Leaving outboard in water in winter

[<FishingExpert>]

I have a 1999 115 Mercury that I would like to keep in the water for the winter. I live in north Georgia and keep it in fresh water. The lake has never frozen over in winter and we frequently boat over the winter since we experience periodic warming. I know that when I lived on the Chesapeake bay that when we got a freezing spell we would put the outboards down in the water to prevent freezing until they were pulled and winterized for the season.
Could I leave my outboard in the water all winter and survive nights when we get below freezing or will it be necessary to pull my boat?

[<SeaFoxMan257>]

Here is the deal. If you have no water in the lowerunit oil its ok to leave it out of the water on a lift. the problem is you can not be sure if you have water or not unless you check the oil.You can get water in the lower unit from the time you check it on a trailor to when you drive it to your lift. Checking the oil on the lift is a pain in the #$%@.Odds are pretty good you don't have water in your unit but the odds have beaten me on more than one occasion when it comes to boats. Georgia temps would be similar to Arkansas I would guess, lows can get in the teens on occasion. If it was my boat and I was for sure going to leave it on a lift for the winter I would make sure the lower unit was submerged 5 inches below the cavitation plate. You would then increase your odds tremendously. This is just my opinion.