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

I suspect that cold water feeding gets a bad rap because it is easy to overfeed. Metabolism slows, fish don't eat as much, so if summer feeding program continues there will be lots of waste and possible problems. Besides, if fish don't eat as much, how can they pack on weight?

But maybe we should reconsider. At the Pond Boss conference we learned about a big research project on the skinny bass of Grand Lake. They were skinny, the researchers discovered, because they roamed the lake in search of food. LMB were traveling 1 or even 2 miles a day, consuming a ton of calories to do so.

They resembled marathon runners rather than couch potatoes, but when it comes to bass, we anglers want fat couch potatoes. Now the researchers have placed artificial structure in the lake in order to get the bass to get their food without burning it off going all over the lake.

With that in mind, what if the cold water metabolic slowdown seen in BG is a blessing as well as a challenge? Sure, they eat less, but then they burn less, too. Result: weight goes up, even with less feed.

Maybe there are temperatures where feeding ceases altogether. Maybe pellets would have to be downsized, too. However, ice fishing for BG up north can be very productive, so we might be surprised.

Love to see more research on this topic.