BG spawned multiple times last Summer with fry visible in large quantites last year continuing to this Spring. I had been attributing the lack of LMB growth (for my small sample size this Spring) to a stunted population with little growth potential. I'll see how it plays out through this July and go from there.
I have personally witnessed stunted 8" to 10" LMB grow to 14" over winter when transplanted to a GSF pond where no other LMB were present. That's a quadrupling of weight from Fall to Spring in Northern OK. IMHO its the age that limits their ultimate potential. Those 8" to 10 LMB may have 6 years old so they don't have as much time to grow. IME they will grow if there is enough forage to go around.
Our member Bocomo started his harvest in late summer and fall. He recorded growth in his creel records the following spring. So why did he get results and you did not? The difference could be that your BOW has a very above average standing weight of LMB/acre with a much larger number of LMB/acre than an average pond. Keep in mind that your BOW had no BG and so the LMB partially filled that niche of insectivore.
For example, if your eutrophic pond could support 120 lbs of LMB then a reduction of 30 lbs would allow a 33% increase in the individual weights of the remaining LMB. For an average size of 9" that would be a 1" increase in length. If the LMB were very poor RW ... it is possible they wouldn't grow much at all in length but just fatten relative to their prior condition. It is spring and some fish have tended beds or spent eggs. Keep this in mind with respect to RW. I wouldn't worry a whole lot about RW right now. I'd track the lengths which when lengths start showing improvement you have meaningful evidence of growth.
