My females are pretty fat now, too. They usually don't spawn until March, but it's been fairly warm here, and this week it's in the 70*'s.
I intend to drain and clean the pond Friday, and the change of water has always sparked a spawn, so we'll see if I have eggs by Saturday.
I put a spawning mat in the pond just in case.
I really don't want to dick around with babies this year. It was fun last year, my first time, but such a hassle. Took up so much space in my tiny yard for the mini pond, took forever for the babies to grow large enough to give away, and then I could hardly find any takers for them. But, I just can't think of having eggs and babies and not at least TRY to save a few. After all, they ARE Mother Nature's creatures.