Once water temperatures stabilize or begin to rise, feed at one-half the recommended
rate the first day and use feeding activity
as a measure of how much to feed subsequently.
We recommend that enough live prey be
stocked prior to ice cover to provide largemouth
bass 0.5-1% body weight in live food daily for the period they will be under the ice.

Theo - Our water temps for this past week are fluxuating around 61F-64F (16.0-17.8C).

My water temps finally dropped below 60 F. this morning. My feedings have been almost non-existent.

Bruce, our BG were still feeding good late Sunday afternoon, according to my dad he saw the biggest BG ever taking pellets Sunday, he guessed it was 12" long and as wide as his knuckles in the belly. I'm sure this cold front with tomarrow nights freeze warning will shut them down on the pellet feeding.

Took the temp gauge with me tonight. My water's actually warmed up in the last week - 71F surface and 66F three feet down. Feeding activity for LMB and CC was way up tonight; BG even ate moderately well. I guess I can put some more of the year end feed to good use.

If feeding almost stops at 50, how are they going to clean up all the tilapia?

Brian, there shouldn't be any Tilapia left alive once the temperature gets down to 50.

One thing I have noticed in our pond is that the larger LMB, 14-15" and larger still actively feed when the water drops below 55 degrees, even when the water temps are in the lower to mid 40's. In our pond it is very rare to catch a small LMB, 13" and under through the ice or while the water temps are below 55 degrees. Once the temps get above that mark then I start seeing the smaller LMB, but not before that.

In the fall LMB metabolism slows while feeding spikes. That is why they put on so much weight. This LMB gorging period should hit just as the tilapia start having cold related problems 65 degrees down to 50 degrees. See the prior link ( http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=000315;p=1 )

I'll confess that I'm not an expert, nor have I read all of the above, but there's a big difference between water temps conducive to feeding, and water temps conducive to topwater feeding. We regularly catch largemouth bass through the ice, but it has to be a slow presentation. Higher temps mean bass are more likely to take something topwater--be it lure or pellet.

When we fish for HSB every spring you can catch them like crazy with water temps in the high 50's, but they won't hit a topwater until the temps are in the high 60's.

Water temp 56.7 deg F this afternoon from the surface down to at least 3 feet after 3-4 days of steady wind mixing it up. There was a light to moderate amount of BG, LMB, and GC feeding on pellets. No CC observed eating and GSH feeding numbers are up (I believe GSH will feed at the surface on open water all Winter long in my pond). Feeding was up noticeably compared to the last two days even though water temps have continued to drop; I guess they're "getting used to it" (?).

As a bonus, I caught the longest BG ever at my pond today!

My water was 58 this afternoon. Been crushing up pellets for the dock B/G there still eating good. I threw some feed out tonight, not much I got some feeding, a few handfulls but that was it. I will surely start to skip a day now then offer a little for the takers. Its got cold here fast. I am happy I put some small coppernose in, despite there size and health they are looking better and there eating good so hopefully a good bunch make it. I will continue to feed the dock fish as long as they keep eating.