I've always tried to put a little feed in close to shore so the FHM and fingerling BG would get some. I hand feed from a 4 wheel UTV and throw feed sidearm with my left hand. Most goes out deeper but always a few pellets hit close to shore.
Like you said, as the pellets soften the small fish just keep pecking at it till it is gone (unless a bigger fish sneaks up into shallow water and steals it).
I got started feeding the small fish that way because in the beginning when the pond was first stocked that is all I had, small fish. The fingerling BG I rarely saw but the FHM really learned to eat the feed quickly (with the BG catching on as they got a little bigger). So wife and I used to sit on the dock and feed the FHM and BG. No longer any FHM around the dock as what is left is relegated to the shallow banks hiding from the LMB.
I had some very fine granules of 50% tilapia feed left over from when my tilapia were small. Tossed some of that in the shallows by my big rock
(Big Thinking Rock) where a bunch of 2" BG hang out. You would have thought I was throwing candy to kids. Boy did they love that stuff. They would come up into a couple inches of water, stare at me, and beg for more.
