I'm not sure. I know CT is working on a study in a few lakes right now about this topic, trying to figure out if it is more cost effective to stock a low number of large pike fingerlings or a higher amount of much smaller fingerlings. Should be interesting to hear the results in a few years.
Yea will be interesting. OTOH you don't want too many top end predators like pike and musky so the numerous fry with a lower survival rate that is cheaper to produce may be the answer. From my fish manager's position, when pike and musky get larger they go after the same size fish anglers do. We don't recommend them in ponds for that reason!
And they prefer a more fusiform forage so if it it's a choice between a bluegill and a small bass the bass loses. We've had cases out here where pike choke to death on bluegill and crappie when the spines get lodged in the mouth. There's a reason fish have evolved with spines!
Chain pickerel don't reached the sizes of the above species so don't have as big an impact.
Remember it takes about 10 lbs. of fish to produce 1 pound of predator fish. So a 10 pound pike, bass, musky, etc. has eaten almost 100 lbs. of forage fish in it's life minus the invertebrates when it is small.
