Rowly,

I don't buy it. The bigger the walleye fingerlings you can plant the better. I don't think those walleye will be growing much until the water warms up enough for the largemouths to be active.

I'd wait until fall for larger walleyes.

Personally I think he wants to unload these walleyes and is feeding you a line. I've run into all types in the fish farming business.

It is possible these walleyes could be more bottom oriented and acclimated by the time the largemoths get acive in shallower water but I'm still skeptical.

I was told something similar about planting brown trout fingerlings into a pond with largemouths. I was told that if I planted late enough in the fall when the water was colder the bass would not bother the fingerlings due to the bass's slower metabolism. I planted some and bass were coming out of the woodwork to eat the fish. It was like they were the tastiest thing they had ever eaten! So it was not true.

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