Back again.
I'm still trying to figure out what feeds and how. I saw two different tails turn and submerge last night after the front end of the same fish ate pellets, and they sure looked like LMB tails to me. So I found and reread this thread and now know (only) two things for sure:
1) There seems to be a lot of variation in how the same species of fish eats pellets in different ponds. Perhaps due to differences in competing populations or how hungry they are; I don't think it's all differences in how each of us sees and reports it.
2) To know how many fish are eating pellets in your pond, use the Condello method - count all the pellets eaten and divide by 4.