This may just relate to warmer southern waters, so take that into consideration. Of course, a lot of the northern states also got hit hard this year by very high temps.
If you're raising forage, and have a target size in mind, then don't overlook the pull out date. I haven't done a surface temperature test because I know it's already 90+, and that means these CNBG won't be safely pulled out for another 3-4 months. If you're leaving the forage pond active, and just taking out a certain percentage annually, then I wouldn't think size consideration would be an issue at all.
Since my original stockers are almost at my 5" target length, I've cut back their 1/8" pellets from 3 cups to 3/4 of a cup a day, and I'm now focusing on the 1" to 3" CNBG at the upper end of the pond. I'm feeding these 2.2mm pellets, and increasing the numbers weekly. I hope the vast majority of the first and second spawns in my hatchery pond will be 4" to 5" by October. If not, then I can safely pull those out in November or early December.
In short, consider the gape size and length of the predator fish you're wanting to provide forage for, and don't blow by those numbers when raising forage specifically for them. If you're raising forage to survive those predators, and hopefully survive to spawn when they're moved to the primary pond, then by all means continue to feed them at proper amounts to get them to a larger size.
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