Originally Posted By: anthropic
Beautiful fish, Jason. And your pond looks great, too!

Sprkplug, thanks so much for the link to the article. I was not aware that too much of the wrong kind of fat could be harmful for fish in cold water. Since carbs seem to be the culprit (as is the case with humans, too!), this would argue for a high protein, low carb feed.

Another variable to consider is pond depth. Rapid cooling of the water is dangerous in winter, so shallow ponds would likely be most at risk. Deep water is more stable and likely protective. Or maybe I'm wrong, does anybody know?

Another interesting article about winter feeding bluegill is on the American Sportsfish site. They make the point that cold water feeding increases body weight more efficiently than feeding when the fish are spawning, since so much energy goes into the spawn.

http://www.americansportfish.com/?option...8&Itemid=45

They also argue for sinking pellets, as the unconsumed portion will add to pond nutrients. They are not endorsing summer feeding quantities, mind you, just reassuring that some uneaten feed on the bottom is no big deal in most instances.

Some questions: If feeding happens during a sudden cold snap, are we endangering the fish by bringing them up to the surface? Or does one exposure to chilly surface water for 10 minutes really make much difference? Can the risk be minimized by sinking pellets in, say, 4 to 8 feet of water with greater temperature stability?


My take on it, is yes, pellets will add nutrients to the water. Another reason I don't use sinking pellets. I have enough nutrients and have to fight off FA as it is.

I didn't read sparkplugs article. I believe that people who want large fish are reading too much into the scientific effect of nutrition. IE fats , amino acids , carbs, and whatnot. I have not seen any analysis of the fat content of a frog, a tadpole, threadfin shad, golden shiners, fathead minnows, crawfish, small turtles, a broad spectrum of insects which are largely protein or any of the many many other menu items for Bass and bream. The fish certainly do not take any of this into account when they are hungry. You will never see a bream or bass grab a forage item, flip it over and look for the crude analysis on the back before consumption.

Adding to this. Here are two more monster bream caught today, Feb, 23, 2015, the first at 12:48 pm central time. The second fish at 1:15 pm central.
There are not just a few of these in my pond as has been suggested. These are not freak fish that vastly outgrew the others. I do not know what more I can do to make people believe. I brought the results, and the photos don't lie.
These fish have grown vastly through my winter feeding program. That is glaringly obvious.


And this Monster. Caught at 1:15 pm.