Here's one thing I know....there are several big paylakes where I live in Atlanta. They have large Blues, Channels and flatheads, the ponds are any where between 2 to 12 acres in size. They get these fish from big waters from the surounding areas such as: Santee Copper, the Tennessee river, and other parts in south GA. The pond owner pays pretty decent money to have a professinal go out and catch these big fish and then go and stock them in their pay ponds.
Now people have big turnaments where they will just sit out all day long and catch these fish, when the catch them they then release them back into the pond. So there must be somthing to this because if they didn't they would loose money..
