Chris, welcome back...long time no here!!!! Yes the ice has been melted completely for a couple of weeks, the 20*C weather helped on a few days. By the way great article on aeration and down the road I will pick your brain on that. I guess the younger fish helped my cause with the few larger ones I stocked as breeders. I think this time luck was on my side but I need in the future to have some winter aeration to keep some water open to increase my chances. I will be stocking some 12 adult LMB per ac or 200 in total to the tanks over the next few week before the spawn. Question, in your pond and past experiences- once the ice is melted do your fish still hole up until the water warms? The reason I ask is last summer/fall I could see thousands of YOY (bluegill/perch) schooling and swimming around the lake but so far this year no fish have been spotted, however, the water temperature is just above freezing and the fish may not yet be active? Thanks

Rowly