Trout with such a delicate flavor can be overwhelmed by what they eat. In fact, a hatchery trouts flesh can even smell like pellets. And yes, they are ignorant as dirt because they have never been in a natural setting. No, a farm does not count. The only food from egg on in thier entire lives they know is pellets. So much so they frenzy when the pellets hit the water, they even start to boil when they hear the feeders turned on. That is what they are conditioned for. They are survivors, probably moreso than any other trout/char species. But when you take them off that forage fish diet they scrounge. When you take them off pellets they have to learn, what do I eat? And no, they do not prefer natural food over pellets. You throw a load of pellets out there, that is an easy meal they know. And they will continue to feed that easy way until they are 20 pounds. Why chase prey when you can just come to the surface and inhale? An older trout won't even chase a minnow. You can catch them on power bait because it smells like pellets. You won't get a natural trout to even look at power bait. Nor a holdover.
I'd put chubs in there. I put forage fish in every pond I manage. I'll make cover for the forage fish. I'll feed the forage fish. I also will put in bullfrogs, crawdads, and cover for invertebrates. If I'm eating these trout I want them fed with fish. It does not matter if they get to be trophy size, but they better taste good. Bass get huge eating tilipia, bg even trout that are pellet fed. Big carnivore fish eat little fish. Been that way for millions of years.
