travlinman, how is your population of 7.25 to 9.5 inch BG? If bass really need prey that is 1/4 to 1/3 their length, and you have a lot of them, then it should easily grow to 20 lbs in year and you could boast the state record. But if you have a whole bunch of 7.25 to 9.5 in BG and it really needs 5 to 6 in BG, its going to start starving from the time you put it in.

IMHO the 7 lb bass that represent the top of your food chain will allow very little food to pass to the size this 16 lb LMB optimally needs. But if there are a lot of 7.25 to 9.5 inch BG while BG in the 5in to 7in sizes are relatively uncommon ... this would be a great test of whether that big bass needs 7.25 to 9.5 BG or whether it need 5" to 6" BG. Here are the risks to you:

If the 16 lb LMB needs 7.25 to 9.5 in BG, you might find that consumption of these BG will stress the production of BG YOY that will be evident a year from now as reduced LMB RW of the existing population. You would see good growth and relative weight of the 16 lb LMB.

If the 16 lb LMB needs 5 to 6 in BG, there is little risk to you. The 16 lber will probably decline substantially while the existing population is not much affected. The choice is yours but I think the likely outcome is the second one.

It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers