It is my understanding that trout mostly do not require feeding in winter, given they have adequate fat reserves in fall. By this time of year the trout fishing in most local stocked lakes is tough to say the least, they are just not interested in biting. Contrary to this, the fishing in my small pond has not slowed much since ice cover. The pond is less than a year old with very little vegetation and visibility has always been unlimited, i.e. I can see bottom in ten feet of water. I fed the trout fairly regular all summer as the only forage is insects and invertabrates that self colonized. The trout grew from 4" in May to average 10" now. Should I be feeding periodically and would I expect some growth under the ice?
I also have a question regarding winter aeration, I have been running 24/7 all winter and have no open holes in the ice, I'm not surprised as ice thickness is 30" at opposite end of pond and about 16" above aerator. Where is the air trapped under the ice going? I can here it bubbling and booming but other than drilling holes for occasional fishing it is solid. Temps here as of last night were -35c (-31f). The plus side to this.......You guys in the south feed my Heron for 8 months of the year.
