birddog, I'm raising HBG, bass, and crappie. Ted brings up a good point earlier about high fish density in small ponds. My pond is 1/2 acre and my original stocking was 1000 HBG, 100 crappie, and six bass. All these fish have reproduced so I'm sure I have several thousand fish. I have never lost a one to winter kill that I know if (I assume they would float). I would consider my pond to be stocked very heavy and yet no problems. Is this because of aeration? I may never know until I shut it off which I'm not planning on doing. I do exactly what Bill is talking about above. I run the aerator just enough to keep an opening/thin spot in the ice. I determined the run time by trial and error along with a few water temp measurements during the coldest weather. I also try to plow as much as I can.
