Sorry I don't chime in more frequently.. but, I'll go out on a limb and give my humble opinion on northern vs. cnbg in a warm pond. Bruce can ping in too since he's seen this and watched my fish grow..
My pond was a bit of a 'control' group for this, as it's was smaller and managed heavily. I put in both northern and cnbg.
The fish were in identical conditions, and I fully expected that the cnbg would outgrown northerns in a hot pond (I'm in Phoenix, no one has a warmer pont than I do). Who would expect anything else?
I've grown both to freakish 3lbsish, and I'll admit I'm still in the process of figuring out which will grow the *biggest*... but in my experience, in an identical environment, there has been little to no difference in growth rates, condition, or health. They both get huge at similar rates with identical conditions (warm water, long growing season, good food). I actually think that my northerns were growing a little faster than the cnbg overall and the biggest fish (see image) are natives. This is true of my original stockers and offspring up to second generations)
Why? IMHO I think the main difference in growth rates and ultimate size dependent upon forage and ideal growth conditions (water temps, growing season, etc).
To the OP, natives can grow fast and the cnbg's aren't optimal for Ohio. Feed 'em. Oh yeah, they'll grow faster if you're not in Ohio.
