fishinglth,
Thanks for your interest in my opinion... but you know what they say free advice is worth
I don't remember your pond size...but, in the absence of that data, my opinion is that if LMB growth is your primary criteria, you should get Tilapia in there as soon as you can, immediately. If you have 8 inch LMB now, they will benefit greatly from Tilapia stocking this growing season.
I can't offer scientific proof and if I did you shouldn't believe it anyway...but it is my belief, demonstrated conclusively in two of my ponds, that Tilapia will give you much more bang for the buck(measured in LMB growth) than artificially feeding the BG. Artificially feeding will help you raise large BG and in turn help your LMB some, but nothing like the kick that Tilapia provide. As a bonus, the Tilapia will increase your BG numbers and size by taking predator pressure off them...at least that has happened in every pond that I have stocked Tilapia.
I'm going to assume that LMB growth isn't your only criteria, however, since you chose a mixture of native and Florida LMB. If you were only interested in growth, pure Florida would probably have been your choice. Hence, I'm going to guess that you are also interested in positive catch rates. All other things being equal(and they never are), it is my opinion that LMB are significantly more catchable, more aggressive, and a much better predator in a pond that has all natural forage as opposed to an artificially fed pond with forage that is available, concentrated, and very vulnerable at an artificial feeder. I have demonstrated that statement also, conclusively to myself.
I won't advise you to stop artificial feeding...but will beg you to consider adding Tilapia, if you really want superior LMB growth. Catching those plate sized CNBG on a 3 wt fly rod is really a joy, and artificial feeding definitely promotes faster BG growth. My solution/approach is to have multiple ponds and in most of those ponds, I do not/will not artificially feed....but I do love to catch those super sized CNBG.
