Help out a new guy

Hi guys,

Just found this forum and it looks fantastic. I'm kind of new at this. Last year I kept a small largemouth in my tank over the winter with a couple of pumpkinseed. He lasted about 10 months and grew to about three times his original size. He developed some type of infection and died even though I tried a couple different meds. The guy at the pet store told me the fish died because fish up north here in CT need the cold water in the winters to survive. Is there any truth to this? I'd much rather catch them but would it be better to order something from a hatchery? Thanks for your help. I just got a bigger tank and am hoping to do it right this time.

I personally believe that given the choice a bass or sunfish would prefer to have high sixties to mid seventies as the temprature year round

there is no reason what so ever that they need cold water durring the winter. most bass and sunfish prefer rather warm water as the previous post states.

Not to mention that with many species their range is large enough that they never experiance much of a winter.

If it's legal and you have the means to do it I would catch them. I prefer to do that when I can.