You're a little farther south than I am, so you won't need to do much to winterize.

I'm in Tulsa, and my pond has never frozen over, not even around the edges, not even during the December 2007 ice storm, when we were without electricity for 8 days.

I leave my filter and pumps running all winter, although you can shut them off if you wish. A local koi dealer recommends shutting them down, but another koi dealer leaves theirs running. Last year, as sort of an experiment, I built a simple wooden frame over the pond and tacked 3m plastic to it to help retain heat. The water never dropped below 46 F, even on the coldest nights, and typically hovered around 55 F. Most people don't do that, and I probably won't either this year, although I saved my boards just in case.

If you decide to use an air pump instead of the circulating pumps, suspend the airstone about a foot down to avoid bringing the warmer water up to the surface, although in a two foot deep pond, there is not going to be much temperature variation between the surface and the bottom. The airstone should be plenty sufficient to keep a hole open in the event of unexpectedly cold weather. I've never seen a pond freeze solid in Eastern Oklahoma during my three years of ponding, except maybe the small preforms.

In the unlikely event that we should have an unusually cold winter and the pond does freeze over * DO NOT * use an ax or a hammer to open up the ice. Instead, heat a pan of water on the stove until it's boiling, then set the hot pan of water on the ice. It will melt a hole in the ice. You should tie a rope around the handle, though, or the pan may sink out of sight, LOL.

To keep your net from sagging into the water, get enough 1' or 2' rebar rods (available at Lowes or Home Depot), or some other type of short garden stake, and position them around the edges of the pond. The net should fit right over them, and you can adjust the tautness to keep it up off the water. The net will need to be near the surface to keep leaves from blowing under. Even then, you'll get some leaves under the net. Use a long pole fish net to scoop them out.

If you have something to make extra hidey holes, then that would be fine. I don't, but my fish are way too big and too many to even attempt.

In our area, I have not heard of any frogs attempting to winter over in skimmers, but you can lift the lid occasionally to check to make sure. The toads will bury themselves in soft soil until spring. Not sure where the tree frogs go.

I feed my fish a well balanced fish pellet all summer and never rely on Mother Nature to provide for them. Fish that are healthier going into winter tend to come out of winter healthier. Healthy fish have better immune systems and are better able to fight off illness and disease.

Thank you, Nancy. I love knowing there are others in our neck of the woods. It makes it easier when you don't have to explain our wacky weather. As Will Rogers once quipped, "If you don't like the weather in Oklahoma, wait a minute and it'll change." We never know what we will get until we get it.

I remember that ice storm, it missed us down here, but my daughter lived in Stroud and she experienced it. She's in Drumright now. The last big one down here was in 2000, I believe. My parents lost power for 13 days and I only lost power for 15 HOURS, and they live right across the street from me. Different power companies, believe it or not.

I will need to do some shopping. I haven't got everything I need yet. One of the things I'd love to have done is the rocks around the edges covering the liner, but lack of rocks is stumping me.

As for food, what kind do you feed them? And, after the temps drop, do you stop feeding them completely, even when we experience days of nicer weather?

I feed Crystal Clear Premium, which is readily available in my area.

When the water temperatures drop below about 53 F, my fish are no longer interested in food, so that is my cut-off point.

For the most part, I do not feed in the winter, unless the temperatures rise to the point where the water temps are above 55 F for an extended period of time. Here, that usually happens several times during the winter, and the fish become active again. If it warms just for a day or two, then no, I don't feed them.

Like you said, our temperatures in Oklahoma can get pretty bizzare. I remember playing tennis in shorts in December one year because the weather had warmed into the 70's.

Ditto what Nancy said. I will go into more detail for other newbies. When the ambient conditions are so variable it is a good thing to know the water is not reacting as quickly. Air loses heat a lot faster than water so the temps aren't quite as critical as it might seem. The critical temp seems to be 55oF. The fishies may begin to move around more above that temp but they don't need food until the temps stay above that 55oF for a long time. Until you are comfortable with winter pond conditions I would suggest a wireless thermometer that has a sensor that works under water. It is fairly common in most hardware and big box stores. There is a master control for inside that will give readings for several external units. The external units have a waterproof sensor at the end of a long wire so you can take a reading two feet or so under the surface. They usually have a trending function you might find helpful.
It takes quite a while for the waterfall to freeze. It can usually go for several days after the pond surface freezes. The concern would be if the area directly under the falls freezes. That could cause the water from the falls to be diverted, possibly out of the pond. Not a likely happening in your zone but in extended freezes it is possible.
There are several ways to support the net over the water. I use the top of a gazebo over my pond. It works very nicely and is even somewhat attractive. Wind motion can cause leaves to work their way through even bird nets.
It is not likely the Albino Catfish will survive the winter outside. Take him inside if possible.
There are several fish foods that are designed for autumn feeding. I use them with no problems. The fish do not have stomachs. Food is digested through the gut and if the fish has a lot of food in the gut as it goes dormant the food can rot, causing all sorts of health problems. Don't feed the fish. If they really need food they can graze on some algae.
Winter power outages are not as critical as those in summer so long as a hole in the ice is maintained for gas exchange. Extended outages may cause problems as oxygen levels in the water decrease. Addition of Hydrogen Peroxide may help in an emergency. There are devices that tell you the oxygen levels.
The water should be as clean and clear as possible. Parasites and their eggs thrive in dirty water and become active in spring temperatures before you realize it. Some ponders treat the water in the fall and again in the spring. If the water is good and the fish are healthy a fall treatment might be skipped but the spring treatment is important. A warning sign would be a fish with an extra heavy slime coating.
You probably don't need a pond heater or deicer but you might want to make a DIY floating deicer with a light bulb as the heat source. Do a search on this forum for instructions.
Happy ponding, Sandy

Thanks, Sandy. You always have great advice, and I appreciate your reply.