I also will feed limited amounts during the cold water period, but mostly to the HBG..they tend to be more receptive to feeding at cold temps than the northern BG in our ponds. I guess if I had to pin down a number, It would be mid forties (water temps) as my cut-off point. And even at those temps I feed extra sparingly, and only during those time periods where we have had a few days where the high air temps reached the low fifties, with the forecast calling for same over the next couple days. I truly wonder if the HBG would eat whether it was in their best interest, health wise, or not. It certainly appears that might be the case.

And to reiterate, I don't worry about my fish consuming natural forage during the cold water period. It's the processed protein that I wonder about.

In that respect, I have always based my feeding decisions on water temps, but air warms up much quicker...and I have personally observed my bluegills becoming more aggressive on feed during a brief warm up of air temps, when the much slower to react water temps were still quite low.

"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"

If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1)
And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1)
Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT?
PB answer: It depends.