There is this little pond right off the highway near a baseball diamond that I stop at before work sometimes (fishing before work is a running theme with me) that is at best maybe 4-5 ft deep, but only in the very middle. I can see the bottom throughout most of it even though it is extremely thick with weeds. There are a slew of pretty small, but hungry, bluegill that I can catch with nearly anything plus some similar size largemouth.

 

That was last year. I stopped by last night after work just to poke my flashlight in there to see if any fish were touched by miracles and survived the cold winter because by all rights, that pond was solid ice all winter. Simply not possible for it not to be, right? Much to my surprise, I saw a few swimmers with my light. So I pulled out my rod and tossed a few. Much to even more surprise was the fish I caught: a healthy ~2 lb bass. I asked him where he came from and told him he didn't belong in there, but he didn't respond (my fishinese needs a bit of work).

 

So I ask y'all this: how on earth did these fish not only survive, but thrive and actually get bigger? This pond seems to me to be just something that is there and at some point must have gotten stocked with a few fish but they are kept in check by the extreme weed growth. It doesn't seem to be state owned since there are no creel signs and it is not on private property (at least there are no "no trespassing" signs).

 

Is it possible they survived or is it more likely that there is a mysterious fish stocker? I have only seen one other person ever fishing there one time and I drive by it every day.

Ha! Fun post. Your fishinese comment had me chuckling.

 

Warmwater fish can survive fine in some mighty small waters through the winter. They can tolerate pretty low 02, both physiologically and behaviorally (decreasing activity). And, enough sun normally gets through the ice to keep plants photosynthesizing. Trouble comes when there are TOO many nutrients -often from fertilizers and leach fields which produces too much bacteria which get teh lions share of limited 02. Coupled with a heavy snow capping the ice and blocking the light, the largest critters die first. Winterkills can be partial (often the bigger fish go) to nearly complete. Gotta be there at ice out usually bc dead fish will sink and you may not see it.

 

That 2lb (~16") bass, in WI, is probably 6 years old, or maybe more. Maybe someone caught it elsewhere and put it in. But its more likely that it has survived a half dozen winters. That would not be surprising at all.

My point was that I don't see any way that this pond did not freeze all the way to the bottom since it is so shallow. Would the vegetation stop it from freezing completely? Even if that is the case, I can't see how they would survive with such limited space to move or catch prey.

My point was that I don't see any way that this pond did not freeze all the way to the bottom since it is so shallow. Would the vegetation stop it from freezing completely? Even if that is the case, I can't see how they would survive with such limited space to move or catch prey.

 

That was the first thing I thought when reading your original post.  Guys here had to put extensions on the power augers to even get to water last winter!

 

Only thing I can think of may have been that it's got a spring in it.  Just be happy they survived, and make sure to spread the word of the terrible fish kill.  Should give you a few weeks before the word get out!

One winter, on Lake Holcombe, Wi., the water froze to the bottom, in shallow spots (4 ft or less).  As the water level went down, the ice sat on stumps, and humps and broke.  We could walk out on it and see the bottom of some of that ice.  Frozen in the ice were small (1" or less) bluegill.  We broke some of that ice off and took it home.  We put the ice in water in the kitchen sink.  As the ice melted, the fish started swimming.

They didn't live a long time, probably because there's no oxygen in well water and they may have been thawed out to quickly.  I don't know.  I just know that some fish can survive some very severe winters.

One winter, on Lake Holcombe, Wi., the water froze to the bottom, in shallow spots (4 ft or less).  As the water level went down, the ice sat on stumps, and humps and broke.  We could walk out on it and see the bottom of some of that ice.  Frozen in the ice were small (1" or less) bluegill.  We broke some of that ice off and took it home.  We put the ice in water in the kitchen sink.  As the ice melted, the fish started swimming.

They didn't live a long time, probably because there's no oxygen in well water and they may have been thawed out to quickly.  I don't know.  I just know that some fish can survive some very severe winters.

 

i would tend to agree with this. that fish will survive while frozen in ice(atleast some fish). ive seen it with minnows. ever add too much ice to the minnow bucket on a hot summer day to help them survive longer?