Tony, it does seem that way doesn't it?
After 5-6 years of various tilapia stocking rates, I believe tilapia are a bullet, but in the correct stocking rates and sizes, they can become a magic bullet. Over those years I have altered the total pounds added based on my goals. Some years as low as 30# total, but in 2016 I added close to 400# total. That number is not one I'll sustain, but I needed them in volume last year. Plus, I raised the largest percentage of last year's tilapia, but that's a story for another thread.
As far as FA control, DD1 was working with an owner that had an incredible FA problem, and IIRC 60#-70#'s per acre didn't help. 20#-30# an acre seems to be best for me. That number takes pressure off my CNBG, and controls most of my algae as well. For all practical purposes, it's the tilapia base line for my big pond.
I'm about to wade in way above my pay scale, so read this part with a leery eye. Tilapia will do a number on FA, but it's primarily the yoy. In older ponds with an existing population of larger LMB, I think that stocking fewer but larger tilapia is a big help. The total poundage may be the same, but there are fewer but bigger fish. In that scenario, you're trying to help these fish survive predation by smaller LMB and give them the best chance of getting that first spawn done. Again, just from personal observation, but I think that first tilapia spawn is the most important spawn. These are the fish that will hopefully get to that larger 7-8" size, and really help the LMB. The original breeder tilapia will likely double that. Those original yearly stockers are the only dead tilapia I have ever seen at the onset of cold water.
I think you are correct about predation of yoy BG, but in my case, that inadequate predation by LMB is the exact thing I'm looking for. At this point, I'm trying to reestablish the smaller BG, and return BG to a self sustaining LMB forage option. A combination of events caused this problem, but tilapia have taken the pressure off these smaller BG, and the numbers swimming the banks last fall was incredible. Maybe the the trophy BG part just comes from increased numbers, so increased trophy potential. Or, do the increased numbers of larger BG do a number on the smaller yoy BG, and limit their numbers? I just don't know.
Not sure about the feeding part and the FA carousel, because I under feed my CNBG. I fed 1,500# of fish food last year, and although that sounds like a lot, I bet it's less than some feed with much smaller ponds. In my case, it works out to less than 3# a day for each of my feeders for the 9 months I feed in earnest. 6# a day for an 11 acre pond is pretty light. It may sound naive, but I don't want the effort-free food to alter the natural predatory nature of my BG in the event that I cut back feeding, or quit feeding all together.
Tony, I guess the bottom line is that everything's better here when tilapia are added to the mix. They eat algae, decline in cold water and get eaten before they become a biomass problem, take pressure off existing forage, and feed every fish in the pond that can fit them in their mouths. That's a magic bullet to me.
But, as with all things pond related, the trick is knowing your game fish, your existing forage, your water, your goals, etc. Tilapia certainly aren't a band-aide for all pond problems, but if you zero in on what advantages they do give, and that fits your particular pond scenario, they can definitely make things better.
I hope I answered some of your questions, but my answers where just what I've seen and experienced here. Others' perspectives are obviously different than mine, and I hope somebody chimes in if anything I've said is wrong.
