Absolutely, although some species do better in cages than others. For me largemouths that are pellet trained did quite well in a floating cage, and went from 4 to 6 inches to a good 9 to 12 in a few months. However they obviously were slightly bigger than fingerlings. I got smallmouths one year and they went off the feed in the cage, but when liberated the following spring they went back on the pellets.

The wipers should do well in a cage too as there are farmers raising them in cages for food fish.

I would make your cages fairly large -- mine are 7 by 7 by about 4 feet deep -- and use as large a mesh size as possible to reduce clogging. I made mine square cages and use 1 1/2 inch PVC with three way connecters at the joints. Basically a cube with the plastic mesh attached with plastic lock ties. You can buy everything you need at most Aquaculture catalogs as in Stoney Creek and Aquatic Ecosystems.

I used to do this every year adding a new age class of largemouths to keep them from being eaten at first.

The downside mainly is the cages can get clogged with algae if your pond is fertile, and I used to clean them with a push broom. It was a real pain and probably stressed the fish a little. I suppose you could rig up a pump and use it as a vacuum to remove the algae.

Make sure there is good circulation around your cage and if possible attach them to a pier where you can easily feed them.

My cages are now fish structure as I can now grow out smaller fish in a 25 by 30 pit with an aerator.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.