This has to rank in the top ten best threads ever on this website. Good stuff, guys.
I have a couple of thoughts about carrying capacity, too.
Fish hatcheries often strive to push carrying capacity to its limits with heavy feed, aeration, exchanging water, etc. But, hatcheries are normally single species fish populations, with no habitat.
One important factor that hasn't been discussed is just how dynamic a fishery is. With the "best" habitat for bluegill, for example, baby fish are allowed to live for a longer time, gaining mass from plankton and insects. They quickly grow from 10,000 per pound to 30 per pound, if they have enough habitat and cover for safety. That extrapolates to more bass, which shifts "carrying capacity" to target species. If you were able to analyze Bruce's male only bluegill pond(s), you would find a few giant bluegills and millions of large insects. His "carrying capacity" is tied up in totally different living forms than multi-species, mult-size fish populations.
