Cecil:
Even though I'm 150 miles north of you, my ice was gone on March 9th on all ponds.
FWIW, I've had no problem carrying redears through the winter. We put about 500 1-inch fingerlings in the frog pond 3-years ago and I'm still transplanting 6+inch fish whenever I can catch them. Can't document reproduction in the other ponds as of yet. The redears do tend to create their own spawning beds away from the bluegills, which are visible with our clear water.
