Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations The winter, pellet feeding debate! Results are in!

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FAIR WARNING: I don't care who you are or how long you've been on Pond Boss. If you make another uncivil, sarcastic, or underhanded comment, you will be gone, period. Aside from Jason007, the rest of you know me personally, and I'm not kidding.

If you can't be nice, DO NOT POST.

But wait, doesn't it say somewhere that the goal of forum participation is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women?

I guess what needs to be remembered here is (water temp) maybe? Jason I am not far from you here in Arkansas and I fed my CNBG around Jan 31st when I was at my pond, and they did feed and I was really surprised that they did. I was not expecting it but at that point is was not very cold here yet? I do not know what my water temp was either.

So maybe depending on water temps in your giving area this would work, but as some stated you and I both don't really have "Winter" like folks from Kansas on up. We may get a few nasty days like we are now, but in a week to a few days it will be gone and then we are right back up to air temps in the 50's and lower 60's. Me being from Wisconsin my while life you can't really call this quote Winter down here.

From what I can take from this is in my situation if I have water temps around 50 or a bit higher I should be able to feed some then. Which I never really thought about doing. And also tells me I could feed into mid November easy instead of mid October here and maybe longer if temps are right. So thanks for the input. What we ALL need to be careful about is making blanket statements about a study we did because what may work for us may not work 8 to 10 hours North of us. Not saying you made a blanket statement just saying we need to be careful about doing that.

RC

In the spirit of helpful camaraderie, Did you guys know that quadrupling your daily chlorthalidone dose causes you to frequent the bathroom every 3 minutes?

Jason, you never answered my question about your water temps in winter. In regards to fish, the nomenclature that is given to the season has no meaning to them, but photoperiod and water temp, along with water quality does.

I'll ask again, during the winter, as in the last week of February 2015, what is your water temperature?

With you being in La and me being in Indiana, "winter" means two totally different things. If I wanted to feed my fish, I would have to cut through 10" of ice to feed them. You don't have that issue. That's where water temperature comes into play.

That's why I am asking about water temperature. What is yours?

Sparkie, I have it on good authority that this effect can be reversed by drinking a quart of Milk of Magnesia, and I would advise you do do this as soon as possible.

I will try that Yolk, just as soon as the hair on my arms ceases flying off into space like a tarantula defending its territory.

While Conan wasn't exactly a Viking, it may be a good time to review the Viking Laws:


1) Be Brave and Aggressive
a) Be Direct
b) Grab all opportunities
c) Use varying methods of attack
d) Be versatile and agile
e) Attack one target at a time
f) Don't plan everything in detail
g) Use top quality weapons

2) Be Prepared
a) Keep weapons in good conditions
b) Keep in shape
c) Find good battle comrades
d) Agree on important points
e) Choose one chief

3) Be A Good Merchant
a) Find out what the market needs
b) Don't promise what you can't keep
c) Don't demand overpayment
d) Arrange things so that you can return

4) Keep the Camp in Order
a) Keep things tidy and organized
b) Arrange enjoyable activities which strengthen the group
c) Make sure everybody does useful work
d) Consult all members of the group for advice

I prefer Yolks Conan outlook on life.

So esshup in his defense...
since winter does vary so much from region to region...
wouldn't it be incorrect to claim "bluegill should not be fed in the winter"?
Because in some regions with very mild winters it is probably productive to feed bluegill in the winter?

I guess it almost always goes back to "it depends".

To me it seems silly to ask what the temperatures were as it is obvious to me they are quite a bit warmer than norther climes, so he is able to feed. I will take a stab and say if the fish are accustomed to floating pellets they are able to utilize them down to lower temperatures. What is the threshold temperature in his pond at which the fish wont gain from food? Who knows, I'm sure it depends.

If I stopped feeding my aquarium fish through the winter, they would not be happy with me. They are quite happy with their blood worms and flakes 2x a day and sit at 81F most of the time (except for the past few weeks where it has been down to 78, the heaters cannot keep up!).

liquidsquid if I ever change my posting name I am going to change it to "It Depends!"

and this could be my avatar!

Earlier in this post someone said Bob Lusk said 46 is when he would stop feeding. So I guess to answer question liquidsquid it would be around 46 I bet. Notice I said around. Bob Lusk does not do anything halfway when it comes to ponds. So if he says 46 is about it then I would have to venture to say that's pretty darn close for the most part. That's not to say they wouldn't eat a little at 44 or 43 but in what he has discovered 46 seems to be where it might turn from productive to non productive...

RC

Make sure your name includes the IT, otherwise it might create stories.

I think you should just change it to "Depends" and we can all giggle about your bladder problems....

It is about time things get a little humorous in this topic. It needed a little off topic relief.

yes it did Mr. Cody!

At the time of my fist post to this thread, the temp was 51F.
We have had a cold snap , again, and it's at 49f about 3 feet down, as of about 30 minutes ago when I was feeding the fish.

I'd honestly like to know the water temp. Assumptions and guessing won't help us in determining on whether you should bother try feeding or not. Data IS useful.

For CNBG to be eating pellets in cool water, the water logically has to be above "Lusk's 46F" feeding guideline. Since CNBG are known to be cold temperature sensitive, as in not surviving well in ice covered ponds, I am surprised that Jason's BG are actively eating pellets in cool 49F water. I attribute this feeding behavior to these BG are still relatively young and actively in an early rapid growth phase that requires ample food. Whatever the reason that particular strain of CNBG appears to be a high quality strain of BG. It will be very interesting to see how they perform in the next several years especially after they move from the body lengthening phase and enter the mid-life body bulking phase as breeding dominant adults. This high amount of early growth lengthening & bulking, as with numerous fast growing species, may shorten their life span. It would be very educational to monitor this particular group of fish for longevity.

Maybe it is good we have some of these dust-ups now and then. It lets us know that this is one of the few forums that is dedicated to friendly and civil, plus providing a lot of good scientific and imperical information.

Anyway, we just got home from the trip, via Edmond, OK. We got 4-5 inches of snow there yesterday.

However, I did want to add a little bit about winter feeding. Most years it would be very difficult for me to do any feeding from Thanksgiving to about Easter. My fish would need their own upward drilling auger, and skates or snowshoes to get to the food.

I got a bunch of HSB at the end of November and had to break holes in the ice on both fishing ponds with my tractor/front-end loader. It has been so cold here this season that the state Dept of Natural Resources has not been able to do very much trout stocking, which normally happens bi-weekly from mid-December to the end of April.

I've never tagged my fish, but I think I'm going to buy a tagging set from our friend Greg G., this season. For years I've felt that my fish, especially the bluegill and channel cats, grow under the ice in the 33 to 39 degree F water.

Definitely more research is needed about individual species of fish growth rates with ample food in water below 50F down to 39F.

Jason, thanks for posting the water temps. That water temp makes a big difference, at least for me. For me, those water temps are late Spring and early to mid Fall, not winter. That's why I was questioning water temp. That's great growth on the fish. I echo Bill Cody's comments - It would be great to keep tabs on their growth and lifespan.

I could provide that in relation to various kinds of trout. But it is also commonly available in the public domain.

On an extreme, a few years ago we achieved a 0.7 conversion rates with rainbow trout at 53 degrees F. That is, every 0.7 pounds of high-protien/high-fat sinking pellets produced 1 pound of flesh on a sample of approximately 25,000 fish in 53 degree F raceways.

That probably ain't gonna happen with any warm water fish, nor with most feed available to the average pond owner. Our food was super de-hydrated. I don't remember the protien/fat content, but I believe it was about 44/15, and used a lot of fishmeal.